Jacob’s Ladder in Peapack: Local Lore

To expand on an earlier post:

The PLOT THICKENS… there’s a 2nd Jacob’s Ladder!

Mr. Local History Archives - Jacobs Ladder

So I kept digging about Jacob’s Ladder. Not that I wanted to, but the internet has its way of bringing information right to my doorstep. It seems a few of you who spent your childhood in the region realize that the Jacob’s Ladder mentioned in Weird NJ isn’t the REAL Jacob’s Ladder, but a rendition of what they wanted you to believe. How about that! I was stunned at first, too, until I got a second email. Then a third. All indicating that the Jacob’s Ladder mentioned above is not the downward-spiraling woods-and-water death-trapdrop they remembered.

It went down and down into a ravine with little waterfalls sliding down rock walls, and at the bottom, a long stretch of path through the ravine, so far down it was always in shadow,” wrote one reply. “I never got to the end of the path, though it seemed that I walked a long way. The only reason I know it was called Jacob’s Ladder was that there was a tiny little sign at the entrance. I never saw anyone else down there; probably most people didn’t know it was there…it was beyond the last house on the road, beyond the paved road, and you’d have to be on foot to find it, I think. It was very mysterious, to me, as a child…..” he wrote.

The other writer, who definitely would have known, wrote me to say Jacob’s Ladder likely refers to one of the oldest children’s toys I know. From the web, Jacob’s Ladder is an old toy made of six wooden blocks connected by ribbons. If you take only the top piece and turn it, the pieces beneath it will turn alternately to the left and right, then fall. It descends quickly for a short time, levels out to allow a diagonal ridge to force any runoff to the side of the road, and then descends steeply again, only to repeat. These could be considered the ladder steps. It was almost impassable by the end of the 50s.”

While I didn’t find the sign, I certainly found the area. And it’s in Peapack, not Bernardsville. Ah, our childhood… things looked so different then!

If you hear of any other tales. Or, if you’d like to elaborate on your local lore of Somerset Hills,emailp ml. Click Here. Don’t worry. They’ll know who to give it to.

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