New Jersey's First City

Jersey City / Hoboken Real Estate Ads

Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003

Pennsville to Clermont, 60.8 m.
Meals and garage service at many places; hotels in the larger towns.
Two- and three-lane concrete and macadam roadbed.

State 49 affords an interesting, nearly water-level route across south New Jersey. The western section for the most part runs through rolling, fertile farm land and hardwood forests. East of the Maurice River at Millville, the highway crosses a tidewater area with sandy soil, scrub pine, and small fishing villages. In the district between Salem and Bridgeton are many brick Colonial houses. Most of them, in continuous use since they were built, are in good condition. The southern end of the route runs through fishing villages, summer resorts, and tidal marshland.

The Pennsville-Salem Rd. branches east from US 130 (see Tour 19) in PENNSVILLE, 0 m. (12 alt., 412 pop.) (see Tour 19).

The highway's straight line lies like a long ruler across the lowlands. On the R. are the marshes where countless muskrats are trapped each season. Rice was grown on these meadows in such quantities in Colonial days that cargoes of it were shipped to all the coast ports. Wild rice now grows here, and millions of birds, protected by law, feed upon it. Rush reeds and their furry cattail spikes are seen in profusion; meadowland is L., too, but a few reclaimed spots support small farms. The meadows have a peculiar but not unpleasant odor.

At 1.1 m. is the junction with a hard-surfaced road.

Right on this road to (L) the excellent two-story brick WILLIAM MECUM HOUSE (private), 1.4 m. The original unit was erected in the early 1700's; the new section, with its checkered brick design in front, was added in 1737. The gable of the newer end contains the date of its erection along with the initials of the builder, "W M."

The FORT MOTT RANGE LIGHT, 1.5 m. (L), raises its black head almost l00 feet to serve mariners on the Delaware. A tall, wire mesh fence encloses the reservation (R), part of which, at 2.7 m., is a U. S. WILD FOWL SANCTUARY.

At 2.8 m. is (R) the entrance to FORT MOTT (open daily, in summer 8-5, in winter 8-4), one of the defenses placed along the Delaware early in the Civil War. Mines were strung across the river from this point in the Spanish-American War. Today the fort, its masonry walls hidden by earth, is manned by a skeleton force. The landing pier at Fort Mott marks Finn's Point, the name of the locality for nearly 300 years. Here the Swedes built a fort about 1660, planting a colony believed to have included some of their Finnish subjects.

At 3.7 m, is (R) the FORT MOTT NATIONAL CEMETERY (open daily, in summer 8-5, in winter 8-4), the only national cemetery in New Jersey in which Confederate soldiers are buried. More than 2,400 prisoners captured in the Battle of Gettysburg, and later victims of an epidemic, have been interred here; an obelisk 85 feet high honors the Confederate dead.

FORT DELAWARE (accessible only by Federal boat; adm, only with written permission from War Dept.), 1.1 m. offshore on Pea Patch Island, is seen from the cemetery. The fort dates from 1859. There is a legend that a boat loaded with peas once sank in very shallow water on the site. The peas sprouted and drift material became enmeshed in the vines, forming an island that grew to its present size, 178 acres.

HARRISONVILLE, 3.9 m. (10 alt., 320 pop.), settled by Quakers at some time after 1673, was the site of a tavern popular in Civil War days. It was known as the Pig's Eye and for a time gave its name to the village and vicinity. Along the highway are homes of workers in nearby Salem. Southeast of Harrisonville loom the chimneys of factories in Salem. The highway crosses Salem River, turns R. on Griffith St. to the intersection of W. Broadway; L. on W. Broadway to the Municipal and County Buildings at the corner of Market St.

SALEM, 6.7 m. (16 alt., 8,047 pop.) (see SALEM). Points of Interest: County Buildings, Alexander Grant House (museum), Old Law Office, Salem Oak, Bradway House, Friends Meeting House, and others.

At Salem is the junction (R) with Tilbury Rd. (see Tour 29A).

From Market St. straight ahead on E. Broadway, which becomes Quin- ton Rd. at Keasbey St.; L. on Quinton Rd. (State 49).

Right from Salem on an oiled gravel road is HANCOCK'S BRIDGE, 4 m. (5 alt.), a muskrat-trapping center. The WILLIAM HANCOCK HOUSE (R), 4.1 m. (open daily; daylight hours; contribution), was erected in 1734 by William Hancock and his wife Sarah, whose initials are woven into the gable. The house was the scene of a massacre on the night of March 20, 1778, a few days after the Battle of Quinton Bridge. About 90 American rebels were asleep in the dwelling when a detachment of 200 enemy troops – most of them green-coated Loyalists – under Maj. John Simcoe made a surprise attack. Bayoneting the sentries, the raiders entered the house and systematically began to exterminate the sleeping men. No quarter was given; militiamen were stabbed while pleading to be taken prisoner. Judge Hancock, a Tory, who had fled during American occupation of the area, had returned to his home earlier that night and been captured by the Revolutionists. By mistake, his Tory confederates killed him in the dark. The only survivors were a small number of militiamen who managed to get out of the house.

Owned by the State, the house is under the care of the Salem County Historical Society. Hundreds of Colonial relics are displayed. Two bedrooms, a reception room and the old kitchen have complete Colonial furnishings. The two-story farm-house faces the bridge over Alloway Creek behind a row of massive maples. Both the checkerboard and zigzag patterns are worked into its walls with glazed brick.

Behind Hancock House is a CEDAR PLANK HOUSE (open daily daylight hours: contribution), a tiny one-story structure built of cedar taken from nearby swamps more than 200 years ago by Swedish settlers. The hand-hewn planks are dovetailed at the corners, making uprights and even the usual wooden pegs unnecessary. The house contains Colonial relics.

The FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, 100 yds. R. from Hancock House, was erected in 1756; an addition dates from 1784.

At Broadway and Market St. in Salem is a junction with State 45 (see Tour 28).

Southeast of Salem, State 49 runs through rich bottomlands with level well-fenced fields and large barns backed by silos and outbuildings. Sleek herds of dairy cattle graze in abundant pastures. The farms produce potatoes, corn, and oats.

At 8.8 m. is (L) the DANIEL SMITH HOUSE (private), built in 1752, a three-story brick structure standing back from the highway and surrounded by trees. It has been rebuilt and enlarged until only the original north gable, which bears the date of erection, remains. It was the scene of as ambush that cost American lives (see below).

At 10 m. the highway crosses Alloway Creek over Quinton Bridge, scene of the battle March 18, 1778, when Maj. John Simcoe and a British battalion marched here from Salem. The bridge was guarded by Colonial militia under Col. Benjamin Holmes. Concealing most of their troops in and around the Smith house, the British first led the Revolutionary militia into ambush, killing many. Then the invaders tried to cross the bridge, but Andrew Bacon seized an axe and, under fire, cut away the draw section, dropping it into the creek. Arrival of the Cumberland County militia with artillery compelled the British to retreat to Salem.

The ruins of the REVOLUTIONARY BRIDGE are merely a few piles showing a few inches above the water, L. of the present span. A granite monument commemorating the battle stands 200 feet south of the bridge (L), QUINTON, 10.2 m. (20 alt., 525 pop.), was held by the county militia  in the skirmish at Quinton Bridge. Modest homes line the roadway. Two small canning factories and the waterworks are its only industrial plants

South of Salem the farms are larger. Tomatoes and other garden produce, and some fruit and berries are shipped from here to canneries.

MARLBORO, 16.3 m. (70 alt., 500 pop.), is on the banks of Horse Run. The SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST CHURCH here, belongs to a congregation established in 1811.

At 17.8 m. is the junction with a graveled road.

Right on this road is JERICHO, 3 m. (30 alt., 350 pop.), established 1690 when Joshua Brick erected a tavern and gristmill.

Right from Jericho on the old Jericho Pike to IVY MANOR (private), 4.6 m., built in 1800 by John Wood. It is in the Georgian style, of time-mellowed red brick, ivy-covered and surrounded by old trees and shrubbery. The three-story building contains 18 rooms, most of them with fireplaces, and mantelpieces of fine Ital- ian marble. This was the "Bull Tavern" about which several of George Agnew Chamberlain's stories were centered. It is now a sanitarium.

The highway passes through the section cleared and still farmed by Seventh-Day Baptists, with well-kept buildings, cultivated fields, and close-cropped pastures.

SHILOH, 19 m. (120 alt., 401 pop.), founded by Seventh-Day Baptists fleeing from persecution in England in 1705, was first known as Cohansey, an extensive settlement along the Cohansey Creek, named for an Indian chief. In 1771, when the Baptists were moving an old frame church 2 miles to Cohansey, they reached Six Corners here at sundown on a Friday. Work ceased and religious services were begun. Their pastor used as his text, "The Ark of the Lord resteth at Shiloh," and by common consent the name of the community was changed to Shiloh.

Serving the needs of its surrounding farm country, Shiloh business converges at its six corners with a blacksmith shop, several stores, and a post office. All Shilohites keep Saturday as their Sabbath; on Sunday all business places from the post office to the blacksmith shop are active, and the weekday wash adorns lines in backyards.

At Shiloh is the junction with a graveled road (see Tour 29B).

Between Shiloh and Bridgeton are several large apple orchards. Farms, fertile and well-kept, are spotted with small islands of trees. Near Bridgeton the highway is bordered by groups of modern homes.

State 49 enters Bridgeton from the west on Broad St.

BRIDGETON, 23.3 m. (30alt., 15,699 pop.), is an interesting small city, where past and present are mingled with a New England atmosphere. Shady, well-paved streets are lined by neat houses, mostly new, with an occasional old vine-covered brick residence. A large glass factory has replaced the 20 smaller glass factories whose interests were merged when automatic machinery came into use. All through the night, in the growing season, loaded wagons and trucks bring vegetables and fruit to the canneries, the town's main industrial concerns.

Quakers founded Bridgeton in 1686, though a few scattered settlers were here before them. A bridge built across Cohansey Creek about 1716 gave the hamlet the name of Cohansey Bridge. Later it was changed to Bridge Town and then Bridgeton.

BROAD STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Broad St. and West Ave., was built in 1792 with funds obtained by a lottery authorized by the Legislature. It is an outstanding example of Georgian architecture, with tall Gothic windows, a broad portico pillared and pedimented, high-backed white pews, high pulpit, brick-paved aisles, brass lamps designed for whale oil, and long-handled collection boxes. In the adjoining churchyard are buried many Revolutionary veterans, including Gen. Joseph Bloomfield, Governor in 1801-02 and 1803-12. A Quaker donated the land for the church and cemetery.

At Commerce St. is the entrance to 1,000-acre TUMBLING DAM PARK surrounding an old dam built in 1814 to mark a millpond, now SUNSET LAKE. Between the lake and the edge of the town is the raceway, about 1.5 miles long, which is said to have been built in one year by a man and his two sons on wages of 50¢ a day each. In the raceway are lotuses grown from seeds supposedly brought from Egypt l00 years ago by a sailor. Dogwood, laurel, and holly grow in profusion in the park. There is a bathing beach near Tumbling Dam, and fishing is permitted on Sunset Lake.

The GEN. GILES MANOR HOUSE (private), 143 Broad St., where Lafayette was entertained, was built in 1792 and is in excellent condition The MASONIC HALL (private), a two-story frame building at Bank and Cedar Sts., was built in 1797. Many Bridgeton residents occupy houses dating from Colonial years.

In the COURTHOUSE (open Wed. 2-5), Broad St., the Cumberland County Historical Society displays many historical documents and relics. The collection includes a bell cast in 1763, now called a Liberty Bell because it was rung to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

At Commerce and Pearl Sts. is the junction with State 46 (see Tour 32).

Right from Bridgeton on South Ave. is NEW ENGLAND CROSSROADS, 5 m., where several country roads radiate. Here is (R) the Presbyterian OLD STONE CHURCH (open on application to sexton), built of sandstone in 178o. It is well preserved, with brick aisles, high-backed pews, and a high pulpit. In the gallery is a continuous bench fastened to the rear wall, built for the mulattoes from nearby Gouldtown.

Southeast on the same road is CEDARVILLE, 7.3 m. (30 alt., 1,472 pop.), settled about 1700 as part of New England Town. The comfortable homes along the route are owned chiefly by retired farmers. At the Jersey Central R.R. station is the CEDARVILLE AUCTION BLOCK, a co-operative produce and auction market established in 1928; the organization of the market was carried on under supervision of the State Department of Agriculture. It did a $500,000 business in 1936. Auctions are held daily at noon, except Sunday, beginning about May 1. Visitors, though welcome, are cautioned that business is conducted wholesale, and for cash. The auction sells for 500 farms in a 30-mile radius. Farmers' and buyers' trucks form long lines around the block. One sample of everything offered by the farmer is taken from his load and opened on the table, or "block," where it is inspected by buyers. After a sale the farmer delivers his load to the buyer's truck, then stops at the office to collect his money. Often a farmer will toss a few cantaloupes or even a watermelon to the buyers. Out come jackknives, and the fruit is eaten at once. Buyers, their mouths full of melon, make bids by nodding, winking, or raising fingers.

At 24.7 m. State 49 crosses Buckshutem Rd., a remnant of the Burlington-Cape May route laid out by Colonial surveyors in 1705.

GOULDTOWN, 26 m. (85 alt., 700 pop.), is a colony of mulattoes, the descendants of four mulatto families that have intermarried for more than 175 years with only an occasional infiltration of other blood. These four families were named Gould, Pierce, Murray, and Cuff. The Goulds are believed to be descendants of John Fenwick, Quaker proprietor of the "Salem Tenth" in West New Jersey, who colonized this region. Elizabeth Adams, a granddaughter of Fenwick, who inherited 500 acres of land and married a Negro named Gould, is considered the founder of Gouldtown. Richard and Anthony Pierce, West Indian mulattoes, also settled here about 1750. They paid the passage from Holland for white sisters, Maria and Hannah Van Vaca, and married them upon arrival. The Murrays are believed to be of Indian descent; and the original Cuff was a slave who married his former master's widow. The residents of Gouldtown are a hard-working, highly respected people.

The community stretches for several miles along the highway and nearby dirt roads. The houses, mostly small and weather-beaten, are set off in small farms. It has always been a problem for Gouldtown residents to wrest a living from their scanty acres, and the countryside bears evidence of the struggle. The general effect of Gouldtown is somewhat subdued in keeping with these people who refuse to accept a Negro status, but cannot be classed as whites.

Between Gouldtown and Millville State 49 passes through successive areas of farm land and forest, steadily becoming flatter as the highway approaches tidewater.

MILLVILLE, 34.2 m. (30 alt., 14,705 pop.), an industrial center in a truck-farming and poultry-raising district, is a town with practically no foreign-born residents. Much of the countryside is still undeveloped forest. The town is at the head of tidewater in the Maurice River, famous for its fishing and oyster industry. On the city's northwestern border is UNION LAKE, 3.5 miles long, the largest body of fresh water in south New Jersey, whose sandy shores, sheltered by tree-crowned bluffs, are used for recreation.

A study of technological unemployment in Millville traces the development of the problem from the time when the first glass machine was installed in 1910. By 1923, the displaced workers who had remained in Millville were being supported by wives employed in the needle trades industries at miserable wages.

Millville was originally Shingle Landing, later Maurice River Bridge and The Bridge. Settled as a shipping center in 1720, Millville's future was determined when German glassmakers learned of the vast deposits of silica that underlie most of south New Jersey and are near the surface here. This sand was the foundation of the glass industry in America (see Glassboro, Tour 25). Right is the WHITALL-TATUM GLASS FACTORY (open by appointment), part of which was built about 1806; it is believed to be the oldest in continuous operation in the United States. In past years it has turned out many pieces now widely sought by collectors. The original factory and others are now included in a modern plant making glass bottles.

At Millville is the junction with State 47 (see Tour 33). At 35.7 m. the highway, here Delsea Dr. passes ROOSEVELT PARK, a recently completed old age colony, sponsored by the City of Millville in co-operation with the WPA to house recipients of old age pensions. There are 13 small homes of several types, with modern conveniences, grouped around a community building.

South of Roosevelt Park the highway passes through flat cut-over lands, covered chiefly with scrub pine. This is the homeland of "Stretch" Garrison, claimed by many of the nearby hamlets as a native son. Stretch is credited in various yarns with riding sharks and porpoises up the Maurice River; with training does to decoy buck deer into his corrals, where they were translated into venison; with raising a rooster.that grew tall enough to eat from the porch roof, and so on. Stretch, a mighty hunter and fisherman, easily held all records for wood chopping. No matter what feat is performed in the region, Stretch could do it better-ask any old-time resident.

PORT ELIZABETH, 40.7 m. (10 alt., 365 pop.), a quiet village of shaded streets and small houses, was settled probably in the late 1600's. It was named for Elizabeth Bodely, who in 1790 purchased the property of the Swedish and English farming community.

Philanthropists assembled many freed New Jersey slaves in Port Elizabeth. A schooner carried them to Haiti as farm colonists, but most of them came back discouraged. The town's chief marine business now is the operation of a boat yard.

BRICKSBORO, 41.6 m. (5 alt., 150 pop.), founded by John Brick, is considered part of the Port Elizabeth settlement. The original JOHN BRICK HOUSE (private), on the bank of Maurice River (R), is built of native brick and covered with white cedar siding. The house shows no signs of decay though nearly 150 years old.

At 42.4 m. is the junction with a concrete road.

Right on this road is MAURICETOWN, 1.5 m. (15 alt.), one of the Maurice River fishing ports which, combined, form one of the largest centers of the oyster industry in the country. There have never been more than 75 homes in this hamlet; yet a recently compiled list names 89 Mauricetown residents who were captains of sailing vessels on the Atlantic between 1846 and 1915. The town, like the river, took its name from the Prince Maurice, a ship captured by Indians and burned at a bend in the stream known as No Man's Friend. Prosperous in sailing days, Mauricetown now has a quiet existence.

At 5.7 m. is the junction with an oystershell road.

Left on this road and then R. 0.7 m. is SHELL PILE, named for the great heaps of oyster shells stacked outside of the oyster-packing sheds. This is a community of Negroes living in wooden barracks erected on stilts over the salt marshes. The shell roads to the mainland are renewed each year as the mud swallows the latest layer. From 500 to 1,000 Negroes here live their own lives in their own way, and present a united and rather hostile front to the rest of the world. Some of the younger men work on the oyster boats; the rest of the men and most of the women are oyster shuckers who work all day during the oyster season, knives in hands. Most of their many arguments are started-and finished-within their own group, and if the results are not too serious, State police and Port Norris authorities are apt to overlook bandages and bruises. Strange whites are not welcomed in Shell Pile. In February 1934 the oyster boats were frozen in. There was no work, no money, no food. A welfare society in Philadelphia sent a truckload of food to Shell Pile and distributed it among 500 Negroes. Another truckload was announced. Some of Port Norris's white people were resentful because the Negro population of Shell Pile had about doubled in two days, anticipating free meals. The second truckload reached Port Norris and was stopped in the center of the town. The food was distributed to white families; and a receipt, thanking the donors for the food, was given to the driver.

PORT NORRIS, 6.1 m., on the main side route, exists by and for oysters, grown and harvested in the adjacent Maurice River Cove. The value of the annual catch approximates $6,000,000. The most casual visitor realizes that this is an oyster town. A typical sign on a store in its short business block reads, "Garrison's Restaurant, an old bed newly stuck up." The terminology is that used to describe a plot under the waters of Maurice River Cove where oysters had formerly been raised, which had been again prepared and seeded with oyster "spat." In addition to oysters in any style, a favorite dish in south New Jersey is usually available in the Port Norris restaurants: snapper soup, made thick with blood-red meat of snapping turtles. Turtles caught in many fresh-water ponds by farm boys and Negroes are readily sold to restaurants in the section. They are usually kept alive in washtubs until used. Muskrat potpie, made from young muskrats trapped in the winter, and weakfish roe, available only in the early spring, are other local dishes highly prized by old time South Jerseyites.

At 45 m. is LEESBURG STATE PRISON FARM (L), which covers 1,000 acres. Vegetables and fruits are grown and canned here for use in State institutions. The farm employs about 250 prisoners transferred from the State prison at Trenton.

At 48.1 m. is the junction with an oiled gravel road.

Right on this road over marshlands is MOORE'S BEACH, 2 m., popular fishing resort on Delaware Bay. Drumfish are plentiful here.

DELMONT, 48.3 m. (10 alt., 500 pop.), has among its residents many old fishermen who take out fishing parties, "catch" oysters, and trap muskrats. Farms in this section are small and marshy. The soil is naturally fertile, but usually too wet to produce bumper crops of anything except mosquitoes.

ELDORA, 50.7 m. (15 alt., 219 POP.), is a boating and fishing resort. PICKLE POND furnishes good fresh-water bass and pike fishing.

Southeast of Eldora, State 49 skirts the broad marshes extending (R) to Delaware Bay.

DENNISVILLE, 56 m. (10 alt., 400 pop.), adjoins the GREAT CEDAR SWAMP. Buried 4 to 6 feet below the surface are remains of giant prehistoric white cedars preserved by the mire. Hand-split cedar shingles made from the logs dug out of this lumber mine furnished work and profit for Dennisville during the 1800's. These shingles were used to replace the roof of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Occasionally one of the logs is still unearthed, and cut up here.

SOUTH DENNIS, 57.1 m. (15 alt., 310 pop.), resembles a New England town in its century-old architecture and deep shade. A large graveyard around the small Methodist church contains more tenants than are now alive in the village.

At South Dennis is the junction with State S49 (see Tour 29C). CLERMONT, 60.8 m. (25 alt., 309 pop.), is a crossroads hamlet at the junction with US 9 (see Tour 18).

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