Dear NJHM:
I was recently attempting to visit a tiny abandoned group of houses on a one-way dirt road off of Rt 9. The road, Jake Brown Rd, has many urban legends that accompany it. There are multiple stories of it being a mass suicide cult community or KKK meeting place. While visiting, we pulled into the entranceonly to see a car pulling what seemed to be out the woods. At the site of this we began to turn around and as we were attempting this, the headlights of the car slowly faded. As we began to drive away we were repeatedly flashed by these headlights until we were out of range. I was wondering if you have any info as to the real origination of this road. I'm having trouble finding info anywhere.
RU
Dear RU:
We hate to destroy a real good sounding legend, but the "abandoned" houses on Jake Brown Road are actually remainders of the former Nike Missile Base that was located there. Nike missiles were America's last line of defense against aerial attacks by Russia (or others) during the Cold War. There were numerous bases spread out throughout the country, and many were located in New Jersey to protect the New York City metropolitan area. They were first armed with conventional warheads and were later upgraded to nuclear warheads. The base was deserted in the early 1970's, and was deeded by the federal government to the Township of Old Bridge. The site is today used by the Board of Education for offices, storage and vehicle maintenance.
As for the origin of Jake Brown Road, it was originally a road that connected the village of Cheesequake with the village of Browntown. Browntown is still remembered by the Browntown Shopping Plaza on Route 516. The continuous road still exists on maps today connecting Cotrell Road with Route 516, but it is broken up into three separate roads. If you look across Route 9 from where you were (just South of the Shop-Rite) you will see one segment. That portion of the road travels into the woods as a dirt road for a few hundred yards. The third segment can be found off Route 516.
As for the headlights following you, it was probably a private security vehicle hired by the Board of Education. There are many visitors to the site since it appeared in Weird NJ Magazine, and they will often try to chase people away without a confrontation if possible. Good Luck and keep in touch.