Landmarks, Memorials, Buildings and Street Names of ... - CECOM

Main PostNestled in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Fort Monmouth lies fiftymiles south of Manhattan, sixty miles northeast of Philadelphia andabout five miles from the Atlantic Ocean. 1125.44 acres make up thepost, which includes hundreds of housing units, dozens of administrativebuildings, several laboratory buildings, and an eighteen-hole golfcourse. 636.10 of those 1125.44 acres comprise what is known as theFort’s “Main Post.” iThat land once featured the MonmouthPark Racetrack, which flourishedbetween 1870 and 1893. ii Thegovernment first leased 468 acres of thesite in May 1917 from Melvin VanKeuren of Eatontown for use in trainingSignal Corps Soldiers en route toEurope. iii The Army considered the Old Monmouth Park Racetrack c.1873-1874land, portions of which were in use as a potato farm at the time, idealas it was close to both river and rail transportation. iv The site initiallywas called “Camp Little Silver,” based merely on its location. Thecamp achieved semi-permanent status and the new name “CampAlfred Vail” on September 15, 1917, just three months after its establishment.Vail, an associate of telegraph inventor Samuel F. B. Morse,helped Morse to develop commercial telegraphy. The post operatedwith semi-permanent status until August 1925, when it was designateda permanent installation and was named Fort Monmouth. The namehonors the men and women of the American Revolution who died inthe Battle of Monmouth Court House in 1778. vParks and MemorialsCowan ParkCowan Park is located inside the East Gate nearRussel Hall. Dedicated on June 24, 1961 byGeneral Orders Number 48, Cowan Park memorializesCOL Arthur S. Cowan, who commandedCamp Alfred Vail from September 16, 1917-June 28, 1918 and Fort Monmouth fromSeptember 2, 1929- April 30, 1937. COL Cowanconsolidated the Signal Corps Laboratories andis remembered for his astute leadership duringthe formative years of the Signal School. viLandmarks and Place Names at Fort MonmouthCOL Arthur S. Cowan