New Jersey’s mysterious hidden underwater town

So much of New Jersey has been written about or reported on, so very little of what there is to know about our state is hidden.

We have so much packed into our little piece of real estate in this massive country with so much history that goes along with it.

Occasionally you can stumble upon something curious that very few people know about. Such is the case of the buried underwater town at the bottom of our third-largest lake.

SEE MORE: How healthy is New Jersey compared to other states? Check out this report

Just about everyone is familiar with or at least heard of Round Valley Reservoir, but did you know about the town of Round Valley?

Unless you are a real old-timer or have heard stories from a local there, you wouldn't have known about it.

The town was home to a handful of farming families but was buried under 55 billion gallons of water in the late 1950s.

Sixteen homes and several barns were moved out of the small town and several other buildings were demolished to make way for the reservoir.

The valley was flooded to provide water to residents of the surrounding area of Lebanon Township in Hunterdon County.

In 1960 the New Jersey Water Authority constructed three large dams and flooded Round Valley with water pumped in from the South Branch Raritan River, creating the reservoir.

At its deepest point the lake reaches a depth of 180 feet and has claimed the lives of 26 people since 1971. In six of those cases, the bodies were never recovered, which is why some people call it the "Bermuda Triangle" of New Jersey.

Some of the people who lived in the small town of Round Valley had been there for generations and were reluctant to leave their land. As you can imagine, when the state notified them that they had no choice, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Their story was chronicled here in this interesting documentary

When you visit the reservoir today, it's hard to imagine that over 60 years ago it was a fertile valley with farms, homes and families.

Today it just looks like a scenic park surrounding a beautiful lake that's always been there. It's a great spot for hiking, picnicking, boating, fishing and swimming. Divers love to explore the bottom where some foundations to those old homes and building can still be found.

If you believe it is the "Bermuda Triangle" of New Jersey, you might think the ghosts of those people whose land was taken by the state would have some answers to the mysteries of what's happened there over the past 60 plus years.

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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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