Talk:Jenny Jump State Forest

Name?

This place has an unusual name. Some information about that would be cool. Ubermonkey 19:22, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

I used to visit Jenny Jump Forest when I was a kid, and as I was told by my nanny at that time, the forest was after an incident - back when Native Americans were scalping the Settlers for the British. Jenny and her father lived in the mountain area, and when her Father caught wind that the Native Americans were coming there way, he told her to run and jump off the cliff - he'd rather she die from that than suffer a scalping. Legend has it she did jump from the cliff and that her body was never found. That's the old wives tale version I was told as a child. --Ozgod 04:53, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I also noticed that there is an Oz character (yes, from the L. Frank Baum-originated series) named Jenny Jump. I wonder if the name of said character took inspiration from the name of the forest or the original legend. 204.52.215.107 (talk) 15:34, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

Name origins

I've removed the following section from the article, as it's written in an unencyclopedic tone and weakly sourced. If anyone has access to these sources, though, perhaps some form of it could be added back? -- Khazar2 (talk) 17:20, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

MORE INFO: There are actually several different versions about how Jenny Jump Mountain got its name. Some of these stories have been passed down from one generation to the next. To separate truth from folklore and legend is impossible to tell. If you were to ask some of the local people who live nearby, you will get several different stories. What follows are the most prevalent stories. The most common story, which comes from the 1747 diary of a Swedish missionary named Sven Roseen, tells of a nine-year-old girl, named Jenny Lee. She lived in a small white cabin with her father far below the mountain at the bottom of the “cliffs”. The area back then was populated by the Minsi Tribe of the Lenni Lenape Indians, who were for the most part friendly to the European Dutch colonists and the Moravians who immigrated from their community in Herrnhut, Saxony (Germany) and who settled in that area, and the Iroquois Indians (not as friendly) to the North. It was in the Spring or Summer of the 1700s or earlier, and Jenny was out picking berries on the mountain one sunny afternoon, when some Indians startled her. Jenny’s father, who was nearby, yelled out to her, “Jump Jenny, Jump!” He obviously feared for her life. So Jenny, the ever-obedient child, jumped and thus fell to her death. This happened at the top of the mountain where a large outcropping of rock and some very large boulders are located. (From this vantage point, one can look West and see the scenic views of The Kittatinny Mountain Range and Valley, and The Delaware Water Gap.) A little further down the mountain, looking East, lays The Great Meadow.)

Another version of this story is similar, except that in this story, Jenny and her father were transporting some home-brew on his cart over the mountain to sell near the Great Meadow. Jenny sat on the top of the load and attempted to keep the barrels in place. As the farmer and his daughter neared the mountain crest, they spied several Indians. The men were almost upon them when her father called frantically, "Jump, Jenny Jump!" Instantly the girl leaped from the cart and ran away, or fell to her death.

Thus, another tale tells of an older Jenny, who was in love with Dr. Frank Landis, who practiced medicine in the village. Arthur Moreland, another local, who also wanted Jenny's attention, offered her half his fortune if she would marry him. She told him not to come see her again. She was to wed the doctor. On the day of her wedding to Dr. Frank Landis, she visited her favorite spot, a mossy area between steep jagged rocks on the nearby mountain. She unexpectedly met Arthur Moreland there. Jenny became upset and frightened when he asked her again to be his wife. She backed toward the edge of the precipice. Arthur called to her to come back. "I'll jump," said Jenny. "You'll be killed, said Arthur. “ Jenny then remarked, "Death would be preferable to dishonor. If you come one step nearer...." The young man stepped forward and Jenny Lee jumped from the high cliff. Later, in the moonlight the doctor found her lying below the rocks, bleeding. He refreshed her with water from the mountain stream and a loving kiss. Then he carried her home. She was badly bruised, her shoulder was dislocated and her arm broken. A limb of a sapling, which broke her fall, had saved her life.

The last bit of information, suggests the Lenape Indians had a name of their own for the mountain, and to the Dutch Settlers in the area of Hope, NJ, sounded to them like Jenny Jump. Who really knows?

Some still claim that Jenny can be seen wondering the mountain at night in the fog lit by the full moon, in a dress of blue and white. While we may never know the true origin of how Jenny Jump Mountain got its name, these make for great stories and I am sure will still be told many generations from now.

Most of the above information was sourced from the Background of the Township of Independence, Warren County, New Jersey. The Independence Township, N.J. Bicentennial Committee of 1976, and from the Hackettstown Library.

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