Crawford Hill, sometimes known in the past as Crawford's Hill, is located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, United States. It is Monmouth County's highest point, as well as the highest point in New Jersey's coastal plain, standing 391 ft above sea level.[1] The hill is best known as the site of a Bell Telephone Laboratories facility that was an annex to the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex located three miles away. The 43 acre annex property comprises a main research building and a number of other structures and scientific instruments, among them the historic Holmdel Horn Antenna.
The hill
Crawford Hill is part of the cuesta known as the Atlantic highlands landform of New Jersey.[1] In such form it the highest of a series of rolling crests that recede from the shoreline.[2] In the past it was a wooded area overlooking the first farms in the area. It is named after one of the longstanding, prominent families of Holmdel, a name which goes back to an early figure in the area, William H. Crawford.[3] Its height was determined at least as early as 1888.[4]
Around 1900, part of Crawford Hill was leveled to make an easier through route for the Holmdel and Keyport Turnpike.[5] In the 1920s, driving over the hill was considered one of the rewarding local routes that the new generation of motorists could undertake.[6]
Bell Telephone Laboratories on the hill
Bell Telephone Laboratories first acquired property in Holmdel Township in 1929. Work on radio astronomy, such as that conducted by Karl Jansky, had been undertaken nearby in the early 1930s at the main site of what would later become the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex, as would many other developments in communications developments.
By 1950, Crawford Hill was being used by Bell Telephone Laboratories for experiments and studies in microwave transmission, with an earlier horn antenna at the Crawford location receiving signals transmitted from a tower 22 miles away at the Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill, New Jersey.[12]
During 1955, a 60-foot parabolic antenna, nicknamed "The Big Dish", was constructed atop Crawford Hill. It was intended for use with super high frequency transmissions of telephone and television signals,[13] as well as exploring aspects of over-the-horizon transmission. The antenna project was led by Arthur B. Crawford, John C. Schelleng, and Harald T. Friis.[14] The 60-foot antenna was prominent enough to be seen by motorists traveling on the
Plans for site going forward
The main building soon fell into a somewhat dilapidated state, matching much of the rest of the annex structures.[20]
The sale triggered an extended concern over whether the Crawford Hill site, and the Holmdel Horn Antenna within it, might be at risk due to developers coming in.[23] Indeed, the buyer of the land put forth plans to build a senior housing center. The Holmdel Planning Board voted to study the issue during 2023.[24] Neighbors, citizen preservation groups, and astronomy fans all objected to the development proposal, eventually collecting for a petition some 8,000 signatures from around the country and internationally.[20] Holmdel officials considered using eminent domain to acquire the land involved.[25]
Instead, in October 2023 a deal was reached between the township and the developer,
See also
- Geology of New Jersey
- Discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation
External links
References
- Robert M. Hordon. Atlantic Highlands Encyclopedia of New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 2004^
- Alvin B. Cliver. Monmouth County's Topography Most Diversified Along Seacoast Asbury Park Sunday Press, August 21, 1949^
- Franklin Ellis. History of Monmouth County, New Jersey R. T. Peck & Co., 1885^