Full disclosure: The Tri-State Monument does not actually mark where the borders of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet, as is sometimes claimed. Confusion is natural. Bronze U.S. Coastal and Geodetic Survey discs and engraved granite markers give an appearance of authority and accuracy. However, as the nearby Witness Monument reveals, the state line actually intersects in the middle of the Delaware River, approximately 475 feet west of the Tri-States Monument. You’ve been warned, especially if it’s literal.
Also known as the Tri-States Rock, this monument was installed in 1942 to replace an earlier non-permanent or damaged marker. A “Tri-States Monument” approximately 0.5 cubic yards in size is carved out of the bedrock on the north face. The top is engraved with the initials of the three states and grooves symbolizing state boundaries. The Federal Survey Disc, a triangulation station now under the jurisdiction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was created in the same year.
Like the Tri-State Monument, the Witness Monument, located 7 meters away, was first carved in 1882 and installed in its current location in 1942. “Border Monument” and earlier dates are inscribed on what are also called reference monuments, along with verbal descriptions. Marker location relative to Tri-State Monument and Tri-State True Tri-Point. Also recorded for posterity are the names of the three commissioners from New Jersey and New York who certified the locations of the two monuments, as well as the surveyors from each state.
The granite marker is located at a location known as Carpenter’s Point. Founded in 1856, Laurel Grove Cemetery is located at the tip of a short peninsula between the Delaware and Neversink rivers. Apart from its geopolitical importance, Carpenter’s Point has good transportation links. Although it’s located above Interstate 84, it’s a quiet place to view the Delaware River.
Know before you go
If you are using GPS to navigate to the Tri-States Monument, we recommend using the place name or cemetery address (247 East Main Street) as your destination. Geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude) may direct visitors to a location on Interstate 84 above the monument. Entrance to Laurel Grove Cemetery is from US-6 (East Main Street) just west of the bridge over the Neversink River. The internal road is one-way clockwise and there is a parking lot near the monument. You can also park at the Cemetery Road exit at South Street and High Street and walk 800 meters to the monument.
Tri-States Monument is located near the east bank of the Delaware River. The descent from the car park and subsequent return is rocky and moderately steep, although usually manageable. Extreme caution is required especially when water levels are high, such as after spring thaw or heavy rain. Although the Delaware River appears calm, Port Jervis averages 7,900 cubic feet of water per second, all flowing toward the Atlantic Ocean.
