Contents - Cultural Resources Report

Contents - Cultural Resources Report - 1996

EVALUATION OF SELECTED CULTURAL RESOURCES
AT FORT MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY:
CONTEXT FOR COLD WAR ERA,
REVISION OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES DOCUMENTATION,
AND SURVEY OF EVANS AREA
AND SECTIONS OF CAMP CHARLES WOOD
by
Mary Beth Reed
Mark Swanson
NEW SOUTH ASSOCIATES
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Subcontractor for Geo-Marine, Inc.
and
Rebecca Procter
Marsha Prior

June 1996

MISCELLANEOUS REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS
NUMBER 125
Geo-Marine, Inc.
550 East Fifteenth Street
Plano, Texas evans logo

for
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Fort Worth District
819 Taylor Street
Fort Worth, Texas

This document was prepared as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) procedures. It is the first document to state the important roll the Belmar Marconi Station and later Camp Evans played in world communications, WW, WW2, computer and electronic warfare development and their application. The history presented here by Mark Swanson and Mary Beth Reed motivated us to work to preserve Camp Evans. It recommended selected buildings within Camp Evans for National Historic Register status. We at InfoAge took the recommendation a little further and applied to the New Jersey State Historic Review Board to establish a 37-acre historic district.

On May 5, 2000 the State of NJ approved the application. As the Army refused to process the application we had to file a protest to the Keeper of the National Register again the Army federal preservation officier. Finally, Camp Evans was added to the National Register in March of 2002. Mark Swanson sent us all his research notes and photocopies of documents which we have on file in our archives. Thank you, Mark!

Related links:
National Register of Historic Places Application
May 11, 2000 Evans area receives NJ historic status. The Coast Star, by Desiree DiCorcia, Pg.1, cont. Pg. 27
March 27, 2002, Camp Evans site to go on federal historic list. The Asbury Park Press, By JOHN A. HARNES, Page B7

If there is not a link below that chapter/ item is not our site. Email us if you need the information for your research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY iii <--Page number in hardcopy.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 3

3. CULTURE HISTORY 5
Prehistoric Period 5
Paleo-Indian Period (10,000 - 8000 B.C.) 5
Early Archaic Period (8000 - 6000 B.C.) 5
Middle Archaic Period (6000 - 4000 B.C.) 6
Late Archaic Period (4000 - 1000 B.C.) 6
Early and Middle Woodland Period (1000 - A.D. 900) 7
Late Woodland Period (A.D. 900 - 1600) 7
Protohistoric/Contact Periods (A.D. 1600 - 1700) 7
Historic Period 8
Colonial Period (ca. 1660 - 1775) 8
The Revolution and the Early Federal Period (1775 - 1810) 8
Early Industrial Period (1810 - 1865) 8
Late Industrial Period (1865 - 1917) 9
Early Modern Period (1917 - 1940) 9
Late Modern Period (1940 - present) 9

4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORT MONMOUTH AND ITS ROLE IN THE COLD WAR ERA 11
Introduction 11
Historic Overview 11
The Early Phase of Development 11
The Subinstallations at Fort Monmouth 12
The Camp Evans Subinstallation 14
Present Status of Fort Monmouth Subinstallations 20
Technological Achievements Leading to the Cold War Era 20
Project Diana, 1945-1946 24
The Cold War: Political Context 27
The Cold War at Fort Monmouth 29
The Late 1940s 29
The Korean War, 1950-1953 30
The McCarthy Era, 1950-1954 31
Achievements of the 1950s 33
Satellites, 1957-Early 1960s 38
Reorganization and Achievements, Early 1960s 40
Impact of the Vietnam War, 1965-1973 41
Reorganizations After Vietnam 42
Research in the 1970s and 1980s 43
Summary 43

5. REVISED INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES 45
Methods 45
Previous Inventory and Evaluative Criteria 46
Current Assessments of Significance 47
Inventory Update and Results 48
Literature Search 48
Camp Charles Wood Area Inventory 49
Evans Area 49
The Marconi Era and Associated Buildings 53
Evans Signal Corps Laboratory, World War II to 1960 70
Recommendations 75
Summary 78

6. ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY AT CAMP CHARLES WOOD AND THE EVANS AREA 79
Methods 79
Camp Charles Wood Area 79
Evans Area 80
Low Probability Area I 80
Low Probability Area II 80
High Probability Area I 80
High Probability Area II 83
High Probability Area III 83
High Probability Area IV 85
High Probability Area V 85
Recording of Site 28-Mo-248 88
Artifacts from Site 28-Mo-248 88
Summary and Recommendations 91

REFERENCES CITED 93

APPENDICES
A: HABS Documentation of Historic Properties A-1
B: Artifact Tables for Evans Area Survey B-1
C: Acronyms and Abbreviations C-1

LIST OF FIGURES (These figures are large and each may take 15 seconds to transfer)

1. Map of Fort Monmouth showing locations of Charles Wood Area and Evans Area 2
2. Permanent post, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, 1936 13
3. Original Marconi radio tower during re-installation by Wall Township on township property located on Marconi Road, ca. 1974 15
4. Marconi receiving station, Evans Area 16
5. Elevations of radar antenna shelters 18
6. Dymaxion Deployment Units 19
7. “Reflection Measurements, Platform Location Plan,” Evans Area, 1949 21
8. “Post Layout, Reservation Map, Camp Evans,” 1951 22
9. Project Diana radar antenna, 1946 25
10. Project Diana area, southeast corner of Evans Area, ca. 1946 26
11. The Hexagon, Charles Wood Area, ca. 1960 35
12. Evans Area, looking northeast 36
13. Evans area, looking southwest 37
14. Fort Monmouth during satellite era, showing Deal Test site 39
15. Building inventory area, Camp Charles Wood 54
16. (a) Capehart Housing, Building 2471, Camp Charles Wood; (b) Unit Chapel, Building 2275, Camp Charles Wood 55
17. Evans Area Subarea A, showing NRHP-eligible properties 56
18. Evans Area Subarea B 57
19. Evans Area Subarea C, showing NRHP-eligible properties 58
20. Evans Area Subarea D 59
21. (a) Temporary Building 9110 and (b) Semi-permanent Building 9027, Evans Area 60
22. Temporary buildings, sheds, Evans Area: (a) unnumbered shed; (b) Building 9106 61
23. Guard houses, Evans Area: (a) Temporary Building 9153; (b) Semi-permanent Building 9093 62
24. Temporary buildings, Evans Area: (a) Building 9097; (b) Building 9617 63
25. (a) Building 9089; (b) unnumbered Dymaxion Deployment Unit 64
26. Platforms/towers, Evans Area: (a) platform adjacent to Building 9037; (b) platform/viewing tower, testing area 65
27. Building 9001 (a) view to southwest; (b) rear elevation 66
28. (a) Building 9002, view to the east; (b) Building 9003, view to the east 68
29. (a) Building 9004, rear elevation; (b) Buildings 9006 (background) and 9007 (foreground) 69
30. (a) Building 9128; (b) Buildings 9128, 9012, and area between buildings 9010 and 9011 71
31. (a) Building 9040; (b) Building 9042 72
32. (a) Building 9023; (b) Building 9017 73
33. (a) Space Sentry, Project Diana site; (b) Historic Document Building, Project Diana site 74
34. Proposed National Register District boundary 76
35. Map highlighting surveyed portion of Evans Area 81
36. Map showing Low Probability Area I and II, and High Probability Areas I and II 82
37. Map showing High Probability Area III (The Marconi Area) 84
38. Map showing High Probability Area IV 86
39. Map showing High Probability Area V 87
40. Map of site 28-Mo-248 89

LIST OF TABLES

1. Cultural Chronology for New Jersey 6
2. Building Inventory, Surveyed Areas of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey 50
3. Proposed National Register District, Evans area 77
4. Feature Descriptions for Site 28-Mo-248, High Probability Area V, Evans Area 90

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