A double-headed train pushes north (railroad east) across the 1,000 ft. long Matawan Creek embankment. Some of the pilings of the Matawan Creek Trestle of the NY&LB are still visible in the water. This trestle was built in the 1870s and was considered to be a railroading marvel of its time. The pilings were driven fifty feet down into the marsh muck but never reached solid ground. Matawan’s claim to fame is the 1916 shark attacks which inspired “Jaws”. In this tidal creek three people were attacked by a shark. Two of the attacks proved fatal and those occurred 200 yards downstream from this spot. The body of one of those victims, Lester Stillwell, was found here at the trestle days after the attacks. The trestle later burned down in 1946; arson was suspected. A temporary, signal-track timber trestle was quickly erected in just 10 days! It was used until the embankment was completed in 1953.
