The Jersey Devil

Travel Info
Driving Directions
Lodging
Public Transportation

Historical Groups
Burlington County
Historical Society
City of Burlington
Historical Society
Colonial Burlington
Foundation
Historic Yorkshire
Alliance
Oliver Cromwell
Black History Society

Historic Figures
William R. Allen
William J. Allinson
James H. Birch
Joseph Bloomfield
Elias Boudinot
Susan Bradford
Marguerite V. Burton
Henry C. Carey
Cyrus Bustill
Isaac Collins
James Fenimore Cooper
Oliver Cromwell
The Jersey Devil
Benjamin Franklin
William Franklin
Stephen Grellet
John Gummere
Samuel R. Gummere
James Healy
Patrick Healy
James Kinsey
James Lawrence
Lydia Sherman
The 3 Richard Smiths
Garret Dorset Wall
James Walter Wall

Assorted History
Board of Island Managers
Council of Proprietors
The Friendly Institution
The Mantas Tribe
Old Burlington Laws
Purchase from the Lenape
The Quakers

The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil is a mythical - or perhaps not so mythical - beast that has terrorized the small towns in the vast southern forests of New Jersey for centuries. Legend has it that one Mother Leeds, a Quakeress who was rumored to dabble in the occult, had borne 12 children, and upon finding herself pregnant a thirteenth time, cursed the unborn baby, saying that she hoped it came out a devil. Her wish was reportedly granted, as the newborn emerged with wings and hooves, and laid waste to the room before flying out a window into the woods.

The Jersey Devil is most often seen in the Pine Barrens, a forest preserve of more than a million acres, and rarely strays as far west as the towns and cities along the Delaware River. In the third week of January 1909, though, it was widely reported throughout Burlington, Camden, and Gloucster Counties. Burlington City was visited twice during the spree, on the 17th and 21st of January. The creature's footprints were found in the snow, both on the ground and on housetops.