Apple Pie Hill:
Apple Pie Hill is one of the highest points in the Pine Barrens, at 209 feet above sea level. It can be reached by taking Route 532 West from Route 206 or by taking Route 532 East from Route 563. Located in Tabernacle Township, no one knows how Apple Pie Hill got its name, though there is speculation that it shape resemples an apple pie.
Today there stands a 60 foot fire tower which affords the visitor an one of the most incredible views of the Pines available. From there one can view of the west branch of the Wading River, with pine forests covering a level plain that stretches to the horizon in all directions. The only other features visible are a few cranberry bogs to the southeast, the tops of distant towers in Atlantic City to the east, and the tops of skyscrapers in Philadelphia to the west. (One can literally view the east-west extent of the State of New Jersey from here.) On a clear day it is possible to see several hilly escarpments far to the north.. It is a favorite spot of picnickers, and makes a great day hike from the Carranza Memorial along the pink-blazed Batona trail. Starting from the Carranza Memorial the hiker will encounter two hills, the first known as "Tea Time Hill", and the second, "Apple Pie Hill".
Apple Pie Hill is first recorded on an 1849
map, with survey records
from 1759 naming an "Apple Pie Hill" (Schmidt).
In 1912 there was a cupola lookout on Apple Pie Hill. In 1950, the
present 60' Aermotor tower with 7'x7' metal cab was moved from Big Hill
where it first stood in 1938. Like most NJ fire towers, it is painted
red and white. The tower is administrated by the New Jersey Forest Fire
Service. (Forest Fire Lookout Associations)
Henry Beck, in More Forgotten Towns, speaks of
"the late Dr.
William A. White, a New York physician, (who) always
contemplated building a sanitarium on the rise of the hill. It is
his modern white-painted dwelling in the midst of a cluster of small
buildings on the promontory. Down the slope is a small bottling
house where Dr. White obtained and circulated a health water under a
State license, water Mr. LeDuc said was so pure that it
is used in storage batteries of this
vicinity--he gave us
two dusty bottles of it but thus far we have lacked the courage to try
it out. The water came from a well seventy feet deep.
The fate of the hospital, called Pine Crest on the labels of the
health water bottles, has been uncertain since Dr. White's death. A
key to the place was on Warden LeDuc's large jingling chain but he used
it only for those interested in another broken dream of the
pine country" (p 141). |
According to Ted Gordon, who has aquired numerous documents regarding
Dr. White and his proposed sanitarium, the sanitarium itself was never
built. The sanitorium was to be built at Pine Crest. There was a well
on the top of the Hill which is now filled in--with a VW, no less--that
once supplied Dr. White's water. From that well comes a pipe that, if
followed, will lead one to some of the bungalows that Dr. White built.
Those homes run between the Central Railroad of New Jersey and Apple
Pie Hill. The Harris Station, which is no longer in existance, was
renamed Pine Crest in 1923 after the Pine Crest Estates that Dr. White
attempted to establish. The large stone foundation that remain at
the bottom of Apple Pie Hill is not one of Dr. White's buildings, says
Ted. Mr. Gordon recalls many years ago a gentleman from Camden County
building a beautiful stone house there, by means of squatting. Locals
did not take kindly to the squatting and his house was burned down
(Gordon).
This author attended a geology of the Pines trip that was offered by
the Nature Conservancy, led by geologist Karenne Snow. One of our stops
included Apple Pie Hill, where we learned that Apple Pie Hill (and Tea
Time Hill) are remnants of "an ancient pre-Pleistocene erosional
surface comprised of the Pliocene Beacon Hill Gravel. These are low
hills on the coastal plain that are also capped with the Beacon Hill
Gravel. It is unclear whether all of these deposits are the same age,
or whether they were deposited by streams or by marine currents similar
to modern gravel accumulations on the continental shelf. These gravel
deposits have endured possibly millions of years of exposure to
rainwater and organic acids from decaying plant material. All that
remains on the hilltop is an assortment of heavily etched quartz
pebbles."(USGS)
How to get there:
Coordinates: 39-48-29N 74-35-56W
From Route 206 in Tabernacle Township, head east on Route 532 for 5.2
miles. Turn right onto Ringler Avenue, staying to the right when the
road "v"s; 2.1 miles onto Ringler Avenue will bring you to the fire
watch tower.
From Route 563 in Chatsworth, head west on Route 532 1.4 miles,
which will take you past the Chatsworth Lake on your right. Turn left
onto Ringler Avenue, staying to the right when the road "v"s; 2.1 miles
onto Ringler Avenue will bring you to the fire watch tower.
Created on 2005-02-25 11:05:31 by njpinela
Updated on 2005-04-18 09:22:56 by njpinela
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