Earlier today, I went for a visit to Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Specifically, I headed to Van Nest Park, where they have a memorial dedicated to the memory of the one event which unexpectedly and briefly thrust this little town into the national, and even the world, spotlight.
It was on October 30, 1938, that there was a radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" by Orson Wells (remember, this was an age not only before the internet, but television). In the play, aliens landed in the town of Grovers Mill. Once they opened up their ship, they launched a massive invasion, killing everyone in sight.
The play was designed to sound like an actual news broadcast. This was enough to fool many locals, who fled the area in panic hoping to find safety from what they believed was an actual alien invasion. This caused a lot of problems, and laws were passed shortly after this event to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again.
A fascinating and unconventional piece of history. I had long wanted to visit this place and just decided to on this particular day, for some unknown reason. It is less than forty minutes from Hillsborough.
Below are some pictures from my visit to Grovers Mill, where history was made - albeit briefly - the better part of a century ago.
Enjoy.
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