NJCC: Weisshorn Traditional Geocache

North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge
Checkpoint Weisshorn



Welcome to the Union Furnace Preserve in Union Twp, NJ. This cache will fulfill the “Weisshorn” requirement for the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge.

This 97 acre nature preserve located in Union Township was named after and listed on the historic register for the colonial ironworks that flourished here from 1742-1781. During 1742, William Allen and Joseph Turner, both of Philadelphia, converted the site into the Union Ironworks. They set up two separate enterprises. One was called Union Forge in High Bridge; the other was Union Furnace. The ironworks provided employment to the local community including millers, miners, shopkeepers, and blacksmiths. Both facilities produced shoes for farm animals, farm implements, and military hardware during the Revolutionary War. Allen and Turner were both Loyalists who fled during the war. The ironworks were taken over by Robert Taylor, who founded the Taylor-Wharton Foundry. When Taylor-Wharton ceased operating it was the second oldest business in North America, following the Hudson Bay Company of Canada. While he continued the operation at Union Forge, Union Furnace was acquired as part of the Union Farm. The furnace met its final fate in the 1950’s when Spruce Run Reservoir was constructed, because the actual site of the furnace is under the reservoir. The County acquired the property in 1980 via a partial donation by Dr. & Mrs. Heber Donohoe, college professors who used the land for teaching college students about biology.

Official NJCC Information

The Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) are sponsoring the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge series. This challenge is intended to take geocachers on a tour of Northern New Jersey (loosely defined as north of I-78) while finding caches placed by members of the NNJC. On the tour, we hope you will find North Jersey an interesting and beautiful part of our great state.

Scattered around the area are 26 checkpoint caches and a final challenge cache - North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge (GC1NNJC). The names of the individual checkpoint caches are based on a phonetic alphabet using mountain names since North Jersey is the mountainous region of the state. The 26 checkpoints do not have to be completed in any particular order. See the NJCheckpoint bookmark for the complete list of caches.

Hidden within the 26 checkpoint caches are numbers to be used in determining the coordinates of the final North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge cache – please be sure to note them while you are there.

While there are no special logging requirements for the 26 checkpoint caches, there are special logging requirements for the final challenge cache. Complete information can be found on the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge (GC1NNJC) cache page.

This cache is certified North Jersey