Chester’s Telephone Pole Farm
“This is where they grow the telephone poles.” It’s a phrase that rings in the memories of many as they recall driving by this oddity along North Road in Chester, NJ. Some would even suggest these sprouted from small toothpicks, serving as the seeds that allowed this odd farm to thrive. They don’t call it the Garden State for nothing. Whether you believed it then, still believe it now, tell your kids about it, or you just knew whoever gave you this information was full of it, this lineup of varied sized poles continues to serve as something to ponder.
What are these peculiar rows of unearthed “mom, dad, and baby” poles standing both proudly, and some disorderly, along the outer perimeter of Highlands Ridge Park? While this site is a touch of humor to those who know of
it, there are those who may encounter this oddity for the first time. “What in the world was that?” they will exclaim, as they pass by during their daily or spontaneous commute, some asking the question with just a touch of profanity to fully illustrate their surprise.
This very site served as an outdoor laboratory for one of the world’s most well-known and successful corporate research units. This was the outdoor research location for AT&T’s Bell Labs.
In 1925, the Bell Telephone Labs were created, and in 1928, 15 acres of farmland was rented in Chester for future outdoor testing. This wasn’t enough space for what they were planning to accomplish, so an additional 85 acres of farmland were purchased in the Spring of 1930.
This area of our state seemed to be the ideal spot to position these labs, specifically, right upon Seward’s Hill. Seward’s Hill rises abruptly to an elevation of about 1000 feet, making it one of the highest spots in Morris County, and the perfect spot to expose the poles and cables to equipment to extreme sunshine, wind, rain, sleet, ice, flooding, vibrations, and dust.
Surprisingly enough, these poles did not grow here, but were created from trees, which were naturally durable and resistant to fungal and insect damage. Though, when using trees that were not naturally resistant, they were modified to become so by using various chemical treatments.
Tests were necessary to figure out what the best treatment would be and how long it would last on t
he wood. And with those tests, creosote was decided to be the best preservative. Eight-foot p
ole sections were soaked in this treatment at a central location, analyzed, and then had samples sent to the three test sites. The poles were then sunk two feet into the ground and annually checked, with records kept of their current conditions and any damage caused by the elements. Cores of the wood or entire poles were removed to test the durability of the interior and to see how much creosote remained in the wood.
Inevitably, this “telephone pole farm” was abandoned in the 1980s as further advancements were discovered at the testing facility, making its operation obsolete. In 2004, the pole farm was purchased and eventually incorporated into what is now Highlands Ridge Park. The various telephone poles still stand within plain sight of passersby, again, some in better shape than the rest.
During a commute along North Road in Chester, NJ, one may still relay the information that this odd line of poles is in fact, where the telephone poles grow, joking as they look back at their kids or their eye-rolling significant other. This could even be completely new information and a new site to see when you find yourself in the area. Either way, this landmark site will continue to strike up conversation, curiosity, and potentially more questions that need answering. –Story and photos by Amanda Morris
The preceding article is an excerpt from Weird NJ magazine, “Your Travel Guide to New Jersey’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,” which is available on newsstands throughout the state and on the web at www.WeirdNJ.com. All contents ©Weird NJ and may not be reproduced by any means without permission.
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