View source for Sandy Hook Proving Ground

{{Short description|Former US Army facility in New Jersey}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Sandy Hook Proving Ground
| native_name = United States
| partof = <!-- for elements within a larger site -->
| location = [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]]
| nearest_town = [[Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey]]
| country = United States
| image = Sandy Hook 2162931823 03621591c1 o crop.jpg
| image_size = 350px
| alt = 
| caption = Entrance (1911)
| type = [[Proving ground]]
| coordinates = {{coord|40|28|2.852|N|73|59|57.203|W|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = USA New Jersey Monmouth County
| pushpin_mapsize = 
| pushpin_map_alt = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of the Proving Ground on Sandy Hook
| pushpin_relief = yes
| ownership = [[United States Department of War]]
| operator = {{flag|United States Army|1876}}
| controlledby = U.S. Ordnance Department
| open_to_public = Yes, with restrictions
| site_other_label = Adjoining facility
| site_other = [[Fort Hancock, New Jersey|Fort Hancock]]
| site_area = <!-- area of site m2, km2 square mile etc -->
| built = {{Start date|1874|8|7}}
| used = 1876-{{End date|1919}}
| builder = {{flag|United States Army|1874}}
| materials = 
| height = <!-- height of tallest part, not above sea level -->
| length = <!-- for border fences or other DMZs -->
<!-- begin test site information -->
| other_tests_label = <!-- changed from "Other tests" to wording of your choice --> 
| other_tests = Artillery
| remediation = None
| image3 = 
| alt3 = 
| caption3 = 
<!--  end test site information  -->
| fate = Facilities relocated; buildings abandoned
| condition = Poor
| website = 
| module = 
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed                 = yes
| name                  = Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District
| nrhp_type             = nhl
| nrhp_type2            = cp
| nocat                 = yes
| partof                = [[Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District]]
| partof_refnum         = 80002505
| district_map          =
| visitation_num        = 6,021,713
| visitation_year       = 2014
| visitation_ref        = <ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Recreation Visitation Report by Years: 2004 to 2014|url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Recreation%20Visitation%20By%20Park%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year)|website=NPS Stats National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=28 December 2015}}</ref>
| designated_nrhp_type  = {{start date|1982|12|17}}
| designated_nrhp_type2 = {{start date|1980|4|24}}
}}
}}

The '''Sandy Hook Proving Ground''' was a military facility along the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[New Jersey]] established by the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] on August 7, 1874, to serve as the [[United States Army]]'s first [[proving ground]] for the testing of [[Weapon|ordnance]] and [[materiel]]. The facility was located at [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]], a narrow coastal [[Spit (landform)|spit]] of land, approximately {{convert|6|mi}} in length and 0.5 miles (varying between 0.1 and 1 miles) wide, in [[Middletown Township, New Jersey|Middletown Township]] in [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth County]]. The facility was operated in conjunction with the adjoining [[Fort Hancock, New Jersey|Fort Hancock]]. Essentially abandoned in 1919 for a larger facility, the area was left to degrade and most of the structures still remain today. The proving ground and parts of Fort Hancock are now property of the National Park Service and mostly closed to the public.

==Background==
The Civil War, just ten years earlier, had introduced several new innovations in weaponry. Rifled cannon fired pointed-nosed projectiles farther and faster than cannonballs and ironclad warships with mounted guns that could destroy the walls of a traditional fort. The Army needed a place to test its own new weapons. The Sandy Hook Peninsula met the Army's needs for an experimental testing area for heavy ordnance and was on land that was already government owned, which provided flat and open areas for testing. Sandy Hook was distant enough to be far from towns but close enough to large cities and transportation by water.<ref name=NPS-SHPG>{{cite web|title=A place to try out new weapons|url=https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/shpg.htm|website=The Sandy Hook Proving Ground|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref> In 1874, most of Sandy Hook was covered with holly and cedar forests and tidal marshes which still cover a large percentage of it today. Most of the Federal development of the Hook was concentrated on the northern end. A huge granite [[Fort at Sandy Hook|five-bastioned fort]] near the northern end of the Hook dominated the area, even though it was still incomplete and was destined never to be completed. In addition to the fort, there was the Engineer's wharf, erected on the western shore in 1857, to accommodate the fort's construction, the Engineers' shop and quarters, and the [[Fort Hancock, U.S. Life Saving Station|Sandy Hook Life-Saving Station]], established on the northeastern shore in 1854. It was decided to lay out the Proving Ground on the eastern margin of the Hook, just below the southeast bastion of a Civil War-era fort. The firing range was to extend southward along the beach with the facilities consisting of the wooden gun platforms of the proof battery, a bombproof, a frame instrument house, and sand butts on the firing range.<ref name=NPS-SHPG/><ref>{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form|url={{NHLS url|id=80002505}}|website=National Park Service|publisher=Department of the Interior|accessdate=28 December 2015|page=2}}</ref>

After its formal establishment in 1874, it was nearly two years before facilities were completed that allowed staffing and testing to reach its potential. Because of the period of time involved, the bulk of the weaponry designed, built and installed for [[Seacoast defense in the United States|coastal defense]] under both the [[Board of Fortifications|Taft and Endicott Boards]] were tested at Sandy Hook. Over time, several red brick buildings, including structures used as maintenance buildings and an Officers Club, were built as part of the Proving Ground. When Fort Hancock was commissioned in 1895 as a Coast Artillery Post, it shared the peninsula with the Proving Ground.

==Proof Battery==
The "Proof Battery," where new and converted guns would be fired, was built at the northeastern end of Sandy Hook along the ocean side. The firing range extended {{convert|3,000|yd|m}} south along the beach and for long range test firing, guns would be aimed out to sea to provide the necessary distance. The first test firing took place in October 1874, when a {{convert|10|in|cm|adj=on}} [[Rodman gun|Rodman]] smoothbore cannon, converted into an {{convert|8|in|cm|adj=on}} rifled gun, was fired. After firing 700 rounds, the Ordnance Board found the gun to still be "sound and serviceable."

To test the guns' striking power, armor-piercing projectiles were fired at large, thick iron plates, similar to those used in making warships. These tests proved that rifled Rodman guns could penetrate the armor but only at limited distances. In the 1880s, new high- powered, breech-loading rifled cannons made of steel were introduced. They had greater ranges and more striking power. When new models of guns and mortars passed their ordnance tests, they were mass-produced at gun foundries around the country and then sent to Sandy Hook for testing before being issued for use. Many new types of [[gunpowder]], [[Shell (projectile)|artillery shells]], fuses and primers used to explode projectiles were also tested.<ref name=NPS-SHPG/><ref name=NPSbrochure>{{cite web|author1=National Park Service|title=Sandy Hook Proving Ground|url=http://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/upload/SH%20proving%20Ground%20sitebulletin.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307201059/http://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/upload/SH%20proving%20Ground%20sitebulletin.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 7, 2016|website=Gateway National Recreation Area|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|accessdate=29 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form|url={{NHLS url|id=80002505}}|website=National Park Service|publisher=Department of the Interior|accessdate=28 December 2015|page=8}}</ref>

In 1900, Proof Battery was relocated because of Fort Hancock's need for the location to build a gun battery. The new Battery was built southeast of its old location.<ref name=NPS-SHPG/> The eastern end of the new Proof Battery was designed for test firing machine guns, field and siege guns, and [[howitzer]]s – larger guns like a {{convert|14|in|cm|adj=on}} caliber – were test fired at the west end of the battery. In the middle were mounted a variety of guns from {{convert|1 to 12|in|cm|adj=on}} caliber. When a gun was fired, the gun crew stood behind {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=on}} thick concrete walls in the niches in case the gun blew up during testing and personnel could watch from atop a {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=on}} observation tower behind the traverses.<ref name=NPSbrochure/>{{clear left}}

==Base railroad==
In 1889, a [[narrow gauge]] railroad was constructed to bring equipment and guns from the docks to the proof battery. In 1893, a [[standard gauge]] railroad was completed to the mainland and connected with commercial railroad lines that were originally built to allow civilians from steamships to travel down the shore. It is believed that the [[New Jersey Southern Railroad]] had a dock in Horseshoe Cove. The train would then take the tourists that came from New York City to destinations including Long Branch.

[[File:Sandy Hook gun platforms.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Abandoned gun platforms and traverses (protective walls, seen on the right) of the Sandy Hook Proving Ground.  Soldiers used a 20-foot [[gantry crane]] on rails to lift guns and carriages onto the platforms to be tested, or "proved". These platforms were part of the "new" Proof Battery, established in 1901 because of boundary disputes with [[Fort Hancock, New Jersey|Fort Hancock]], replacing the original proof battery, which operated from 1874 to 1900.<ref>Descriptive display at Sandy Hook. Accessed: September 2, 2010</ref>]]

When Fort Hancock did not want civilians near its facilities, the civilian railroad was moved to a dock in the Spermaceti Cove vicinity and later removed altogether.<ref name=NPSbrochure/><ref name="railroad"/> Later, the Sandy Hook Proving Ground took over the railroad on the Hook,<ref name=NPSbrochure/><ref name=railroad>{{cite web|title=Fort Hancock Railroad|url=http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/milrr/fthancock.html|website=Military Railroads of the New York Metropolitan Area|accessdate=28 December 2015}}</ref> and utilized it for passenger, troop train, and railway gun movements. This also allowed for interchange with Class 1 railroads at [[Highlands, New Jersey]]. The Sandy Hook Proving Ground's engine was named "General Rodman". When they left circa 1920, the railroad operation was transferred to the engineer unit at Fort Hancock.

==Final years==
Sandy Hook Proving Ground became a permanent installation in 1903 and continued to test weapons through [[World War I]]. During the war, the site was commanded by [[Colden Ruggles]], who later served as the Army's [[Chief of Ordnance of the United States Army|Chief of Ordnance]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/3335*.html |title=Colden L'H Ruggles in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Volumes III-VIII |last=Thayer |first=Bill |website=Bill Thayer's Web Site |publisher=Bill Thayer |location=Chicago, IL |date=May 5, 2015 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biographical Register"}}}}</ref> A dual military command existed with the Sandy Hook Proving Ground &ndash; contained within the site of Fort Hancock &ndash; continuing to test ordnance equipment while the [[U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps|Coast Artillery Corps]] exercised the [[Harbor Defense Command|harbor defense mission]] for New York Harbor.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form|url={{NHLS url|id=80002505}}|website=National Park Service|publisher=Department of the Interior|accessdate=28 December 2015|page=3}}</ref> However, as guns could hit targets further and further away, Sandy Hook lacked enough space to test new long-range guns. In 1919, when Sandy Hook could no longer contain the ever-increasing range of larger and more powerful weapons, testing was moved to the [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]] in [[Aberdeen, Maryland]].

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:FortDrumSandyHook.jpg|Twin [[14-inch gun M1909|14-inch (356 mm) gun]] turret for [[Fort Drum (El Fraile Island)|Fort Drum]] undergoing tests at Sandy Hook Proving Ground.
File:SandyHookProofBattery1900.jpg|The Proof Battery circa 1900.
File:Guns at Sandy Hook.jpg|8" (203&nbsp;mm), 10" (254&nbsp;mm), and 12" (305&nbsp;mm) guns on [[barbette]] carriages at Sandy Hook
File:Aiming 14 gun, Sandy Hook, Bain News Service.jpg|A [[14-inch gun M1907|14" (356 mm) disappearing gun]] being tested at Sandy Hook
</gallery>

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sandy Hook Proving Ground}}
*[http://www.thefortatsandyhook.net/provground.asp Sandy Hook Proving Ground]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060504031819/http://www.nps.gov/gate/shu/shu_history.htm National Park Service: History of the Sandy Hook Unit]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040720082718/http://www.geocities.com/nycforts/SandyHook.html Sandy Hook Proving Ground / Fort Hancock pictures]

{{US Proving Grounds}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Military installations in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Sandy Hook, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Proving grounds]]
[[Category:Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1874 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:1919 disestablishments in New Jersey]]