PREVIOUS FEATURED QUESTION ABOUT NEW JERSEY HISTORY

 

Dear NJHM:

Hi! I used to have a house in Mystic Island, New Jersey, on the corner of Longboat Drive. Anyway, outside of our house was a huge square block, like 20 feet high and squared. There were several others in the general area, and I was told they were foundations of a radio tower from World War I. I would like to know if this is true, and if you can provide any information about it, including a photo if possible. Any help at all would be great.

Thanks a lot,
Kathy


Dear Kathy:

The square block in the ground outside your house was one of the concrete anchors of the "Tuckerton Tower" in Mystic Island. These anchors are not only 20 feet high, they are also 20 feet deep. The Tuckerton Tower was 820 feet high and built in 1912 by the German government to communicate with an identical tower in Germany, as well as ships and submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. In its time it was the second highest structure ever built in the world, and the most powerful radio station ever constructed. Mystic Island (then Hickory Island) was chosen because the ground was level, and the island was in a desolate location. All the parts were built and tested in Germany, then shipped to the United States. Incredibly, the US Government was unaware of the massive communication project until it was almost completed. Early in World War I, while the US was still neutral, the government kept a close watch on the tower to ensure it was not broadcasting any military messages in violation of the Neutrality Act. This censorship was ineffective, however, as seemingly harmless messages could be delivered in code. It is believed by many, though far from proven, that the station sent out the order, "Get Lucy", to a German submarine as code for the order to sink the liner "Lusitania". When America entered the war in 1917, the United States military immediately took over the tower and used it till the end of the war. Later RCA operated it until World War II when the military took over again. On December 28, 1955, the tower was torn down and cut up for scrap. Hope this helps!

Source:

Down the Jersey Shore
By: Russell Roberts & Rich Youmans
Rutgers University Press, 1993 ----BUY THIS BOOK

The Tuckerton Tower
Photo from "Down the Jersey Shore"

 

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