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cladtidings t1_iw5i3lr wrote

It's rarely mentioned outside the Old Bridge area, but Cheesequake State Park owes its unusual name to the long forgotten Cheesequake of 1856. In September of that year, a rare ea'easter blew through Raritan Bay, making landfall in Laurence Harbor. At the time, the area was dotted with highly productive dairy farms, renowned for their cheese-making capabilities. They manufactured so much cheese, they needed to erect huge cheese silos in which to store it. Some of these cheese silos stood over three hundred feet tall, and were visible for miles, often serving as navigational aids for local sailors.

The ea'ester made landfall with punishing winds, and the cheese silos, not built to withstand such an onslaught, began to topple like dominoes, crashing into the earth with tremendous thuds, which were mistaken as earthquakes by startled local residents. These residents came to refer to the incident as the "cheesequake" and "the cheeseocalypse". As salvaging the cheese was deemed impractical, the land owners opted to simply cover the cheese with dirt and garbage. Although it wreaked havoc on local lactose intolerant marine life, the aroma was mostly gone by the mid 1880s. The dairy farms, which moved west decades earlier, lay fallow, until Theodore Roosevelt set aside the site of the "cheesequake" as a nature preserve, which he visited frequently to go clamming in the park's fertile, cheese-nourished mud banks.

Local legend has it that very late on moonless nights, you can visit the site of the silos and still hear the anguished cries of those cheese-entombed workers. The Cheesequake of 1856 led to vast, sweeping reforms in both the cheese and silo-building industries. A small bronze plaque marks the site of the tallest silo and lists the names of the seven hundred and thirty-two souls who lost their lives that day in New Jersey's worst-ever cheese-related disaster.

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CalypsoTheKitty t1_iw5jhz3 wrote

I want to believe.

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cladtidings t1_iw5mpnx wrote

New Jersey certainly has a rich and colorful history. For example, Laurence Harbor wasn't named for a harbor operated by a guy named Laurence, not at first. In 1821, Ireland banished and exiled all males named Laurence, insisting they had to change the spelling to Lawrence, as per the king's decree. The Laurences fled the mother country on tall ships, and sailed up and down the East Coast seeking refuge, finally settling in a small cove off Raritan Bay. The bay harbored the Laurences, thus gaining its name. One of those Laurences actually did settle in the area and operated the local harbor, which added to the confusion somewhat.

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Tough_Dish_4485 t1_iw66tta wrote

Old Bridge is named after the town’s most popular bridge which itself is named after popular 19th century land owner Silas “Old” Bridge. The bridge was called Old Bridge Crossing, eventually shortened to just Old Bridge. The town was originally named Madison after the capital of Wisconsin, but after everything Wisconsin did the town voted to change its name. The Old Bridge was replaced by the new Old Bridge in 1974.

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rpsls t1_iw6ppog wrote

Not quite as old, but that reminds me of my favorite bridge name -- the Outerbridge Crossing (built in 1928). Many think it was so named because it's the outermost bridge leading into the city. Nope. It's named for Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, the first and most aptly named chairman of the Port Authority of NY.

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cladtidings t1_iwd4qfc wrote

The first time I learned this, I was dumbfounded. Mr. Outerbridge...what are the odds on that?

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iw7jksb wrote

It's from the Lenni Lenape word meaning "upland," but I think I will tell my friends from out of state the Reddit version first to see their reaction from now on. Hysterical.

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clam_sandwich33 t1_iw5t78p wrote

Taken from that little wooden observation deck by the parking lot?

I used to maintain the red trail there for Brookdale CC credits back in the day.

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meshmaster t1_iw5d7ta wrote

Lovely! Wonderful pic.

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Ladyhoneyblu t1_iw5fejg wrote

gif That's next cover picture for the Hallmark calendar 2023!! Love it OP! Had the honor of meeting James from the park today at Apple Festival in Old Bridge!

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FitSwimmer3 t1_iw5zjjr wrote

Awesome photo and the background story! New Jersey has so much history that people from out of state don't believe that we're just the industrial look and smell when you fly into Newark and that's all people see into NYC. What exit??

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rpsls t1_iw6pusp wrote

(Please treat the top-rated comment's background story with appropriate skepticism before repeating it to anyone.)

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zerocool918 t1_iw5epmj wrote

Great shot. Love the color tips of the trees with the gloomy/dark skyline.

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b4ngl4d3sh t1_iw5ma51 wrote

I was also there today looking for a meadowlark. No meadowlark and really no birds. Beautiful day tho. Nice shot!

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taklbox t1_iw66pci wrote

It looks like a painting. The times are so gorgeous

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buffchixdip t1_iw81mbu wrote

Hey! That’s my backyard!

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hedgerow_hank t1_iw95ysp wrote

That's quite a good shot. Thank you for posting it.

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spookybtch t1_iw5km70 wrote

Beautiful pic!! I love Cheesequake

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-686 t1_iw5w45v wrote

👍

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Strange-Woodpecker71 t1_iw74d3m wrote

Cheesequake is truly a hidden gem. You captured it well. Great job.

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JKastnerPhoto t1_iw7ls2b wrote

I find the concept of hidden gems getting publicly identified on the Internet hilarious and sad.

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tim_dude t1_iw7s0vk wrote

I can smell this pic

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A_Downboat_Is_A_Sub t1_iw8dnvk wrote

As a teenager in the area years ago, we would go Cheesequake and park not far from this place to hike and hang out in a picnic area close to this and smoke weed. The views were great from some spots on the hiking trail.

I'd wager money that if the camera was turned to the right you would see The Garden State Parkway.

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rabidvagine t1_iw8npgh wrote

Aka “jon bon jovi state park”

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