40° 25' 21.912" N   /   74° 13' 41.058" W

MATAWAN

MONMOUTH

9  |  33A

NOTES

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Matawan is a perfect example of how our project evolved during its course.

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Originally our ninth location visit, our goal at the time was simply to capture an unmistakable image to prove that we were at the spot, which meant that we were searching for the town's name in text above all else. Matawan has a set of lovely carved signs as you enter the town (one even has the old train depot in the background), but as the project started to gain some soul we realized that having the place name written was secondary to documenting a slice of history.

Matawan famously experienced multiple shark attacks in the summer of 1916 (there are a couple great books out there that dive into the details), and this train overpass is only a couple hundred yards from where the first of the attacks took place. Some years ago an anonymous artist tracked the tides and was able to sneak out and paint the now famous shark mural along a quiet stretch of road.