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    Bordentown
    Bordentown
    Bordentown
    Ebook186 pages1 hour

    Bordentown

    By Arlene S. Bice and Patricia DeSantis

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    About this ebook

    Bordentown, New Jersey, is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek, and Crosswicks Creek. The town sits on a high bluff northeast of Philadelphia. Bordentown has always been an accessible crossroads, first by water and train and presently by car and light rail. The community was a railroading town and had a successful boating industry. It eventually transitioned into a factory town, supporting such businesses as Eagle Shirt Factory, Ocean Spray Cranberries, and Springfield Worsted Mills. Motels, drive-ins, and diners sprang up along the highway as halfway stops from northeast to southwest Jersey. The New Jersey Turnpike brought tourists and visitors, who frequented the locally owned restaurants, shops, and galleries. Bordentown showcases the rich industrial and community history of this Burlington County town.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 22, 2014
    ISBN9781439647349
    Bordentown
    Author

    Arlene S. Bice

    Author Arlene S. Bice lived and worked in New Egypt in the 1970s and early 1980s. A member of Antiquarian Booksellers of New Jersey and a Bordentown bookseller, she writes a book review column for the Register-News. Bice also wrote Images of America: Bordentown. She is a lifetime member of the New Egypt Historical Society and a regional representative of the International Women's Writing Guild.

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      Book preview

      Bordentown - Arlene S. Bice

      way.

      INTRODUCTION

      Bordentown has been a destination from the time Quakers Thomas and Susanna Farnsworth carefully selected the property in 1682 as a place to settle in and call home. The land sits on a high bluff overlooking the Delaware River and was the gathering place for Native Americans’ annual powwows. The Farnsworths did much trading with the Lenni Lenapes and with other settlers, and they left a legacy of integrity, fairness, and respect for all people that served as a foundation for the town.

      When Joseph Borden came up the river in the 1700s, he saw the value of the site, the lay of the land, and the waterways surrounding it. He created a stagecoach route to Perth Amboy at the mouth of the Raritan River to make traveling from Philadelphia to New York City easier. The travelers would come to Bordentown by boat, take Borden’s stagecoach to Perth Amboy, and then journey by boat again to New York City. Borden laid out streets in the town and sold land for houses of worship. The people came, and they stayed. Bordentown expanded. The Revolutionary War scarred the town, but it made heroes too. Patriotism was strong. Resident Francis Hopkinson signed the Declaration of Independence and designed the American flag and Patience Lovell Wright, the first American-born sculptor, was a Bordentonian and a spy in King George’s court. The only real estate Thomas Paine—an Englishman called the Father of the American Revolution by Thomas Jefferson—ever bought was on West Church Street. Molly Field of nearby White Hill married Richard Stockton, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Commodore Charles Stewart, hero of the War of 1812, lived here. The town grew in many ways.

      Joseph Bonaparte, former king of the Two Sicilies and Spain, came in the 1800s and brought the finest French craftsmen with him. A law was enacted for him so that he could purchase a 211-acre farm from Stephen Sayre, former mayor of London, England. Bonaparte named it Point Breeze. Friends and family heard of his delight in the animals and birds on his estate that were previously unknown to him. He imported exotic trees, bushes, and flowers. He brought statuary, fine European furniture, exquisite paintings, and jewels. Visitors were attracted like a magnet. The Marquis de Lafayette came, and Stephen Girard became a close, personal friend, as did Joseph Hopkinson and Adm. Charles Stewart. Louisa Johnson, soon-to-be first lady of Pres. John Quincy Adams, he said was enchanting. Nicolas Biddle came, as did Thomas Cadwalader, a Revolutionary War general. No visitors made Bonaparte as happy as when his daughters Zénaïde and Charlotte and his son-in-law Charles came and stayed.

      Also in the early 1800s, the railroads and canals arrived, changing the face of an expanding Bordentown. New jobs were created, which brought men and their families to town and created a need for housing and schools. Repair shops and boatbuilding shops lined the river’s edge. Inventors came, and industries blossomed.

      In addition, the town became a destination for education and for recreation. Private schools were highly acclaimed. While visiting, Clara Barton saw the deplorable situation for most of the children in town. She started a free school that was the foundation for good public schools in Bordentown to follow. Artists and sculptors came; many were internationally known and sought after. Parks for amusement popped up at the beach, and parks for walking or sitting overlooked the beach.

      As it had for the Revolutionary War, the Civil War brought out the best in Bordentown. Maj. Gen. Gershom Mott lived in town with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter Kate. When blacksmith David Reeder joined the New Jersey Cavalry, his wife, Annie, went to war as a professional nurse, and their 16-year-old son, Francis, joined the same cavalry in a different regiment, attaining the rank of corporal. James Nelson joined the New Jersey Volunteers and, after the war, worked for the railroad.

      In 1882, Bordentown became one of the earliest towns in New Jersey to have telephone service thanks to Samuel E. Burr, a Civil War spy and entrepreneur. His son Charles, who had taken over the general store business, became an agent for the telephone company, and the 50-line magneto switchboard was installed in the store. He learned how to repair it as well as run it.

      Industry blossomed in Bordentown, providing jobs for both men and women. The Springfield Worsted Mills, Eagle Shirt Factory, Cloverdale Dairy, and the Brakeley Canning Company were a few of the earlier companies, with Jersey Maid Ice Cream and Ocean Spray Cranberries coming a bit later.

      George Swift came to town with his specialty box-folding company. He invented, among hundreds of other things, the egg carton. John V. Rice located his $1 million company, the Rice Gas Engine Company, in Bordentown. He invented the double-acting, gasoline rock drill, a two-cycle engine.

      Motorcars and modern conveniences arrived on the scene. The roads leading to Bordentown were lined with inns, tourist camps and courts, and eating places for various palates. Exit 7 on the New Jersey Turnpike was referred to as the halfway stop between north and south exits. This brought the name of Bordentown to the attention of people who would not have normally noticed. Families that came to visits sons, brothers, or husbands at Fort Dix or McGuire Air Force Base stayed in Bordentown. Motels with AAA ratings popped up, flowing out from Exit 7 along with fine-dining restaurants. Motels were not just for sleeping anymore. Businesses conducted conferences in motel rooms, as they were easy access to the turnpike. Their restaurants utilized meeting rooms catering to the fraternal organizations in the area. Wedding receptions were held there so out-of-town guests could stay for an easy attendance. As the modern age developed, the interstate roads were being completed, taking the place the railroads once held. The town prospered and continued to face the challenge of change, growing to become a destination.

      Today, the business district draws people from distant places for its variety of excellent restaurants, unique shops, art galleries, and events featured throughout the year. The history of the town is remembered starting with a celebration of Thomas Paine’s Birthday Party in January. In February, there is a Chocolate Walk, followed by the Bordentown Education Foundation’s Annual Bordentown St. Patty’s Day 5K Run and Clara Barton Month in March. The little schoolhouse Barton organized is open for visitors on request. April brings Restaurant Week on Farnsworth Avenue, while May boasts the Annual Franklin Carr Memorial Iris Growers Competition & Artwalk and the Annual Bordentown Street Fair that has been held for the last 37 years. On the first full weekend in October is the Annual Cranberry

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