Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

2021 Lighthouse Challenge►

Fort Mott was near the second stop for us on the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey. Every October the NJ Lighthouse Society runs the challenge in order to raise funds for the state’s historic lighthouses and maritime sites. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was mostly virtual. In 2021, it was back on. My friend and I decided to spend the full weekend, stopping at every site on the list and collecting the souvenir piece. In previous years, I’d only finished sections of the course.

Patty and I had lived through some tough times in 2021 and were ready for the brief respite afforded by Lighthouse Challenge weekend. I would also be reporting on our odyssey for my week-long takeover of the Jersey Collective. After visiting Finn’s Point, we took a quick detour down the road to Fort Mott.

Detour to Fort Mott►

The military built Fort Mott as part of the Harbor Defenses of the Delaware following the American Civil War. Fort Mott, along with Fort Delaware and Fort DuPont, formed a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River. Like most forts from that era, it never fired its guns in battle.

The government stationed troops there from 1897 to 1922 and maintenance crews from 1922 to 1943. Fort Mott was disarmed in 1943 and transferred to the New Jersey State Parks Department as a historic site. Visitors can take a self-guided walking tour of the batteries.

2021 Lighthouse Challenge posts►

• Tinicum Light
• Finn’s Point
• Fort Mott
• East Point Light
• Cape May Point
• Cape May NWR
• Tatham
• Ocean City
• Absecon Lighthouse
• Tuckerton Seaport
• Barnegat Museum
• Barnegat Lighthouse
• Squan
• Sea Girt Lighthouse
• Navesink Twin Lights
• Sandy Hook Lighthouse

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Location: 454 Fort Mott Rd, Pennsville, NJ
Designation: State Park
Date designated/established: June 24, 1951
Date of my visit: October 16, 2021