Several years of lobbying and study by the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs led to the preservation of the Palisades from commercial
development and to the creation of
the Palisades Interstate
Park Commission by New Jersey and New York. This stone watchtower, a replica of
ancient watchtowers built on the Rhine River in Germany, was built on the
Palisades Cliffs overlooking the Hudson River to honor the successful efforts
of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Club in stopping the quarrying
industry from blasting the Palisades Cliffs to pieces. The watchtower was
dedicated on April 30, 1929.
The plaque reads:
THIS FEDERATION PARK AND THIS STRUCTURE ARE DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S
CLUBS AND OF THOSE
MEN AND WOMEN WHO AIDED IN THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IN PRESERVING THESE PALISADES CLIFFS FROM DESTRUCTION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
WHO CREATED THEM AND THE ENNOBLING OF THE GENERATIONS WHICH MAY HENCEFORTH
ENJOY THEM.
The watchtower can be reached via a path that starts at Stateline Lookout
on the Palisades Parkway heading North.
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