APPLE PIE HILL
New Jersey - Burlington County - Wharton State Forest
February 14, 1914: "A fire station for guarding a section of fifty square miles in this portion of the Burlington county pine belt is being established by the State Forestry Preservation Commission at Applepie Hill, four miles from Chatsworth. On the crest of the hill, which is the highest point in South Jersey, a lookout tower has been erected.
A guard, armed with a powerful telescope for sweeping the surrounding country for signs of forest fires, will be on duty day and night. A telephone line is being constructed between the station on the hill and Chatsworth and fire wardens and deputies can be instantly dispatched to the scene upon the outbreak of a fire." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
A guard, armed with a powerful telescope for sweeping the surrounding country for signs of forest fires, will be on duty day and night. A telephone line is being constructed between the station on the hill and Chatsworth and fire wardens and deputies can be instantly dispatched to the scene upon the outbreak of a fire." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
February 20, 1914: "The Farmers' Telephone Company, of New Egypt, will erect a telephone line from the Chatsworth extension to what is know as Apple-pie Hill, about fore miles from Chatsworth. This will be in connection with the forestry commission of New Jersey, which is planning and has a sufficient appropriation to erect a fire lookout at the summit of the hill. This lookout will be equipped with a powerful telescope mounted in such a manner that the observer, who will be permanently stationed at this point, will be able to locate a fire within a radius of ten miles, and telephone to the nearest warden. Apple-pie Hill is the highest point in South Jersey, and has been marked by the State Geological Survey as a standard of elevation, and a stone monument marks the spot." (The Transcript)
April 14, 1914: "The erection of a fire tower on Apple Pie Hill and the constant attendance of a watchman employed by the state will, it is hoped, lessen the number of fires in that territory and encourage the fire insurance societies to once more issue policies against fire risk. Putting up a $50 shanty and collecting $1,000 insurance on it is not as popular a game with the insurance societies as it was once." (The Mount Holly News)
July 12, 1932: "On lonely Apple Pie Hill in the wilderness in the heart of the New Jersey pine belt stands a monument erected a year ago to the memory of the intrepid flier. It can be reached only by a sandy six mile trail. It marks the spot where on the night of July 12, 1928, during a severe thunder storm, the Mexican ace fell.
Captain Emilio Carranza had flown from Mexico to Washington and New York and was attempting a non-stop flight back to Mexico. His body was found by berry pickers the day after he hopped off from New York." (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader)
September 2016: Just prior to the Labor Day weekend the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection erected a barrier to block access to the tower. Reason stated for this action was that vandalism, theft and unsavory activities have been increasing over the past several years. The total cost of the fence, approximately $200.00.