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All the United States New Jersey Hope Jenny Jump State Forest

Jenny Jump State Forest

Local lore claims this park is named after a young woman who jumped off a cliff.

Hope, New Jersey

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Sarah Blake
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Jenny Jump State Forest   Jim Lukach on Flickr
Jenny Jump State Forest   Jim Lukach on Flickr
Jenny Jump State Forest   Famartin
Jenny Jump State Forest   Nicholas A. Tonelli on Flickr
Fairy Cave is an archaeological site within the park near Ghost Lake   Magcargoman / Atlas Obscura User
View of the Delaware Water Gap along the Summit Trail   Magcargoman / Atlas Obscura User
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About

New Jersey's Warren County offers many options for camping and taking that perfect picture of a rural wooded wonderland but few state forests have such a macabre history as the 4,466-acre Jenny Jump State Forest located in the town of Hope.

According to local lore, the state park derives its name from an unfortunate incident involving a girl named Jenny. Legend has it that long ago, the Minsi tribe of the Lenni Lenape came upon the young girl, Jenny, and her father along a mountain’s edge. Feeling threatened, Jenny's father yelled to her to escape: “Jump, Jenny, jump!” Other sources, however, say the name could simply be an Anglicized form of the area's original Lenape name.

Next to Jenny Jump Mountain there is an amusement park called the Land of Make Believe. In this park, a pair of scarecrows tells the tale of Jenny's demise. You can also see the same mountain Jenny supposedly jumped from as well as what the park claims was her home. The house holds a plaque recounting this tale.

Related Tags

Strange Names Forests Suicide Ecosystems

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Added By

Sarah Blake

Edited By

EricGrundhauser, lfebs2, Magcargoman

  • EricGrundhauser
  • lfebs2
  • Magcargoman

Published

January 20, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/jennyjump.html
  • http://www.hackettstownlibrary.org/local-history
  • https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/jenny-jump-state-forest/
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecdesignz/4752733040/
  • https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/145111158/
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/41179422?seq=1
  • http://www.uacnj.org/focus/Focus-Vol7-Iss1-1996.pdf
  • https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Guide_to_Green_New_Jersey/4ygb7nzKzvwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22jenny+jump%22+park+lenape&pg=PA54&printsec=frontcover
Jenny Jump State Forest
330 State Park Road
Hope, New Jersey, 07838
United States
40.912799, -74.922874
Get Directions

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Photo of New Jersey

New Jersey

United States

Places 158
Stories 33

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Independence Township, New Jersey

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New Jersey

United States

Places 158
Stories 33

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