Editing Weehawken, New Jersey (section)

===Hamilton Monument===
[[File:HamiltonBust.jpg|thumb|1935 bust of [[Alexander Hamilton]]]]
[[File:Hamilton-Burr duel sign in Weehawken, NJ IMG 6350.JPG|thumb|Historical marker of the [[Burr–Hamilton duel]] in Weehawken]]
[[File:Weehawken dueling grounds sign IMG 6353.JPG|250px|left|thumb|Weehawken dueling grounds historical marker, 2004]]
The Alexander Hamilton Monument on Hamilton Avenue, next to Hamilton Park, is the site of the second memorial to the [[Burr–Hamilton duel]] between [[Alexander Hamilton]] and [[Aaron Burr]]. The first, on the original duel site, was constructed in 1806 by the Saint Andrew Society, of which Hamilton had been a member. A 14-foot (4.3-m) [[marble]] [[cenotaph]], consisting of an [[obelisk]], topped by a flaming urn and a plaque with a quote from [[Horace]], surrounded by an iron fence, was raised about where Hamilton was believed to have fallen.<ref name="Demontreux">Willie. 2004. [http://duel2004.weehawkenhistory.org/Duel2004%20Monument.pdf "The Changing Face of the Hamilton Monument"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728172702/http://duel2004.weehawkenhistory.org/Duel2004%20Monument.pdf |date=July 28, 2011 }}. Weehawken Historical Commission. pp. 3–4.</ref> Duels continued to be fought at the site and the marble was slowly vandalized and removed for souvenirs, disappearing entirely by 1820. The tablet turned up in a junk store and found its way to the [[New-York Historical Society]] in [[Manhattan]], where it still resides.<ref>Demontreux, 2004, p. 4.</ref>

From 1820 to 1857, the site was marked by two stones, with the names Hamilton and Burr, placed where they were thought to have stood during the duel. When a road from [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] to [[Fort Lee, New Jersey|Fort Lee]] was built through the site in 1858, an inscription on a boulder where a mortally wounded Hamilton was thought to have rested—one of the many pieces of [[graffiti]] left by visitors—was all that remained. No primary accounts of the duel confirm the boulder anecdote. In 1870, railroad tracks were built directly through the site and the boulder was hauled to the top of the Palisades, where it remains today,<ref>Demontreux, 2004, p. 5.</ref> located just off the [[Boulevard East]].<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7333 The Hamilton-Burr Duel] The Historical Marker Database. Accessed August 1, 2010</ref> In 1894, an iron fence was built around the boulder, supplemented by a bust of Hamilton and a plaque. The bust was thrown over the cliff on October 14, 1934, by vandals and the head was never recovered;<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1934/10/15/archives/head-of-hamilton-bust-is-stolen-in-weehawken.html "Head of Hamilton Bust Is Stolen in Weehawken"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. October 15, 1934. Accessed August 5, 2008.</ref> a new bust was unveiled on July 12, 1935.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/13/archives/hamilton-bust-unveiled.html "Hamilton Bust Unveiled"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 13, 1935. Accessed August 5, 2008.</ref><ref>Demontreux, 2004, p. 6.</ref>

The plaque was stolen by vandals in the 1980s and an abbreviated version of the text was inscribed on the indentation left in the boulder, which remained until the early 1990s, when a [[granite]] pedestal was added in front of the boulder; the bust was moved to the top of the pedestal. New historical markers were added on July 11, 2004, the 200th anniversary of the duel.<ref>Demontreux, 2004, pp. 7–9.</ref><ref>[https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2004/07/16/monument-symposium-honor-200th-bicentennial-of-duel-lures-scholars-officials/ "Monument, symposium honor 200th Bicentennial of duel lures scholars, officials"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', July 16, 2004. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Soon after the completion of the re-enactment in Lincoln Harbor (see story at top), participants and spectators reconvened atop the Palisade in Weehawken's scenic Hamilton Park to dedicate two new plaques – one in honor of 'America's most famous duel,' and another acknowledging the other numerous 'Affairs of Honor' that took place near the location."</ref>