Historic Tales of Watchung

The borough of Watchung’s forests, farmlands, lakes and mountain vistas have been traversed by man for thousands of years. The Leni-Lenapes settled along the banks of the Stony Brook and Watchung Lake, naming the area Wacht Unks, or High Hills. Attracted by its abundant natural resources, European settlers began to farm the area in the seventeenth century. The citizens took up arms during the Revolutionary War, serving as minutemen in the Somerset County Militia, protecting the strategic Stony Brook Pass. The town survived an existential crisis in 1924 as the state attempted and failed to convert the region into a massive water reservoir. Local author and historian Robert A. Mayers presents fascinating tales from throughout Watchung’s history.