Carranza Memorial
Pine Barrens Aviation Memorial — 1928 Mexican Goodwill Pilot Captain Emilio Carranza Crash Site, Stone Monument in Wharton State Forest, Annual Mexican-American Ceremony, Hiking in New Jersey Pine Barrens, Tabernacle Burlington County
The Carranza Memorial is a stone monument in the New Jersey Pine Barrens within Wharton State Forest, Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. The memorial features a stone Aztec-inspired monument marking the 1928 crash site of Captain Emilio Carranza Rodríguez, a 23-year-old Mexican pilot killed during a goodwill return flight from New York to Mexico City, construction by the Mexican government and local community to honor Carranza’s aviation achievement, an annual ceremony held each July by Mexican military officials and American veterans organizations maintaining this unique cross-border friendship, location deep in the Pine Barrens accessible via the Carranza Road forest road, hiking access to surrounding Wharton State Forest trails — New Jersey’s largest state forest at 122,880 acres, and a rare piece of international aviation history in America’s largest wilderness east of the Mississippi.
The Carranza Memorial tells one of America’s most poignant aviation stories — on July 12, 1928, Captain Emilio Carranza, the “Lindbergh of Mexico,” crashed in the Pine Barrens during a thunderstorm on his return goodwill flight from New York to Mexico City. The 23-year-old aviator had been celebrated in the US as Mexico’s answer to Charles Lindbergh.
Every July, Mexican military officials and American veteran organizations hold a joint ceremony at this remote Pine Barrens site — a rare example of sustained binational friendship maintained for nearly a century.
What to See
- Stone monument — Aztec-inspired design, crash site marker
- Annual ceremony — July, Mexican military + US veterans
- Pine Barrens — remote forest setting in Wharton SF
- Aviation history — Emilio Carranza’s 1928 goodwill flight
- Hiking — Wharton State Forest trails (122,880 acres)
Site Information
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Tabernacle Twp, Burlington County, NJ |
| Within | Wharton State Forest — 122,880 acres |
| Honors | Capt. Emilio Carranza — crashed July 12, 1928 |
| Flight | Goodwill return flight NYC → Mexico City |
| Monument | Aztec-inspired stone marker |
| Ceremony | Annual July — Mexican military + US veterans |
| Managed By | NJ DEP / Wharton State Forest |
| Coordinates | 39.7553° N, 74.6500° W |
Frequently Asked Questions
Wildlife & Nature
Carranza Memorial — a 12-foot stone monument in the Pine Barrens marking the 1928 crash site of Mexican pilot Emilio Carranza. Carranza was attempting a nonstop goodwill flight from New York to Mexico City when his plane crashed during a thunderstorm. The surrounding pine-oak forest supports Pine Barrens tree frogs and timber rattlesnakes.
Nearby Attractions
Wharton SF — surrounding. Batsto Village — 10 miles south. Brendan T. Byrne SF — 10 miles north.
Who was Emilio Carranza and why is there a memorial in New Jersey?
Captain Emilio Carranza Rodríguez was a 23-year-old Mexican aviator — often called “the Lindbergh of Mexico” — who died on July 12, 1928, when his plane crashed in the New Jersey Pine Barrens during a thunderstorm on his return goodwill flight from New York to Mexico City. The Carranza Memorial is an Aztec-inspired stone monument at the crash site in Wharton State Forest, Tabernacle Township, Burlington County. Every July, Mexican military officials and American veteran organizations hold an annual ceremony at this remote Pine Barrens site — a tradition maintained for nearly a century.
Last updated: May 2026
