1920s NJ Highway Marker sighting!

[njroads]

I am glad to see that the 1920s NJ Highways web page Sharon and I did many years ago has been referenced by many Wikipedia articles and other sources.  I just found out about this forum recently.
Anyway I was talking about our sityet he or day to someone who does a lot of trucking in South Jersey.  When I mentioned what I thought was an arcane subject most people had no idea existed, he just matter of factly told me there is an old Route 20 highway marker still standing on Delsea Drive south of Dorchester.  Here is how he described the location:
Travel on Route 47 southbound, stay on 47 at the split with 347.  About 2-3 miles down, north of the Leesburg State Prison, there is an old Route 20 marker on the Northbound side, partially absorbed by a large tree growing around it.  He also said the number 20 is visible, and that there was writing above and below the number, obscured by the tree.  The sign is actually inside the tree!  
Does anybody on this group live near there and could take a look/photo?  Sharon and I now live in Newton but will gladly travel back down there if there rally is a sign.
We are really glad we took the pictures when we did.  A lot of the bridges we photographed are now gone.  It is almost too good to be true if there is still a surviving route marker.  When I asked the DOT of a decade ago if they had any samples in the archives/museum I was told that there were no surviving markers.  This would be the holy grail of 1920s NJ Highway artifacts!
Jimmy Williams

 

[njroads]

Sharon and I are heading down there tomorrow to have a look.  Based on the map though it would be Route 15 at at point.  I'll let you all know what we find.  Hopefully it will pan out.

[NE2]

Good luck.

[njroads]

Sharon and I went down there yesterday and could not find any marker in the area.  We did try - several times.  It looks like all trees very close to the road were cleared.  I'll try to find out more from the person we spoke to.  We got a nice photo of a metal Route 20 bridge we missed years ago, and got some other photos like the East Point lighthouse and the abandoned Sharon Lakes campground.
We haven't been on a road trip in many years so it nice to do this again.

[agentsteel53]

I know of maybe 10-15 cutout NJ markers, dating from the 20s to 1961 or so, in private collections.

have never seen one in the wild.  there is a cast-aluminum arrow that survives as of 2007.



I also heard a rumor of a cast iron NJ US 40 which had been "welded to a bridge".  but the person who told me said he first heard of it in the late 80s.

the writing on the 20 shield your friend referred to was probably "NEW JERSEY" and "HIGHWAY".

[njroads]

Hi.  The marker in question would have been 15, not 20.  I double checked my old maps.  Delsea Drive would have been 20 north of Millville and 15 south of that.  I will try to get more info about what was seen, and when.

If you know of any signs from the original 1920s era I would be very interested in a photo.  My research on these roads is here:

http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/njhwy20s.htm

The Route 1 sign you have a photo of is from the post-1927 renumbering era.  The original signs were quite different, as you can see on my site.  There seem to be several variants of the original signs, to make things more complicated.

Sharon had seen a Route 6 sign of the same era as the Route 1 sign years ago at an antique store but they wanted some ridiculous amount of money for it.  It turns out it sold for much less - oh well.
I remember a cutout US 46 sign on Northbound Route 23 near the West Belt Mall on a post with other markers.  It may be gone now. 

[agentsteel53]

I remember a cutout US 46 sign on Northbound Route 23 near the West Belt Mall on a post with other markers.  It may be gone now.

I would love to know if this is still around!  there is a cutout 46 that was put up by the Port Authority.  it dates to the 1960s or 70s.



that's the only cutout I know of in New Jersey.

your site does not seem to mention this style of route marker:

[njroads]

No I never came across references to a triangular sign.  Based on the paper color it looks like it may have been scanned from an old state map.  Thanks for the info.
I have to update my site soon.  I have a backlog of photos at I never put up.  But for the roads at we did not find any surviving bridge stampings for years ago, we still have not since.

[Alps]

First of all, Jimmy, it's great to have you here on the forum! Your research has been invaluable. Second of all, I'm unaware of any relics left besides those mentioned as confirmed in this post (US 46 cutout, aluminum arrow). Those two still survive.