1. Tuckerton Wireless

2. The Tuckerton Wireless tower was built in 1912 and destroyed in 1955
The Tuckerton Wireless tower was built in 1912 and destroyed in It was built by a German company and was one of the first and most powerful Transatlantic stations. The tower was 820 feet tall and was the tallest structure in America. The tallest in the world was the Eiffel tower in France.

3. Giffordtown School House Tuckerton Historical Society Museum
Base of tower
Marker in front of building

4. The Tuckerton Wireless tower was owned by a French and German company
The Tuckerton Wireless tower was owned by a French and German company. It was erected by local labor on a scientifically chosen spot on the salt meadows near Tuckerton on what eventually became the site of Mystic Island. Germany used the French company to help receive permission to build in the United States. The U.S. was friendlier with France over Germany.
1916

5. The tower was prefabricated in Germany and shipped to New York
The tower was prefabricated in Germany and shipped to New York. It was then sent on a train to Tuckerton. Each piece took up an entire railcar. Then a road was created to bring the tower to the location. The road is now called Radio road.

6. After the sinking of the Titanic, it became clear that there was a need for transatlantic communication to ships. From the Tuckerton Wireless tower you could send a message to any ship or receiving tower across the world.

7. One of the first overseas broadcast was sent by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in 1914 to acknowledge US President Woodrow Wilson’s birthday. President Wilson sent a radiogram back congratulating them on the success of the tower.

8. This tower was important because you could send and receive communication over the heads of your enemy and it could not be tampered with. There were no wires on the ground that could be cut. On September 9, 1914, the President ordered the tower seized due to our involvement in World War I. Germans still ran the tower, but had US censors with them. On February 8, 1917 all German personnel were ordered to leave the station.

9. After the war, the United States gave the tower to the French as part of the Treaty of Versailles. The French took over the tower for a few weeks until they made a deal with the Radio Corporation of America, RCA. They gave shortwave broadcasts until 1949, when it was closed down because it was obsolete.

10. The tower was demolished on December 28, 1955
The tower was demolished on December 28, The land was sold to a developer to make Mystic Island.