Martian Landing Site
Posted by: 
chstress53
N 40° 18.762 W 074° 36.334
18T E 533514 N 4462539
Located just off a lonely country road, a few miles from Princeton University, in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, a solitary marker on a field of dreams commemorates the first landing site of the Martian Invasion. What Martian Invasion? you might ask. Most people forget that Martian war machines did, in fact, invade our living rooms on October 30th, 1938, through the popular medium of radio, and a young Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre players were responsible.
Waymark Code: WM6Y7
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 02/01/2006
Views: 85
The thirty-seven acres that make up Grover's Mill Pond were generously donated by the Dey Family in 1976 in order that the historic site would be maintained and enhanced for future generations. Less than ten years later, after wading through tons of legal red-tape, a group called the New Jersey Conservation Foundation announced that the site would be officially preserved. Forrester and others founded the War of the Worlds (WOW) Commemorative Committee in 1986 to prepare a fitting celebration for the fiftieth anniversary of that famous broadcast. Celibrities Howard Koch, Garrison Keillor, Irwin Corey, the Amazing Kreskin and the entire cast of the short-lived television series "War of the Worlds" were all invited to take part in the four-day event, which included a parade, a twenty-five mile race, a fireworks extravaganza (at nearby Mercer County Park), a masquerade party and a re-enactment of the radio play at Princeton University. On October 29, 1988, the citizens of West Windsor Township dedicated a monument to the memory of the Martian Invasion.
The bronze monument, which was sculpted by Jay Warren, depicts a skyscraper-high Martian war machine in the upper right corner; in the left center, a brilliant, twenty-three year-old Orson Welles stands in front of a microphone, and in the lower two-thirds, a fairly typical family listens to the broadcast on the radio. Today, like most monuments that overlook bloody battlefields of our nation's past, the six-foot-tall and three-foot-wide marker stands in the middle of a small field where children play baseball or climb on monkey bars, lovers stroll along a wooded path, and ducks frolic in a small pond. Its solitary visage not only reminds us of the notorious broadcast that panicked Americans but also recalls the fateful night when America lost its innocence. That singular radio program forever changed the way people think about their sources of news, information and entertainment.
Even though its been over half a century since the Martians first "landed," the peaceful tranquility of Grover's Mill Pond easily gives way to the imagination, and conjured images of towering war machines. Listen closely and you just might hear the sounds of their pistons as they lumber into view.
The Martian landing site marker is located in West Windsor Township, New Jersey. Take Exit Eight from the New Jersey Turnpike and follow Route 571 through the small hamlet of Hightstown to Princeton Junction. Just prior to the overpass, which takes you into Princeton, turn right onto Cranbury Road, and travel approximately eight-tenths of a mile. Grover's Mill Pond is the first right past Clarksville Road, and you can leave your car in the small parking lot.
Price of Admission: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Weekday Hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Weekend Hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Roadside Attractions Website: [Web Link]
Location Website: Not listed
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