BATSTO (mansion)
New Jersey - Burlington County
1917: "The lookout station at Batsto, Burlington County, again has been in operation during the fire season." (Annual Report - Department of Conservation and Development, 1917-18)
1920: "Batsto Station, Burlington County -- A lookout room has been built on the tower of the Batsto Mansion through the co-operation of the executors of the estate of Jos. Wharton, and has been in service since April 1." (Annual Report - Department of Conservation and Development, 1919-20)
June 15, 1921: "Alertness of a girl lookout saved a small forest fire from reaching the Amatol arsenal reservation yesterday, it became known here today. She is Miss Julia Cramer, and is stationed at Batso. She saw smoke curling from a thickly wooded section and summoned fire fighters from nearby places.
The fire spread toward the reservation, where loaded shells are stored, but it was checked in time. The fire after burning about 100 acres of brush was extinguished last night." (Asbury Park Press)
June 21, 1922: "A feminine forest-fire lookout watchman.
There is such an official, and she is on duty at the top of a fire tower that rears its head above the stately pines, oaks and buttonwoods in the wooded section of Burlington county, N.J.
Miss Julia Cramer, 19, and very pretty, is the young lady who holds the title and does the work.
Guarding the forests against fire is a new field for women to enter, and Miss Cramer, according to New Jersey state forestry officials, is making good. She is the only woman in the state to hold such a position.
For several months she has been on duty at the Batsto station, and due to her constant vigil and watchfulness over more than 300 square miles of forest and farmland, the losses by fire have been held down to the lowest minimum in the state's history.
In a glass-sided room about eight feet square that is perched on top of a lofty tower that rises from the roof of the Colonial Batsto mansion, Miss Cramer scans the vast stretches of forest to catch a glimmer of curling smoke that betokens fire.
A lonely, drab and uninteresting existence? Miss Cramer smiles as the question is put to her. 'A fine service,' says the forest guardian, 'and one that I like better today than when I first assumed the duties. Up here I see nature in all its glory and immensity.' Her cupid lips developed a fetching smile as she added: 'It is so big and wonderful that I really believe I have caught some of the bigness.'" (Eau Claire Leader - Wisconsin) for the balance of the article go to the original story.
June 12, 1923: Miss Julia Cramer, in charge of a lookout station near Batsto, N. J., probably saved that village from destruction by a forest fire that swept thirty square miles of valuable timber land.
Discovering the woods ablaze, she ran half a mile to the nearest house, borrowed the family automobile and then dashed seven miles, spreading the alarm. Men responded and kept the menacing flames from the town. The girl is the only member of her sex having charge of a lookout tower in New Jersey. In 1920 she made a similar run that saved the huge Amatol arsenal from flames." (The Ottawa Journal)