Somerset Hills 9/11 Remembrance and Memorials

Twenty-five years ago, on the clear, crisp morning at 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, the first plane hit the North Tower, and our community was changed forever. Please take a moment to remember those 21 residents from Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, and Peapack who never came home that day. This is our tribute to the families. #neverforget.

The family we lost on 9/11 in the Somerset Hills.

2026 9-11 Remembrance Ceremonies

Somerset County Courthouse Green – Somerset County’s expected 9/11 remembrance ceremony will be held Friday, September 11, 2026, at 8:46 a.m. outside the Historic Courthouse in Somerville, honoring the 39 county residents lost in the attacks.

Bernards Township – Bernards Township’s 9/11 Memorial Ceremony will be held Friday, September 11, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Harry Dunham Park 9/11 Memorial, 490 Somerville Road in Basking Ridge, honoring the 18 township residents lost in the attacks.

Westfield – Westfield’s 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony will be held Friday, September 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial on North Avenue at East Broad Street, featuring prayers, a ceremonial wreath, “Taps,” and the reading of the names of Westfield residents lost in the attacks.

Liberty State Park in Jersey City offers views of the Manhattan skyline and has a memorial dedicated to the victims of 9/11. No official 2026 ceremony at Liberty State Park’s Empty Sky Memorial has been announced yet, although the memorial will be open on Friday, September 11, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

#neverforget

Bernards Township was one of the hardest-hit communities in the state on 9/11. The 18 township residents lost that day were the fourth-highest total of any town in New Jersey, after Jersey City, Hoboken, and Middletown Township.

KEVIN DENNIS-Peapack — David Campbell-51-Basking-Ridge

Seven others who perished in the attacks had connections to the Somerset Hills area, including:

Debbie Fischer Gibbon of Long Valley, a 1975 Ridge High School graduate
Barbara G. Edwards of Las Vegas, Nev., who had lived in the township in the 1980s.
All of whom had relatives in the Somerset Hills
- James Berger
- Thomas E. Gorman
- Anthony Infante Jr.
- Thomas P. Knox
- Joseph Mascali

Harry Dunham Park in Liberty Corner, New Jersey

The nearby Liberty Corner firehouse on Church Street in Liberty Corner also has a 9/11 memorial that honors the firefighters who died saving others that day. To help fund the memorial, the volunteer fire company made available for purchase 343 memorial bricks, representing the 343 Fire Department of the New York City Fire Department who gave their lives in the terrorist attack.

The *Tribute in Lights* memorial beacons will again honor the fallen for one night on September 11th. Our view is from the pier in Jersey City.

A memorial plaque was placed outside the Basking Ridge train station on Depot Place.

UPDATE:
Looking for the Light:

The MLH Project released a new piece on the community members we lost. For the first time, learn about the people and their families in one place.

Then & Now: Post 9/11-Somerset Hills Family Friends and Neighbors & Their Legacy

If there is a foundation or supporting organization honoring those lost, please let us know, and we will update their legacy here with the good work being done in their honor. Submit Here.