Historic Happenings Blog

Sunday, March 22 – Morris County Lightning Strike Ends in Death and Destruction 1926 Picatinny Arsenal explosions continue for days MORRISTOWN, NJ – When lightning struck the Navy surplus cache at Lake Denmark Powder Depot on a hot July evening,1926, millions of pounds of explosives detonated turning the forested lands into a lunar landscape complete with craters. In addition to structural and landscape devastation, loss of life, and loss of military resources, the event is considered one of the worst manmade explosions in U.S. history. Join us on Sunday, March 22, at 1:30 p.m. as Picatinny Arsenal Cultural Resource Manager Jason Huggan describes how the local landscape and the additional storage of ammunition and explosives left over from World War I intensified the disaster lending the site a war-zone appearance.  He also discusses the sweeping legislation and munition's operational changes that resulted from the disaster. Additionally, Huggan will share recently discovered and d...

Tuesday, March 17 – Sussex County     Come and enjoy the March Meeting of the  Colonel Henry Ryerson Civil War Round Table  on March 17, 2020, at 7:30 pm, at the Bristol Glen facility, 200 Bristol Glen Drive, Newton, New Jersey, in the Town Hall room. Admission is free, but donations appreciated. “History and Layout of Picatinny Arsenal prior to its start in 1880” by Jason Huggan.      U.S. Army Picatinny Arsenal is located in the Highlands of northwestern Morris County. Picatinny is situated on approximately 5,853 acres and stretches northwards from Route 15 towards Green Pond. The Arsenal specializes in the research, development, acquisition, and lifecycle of advanced conventional weapon systems and ammunition. The Cultural Resources Program (CRP) located in the Environmental Affairs Division of the Directorate of Public Works manages the historic structures, buildings, districts, and archaeological sites located ac...