Today in Philly Tech News history 10/30/1938: Orson Welles' broadcast stirs up real-life Grover's Mill, NJ

Tom Paine



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I've always been a great admirer of Orson Welles, and yesterday was the 75th anniversary of his famous "War of the Worlds" radio production.

What I did not know until reading an article a few years ago was that the place identified as the Martians' initial landing place, Grover's Mill, NJ, is a real place. Not really a town, as I understand it, but a location in West Windsor Township, not too far from Princeton. Quite a crowd reportedly actually showed up at Grover's Mill that night to see what was going on. There is a monument there, and there are events planned in the area this weekend to observe the anniversary.

Also see this piece the Inquirer ran yesterday.

This is as close as I can come to identifying the spot on Google Maps, Grover's Mill Road. There is also a Grover's Mill Pond.




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