Getting There: Address: Fort Mott State Park 454 Fort Mott Road Pennsville, NJ 08070 (856) 935-3218 Open every day. Summer: 8am - 7pm. Winter: 8am - 4pm Take I-295 or the NJ Turnpike to exit 1A - Pennsville, Route 49. Go East through Pennsville for 6 traffic lights (about 5-6 miles) to Fort Mott Road. There is a brown state park sign at this intersection. Turn right onto Fort Mott Road and travel 3 miles. At about 2 ½ miles, you will pass the Finns Point Rear Range Light. Continue on another ¼ mile to the entrance to the Finns Point National Cemetery, then another few hundred yards to the main entrance of the park.

Facilities: Free entry NJ Coastal Heritage Trail Welcome Center Museum Shop 104 acres Military Fortifications Delaware River Seasonal Passenger Ferry to Fort Delaware & Fort Dupont Picnic tables, picnic shelters, group picnic facilities Finns Point Cemetery Finns Point Rear Range Light Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Activities: Self-guided tour with interpretive signs Walking through the dungeons Trails for hiking and biking Ferry Rides to Pea Patch Island Free guided tours Picnicing Fishing Bird Watching Cross-country Skiing and Sledding in the winter

One of New Jersey 's hidden treasures is Fort Mott State Park , a small, off-the-beaten-path destination that has a lot to offer the visitor.

All within about two square miles, you will get your fill of historical facts when you investigate the signs and displays at the Visitor's Center in the park, drive into the Finn's Point National Cemetery , or tour the Lighthouse. And the nature lover will enjoy the walkways through the trees and the vast array of wildlife that call Fort Mott home.

Whenever I visit my hometown of Pennsville, NJ, I always make it a point to visit Fort Mott State Park, a place where I spent many hours as a kid. Over the years, even though many things have changed, some things have remained the same, and visiting the park is one of those things that brings back a happy piece of my childhood. Strolling around the grounds now, I am transported back to a stress-free time when playing war was just for fun.

The park was officially opened in 1951, making it 50 years old this year. It was constructed at a site called Finn's Point in the late 1800s as part of a three-fort defense system. The other two were Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island (which can be reached by ferry and is another wonderful place to go to get a history lesson as well as climb around on some old gun emplacements and see cannons close-up), and Fort DuPont (which was an active military installation through World War II).

Fort Mott was actively manned during the Spanish-American war, and troops were regularly stationed there up until 1922. Other military defense garrisons made the fort obsolete, and thus no longer an active installation. From 1922 to 1943, the federal government commissioned a care-taking detachment to maintain the fort. And in 1947, the state of New Jersey acquired it as an historic site and state park, and officially opened it to the public on June 24, 1951.

When I was growing up, the neighborhood kids didn't know or care anything about the history. It was just a neat place to play. We ran around the dungeons, popping out in front of our friends as they rounded a corner in hopes of scaring the wits out of them. The remains of various pieces of military equipment that were left behind were the stars of our fantasies - we imagined torture chambers where all sorts of unspeakable acts were performed. I remember what was actually a system for getting the ammunition to the guns, and looked like it could be a body stretching torture machine straight from the movies. We pretended to aim the cannons at unseen foes, defending our territory. And in the winter there wasn't a better spot for sledding. Although the lookout towers and a lot of the dungeons are now closed to the public due to safety issues, the park has been undergoing renovation for the last ten years and is now a great family place to while away the hours. Today, visitors can walk around the area, go into some of the dungeons, see some remains of gun emplacements and even climb on things. Kids of all ages can climb up on some of the structures and peer through the lookouts out onto the river. And in late 2001, the south range tower was opened to visitors.

The fortifications now have interpretive signs so sightseers can walk through at their leisure and read about the history. There is also a free tour available. Interested guests get a ride in a golf cart around the grounds while a park expert narrates the history of the place. If you have a large group, you can call ahead of time to arrange for a tour, or take your chances and just wander into the visitor's center and ask for one on the spot.

There is a dock which lets visitors take a ferry ride over to Pea Patch Island during the warmer months. You can even fish off this dock, although I'm not sure the Delaware River is the best fishing spot around.

A quarter mile nature trail which runs through the trees and over to the cemetery gives hikers and bikers a chance for a peaceful journey among the wild things. In the winter, this trail serves as a cross-country ski trail, and sledding on the hills is still as fun as when I was a kid. And, there are a number of bird species that inhabit the ground, especially hanging out around the canal near the visitor's center. Take your bird identification guide and enjoy.

There is a nice picnic area with shelters for that family get-together. You can call ahead of time and reserve the group site for $50, or use the tables free on a first come first served basis. The picnic site is equipped with a playground and heated and handicap-accessible bathrooms.

The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
Fort Mott is encompassed by a larger region, known as The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route. The visitor's center, also known as the NJ Coastal Heritage Trail Welcome Center contains many displays defining Fort Mott's place in history and the environment. The Heritage Trail was established in 1988 , mostly as an auto route, in partnership with the National Park Service and the State of New Jersey, and runs along New Jersey's coastline from Perth Amboy down around the Cape and up to Fort Mott.

Finn's Point National Cemetery
Also on the grounds is the Finns Point National Cemetery, which has been listed in The National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior since 1978. It is the only known cemetery to contain a large number of Confederate Civil War dead. There are also graves of Union soldiers who served as guards at the Fort Delaware prison, men who died in the Spanish-American War, and veterans of later wars, including Nazi prisoners who died while being housed at Fort Dix during WWII. In 1910, an 85 foot high monument was erect ed in the cemetery and the names of 2,436 Confederate prisoners of war were inscribed on bronze tablets and affixed to the base.

Finn's Point Rear Range Light
This lighthouse is a 115-foot tall black iron skeletal tower that was constructed in 1877 by soldiers with army mule trains. Automated in 1939, it marked a nearby channel of the Delaware River, mostly for the shipping industry. Due to a change in the shipping channel, the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1951, and abandoned. After repeated vandalism, the keeper's house was demolished in 1977.

A local citizen, my mother, Mrs. Betty Husarik, started a "Save the Lighthouse" group, and petitioned for federal funds to have the tower renovated. The group was successful, and in 1983 the lighthouse was restored. It is now open to the public for climbing to the top the third Sunday of each month from April to October from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. It, too is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is located at the junction of Fort Mott & Lighthouse Roads, about ½ mile from the main entrance to Fort Mott State Park.

Final Words A park full of history and outdoor fun, Fort Mott State Park is a place to visit time and time again. See you next time I'm in town.

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