The Highlands was first sighted by Henry Hudson himself and is known as
the place where the Jersey shore begins. Its beaches are perennially
crowded with sunbathers, swimmers and families. But buried under the
sands, the Highlands hides sins from the past. Sandy Hook claimed North
America's first European murder victim, a passenger on Hudson's Half
Moon. During Prohibition, mobsters supplied Bay Avenue businesses with
plenty of booze. A man accused of shooting another with a cannon
performed an Old West style jailbreak. And sometimes, soldiers stationed
along the shores caused more trouble than they prevented. Read about
these and other wicked deeds committed in New Jersey's Highlands.