This page last updated on Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 09:49

 

Smithville Inn to Batsto Village

Saturday, May 9, 2015

 

Name	# in Party
Bahlo	2
Bath	1
Campagna	2
Collazo	2
Duffy	2
Fisher	2
Janson	2
Knight	2
Schirmer	2
Vucetic	2
Total	19

 

 

Abandoned & Restored: A motor trip through the Jersey Pinelands

During the colonial era, the New Jersey Pine Barrens was the location of a variety of

industries including the mining and casting of bog iron and glass making. Iron from these early

furnaces was instrumental in supplying the American military with weapons and camp tools during the

 American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War. Other industries such as paper mills,

sawmills, and gristmills rose and fell throughout the years catering chiefly to local markets. Smaller industries

such as charcoal-making and glassmaking also were developed, meeting with varying degrees of success. Over

 time the forests of the Pine Barrens have reclaimed almost all traces of abandoned villages built around these former

industries (e.g, Quaker Bridge and Atsion). Luckily, the remnants of a few abandoned sites can still be found (e.g., Batsto Village).

 

This road trip takes us to five commemorative historic sites beginning with Smithville Village and ending at Batsto Village.

 

Starting Point and Time

11:30 a.m.

Lunch at the Smithville Village Inn (Private Dining Room)

1 North New York Road, Galloway, NJ 08205

(Route 9)

609-652-7777

 Ending Point and Time

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Batsto Village Visitors Center

31 Batsto Road, Hammonton, NJ 08037

609-561-0024

 

 

ITINERARY

 

Stop 1: Smithville Village

1 North New York Road (Route 9), Galloway, 08205

 

James Baremore built what is now the Smithville Inn in 1787, a single room along a well-traveled stagecoach route.

By 1874 the inn had grown to six times its original size and its success was well established; it was eventually

abandoned at the turn of the 1900s. In 1952, a local couple purchased the inn and restored the building,

opening it as a restaurant with 42 seats. The inn was declared a historic landmark in 1964.

 

Stop 2: Bethlehem Loading Company (Belocoville)

1121 Route 50 (South Boulevard), Mays Landing 08330

 

The construction of the plant was started on April 3, 1918.  By July 1st the first 155 mm shells were loaded and by November

 of the same year 56,000 155 mm shells were loaded and delivered to the war effort.  At the same time an 8” shell plant

 was brought on line and the 75 mm shell plant was 70% complete.  The plant had 24 miles of railroad track along with

 administration buildings, cafeterias, change houses, police buildings, and military barracks to house 1,100 soldiers to guard the plant.

 

Stop 3: Estellville Glass Works

109 Route 50, Mays Landing 08330

 

This complex is an early 19th century glass factory that was in operation from 1825 until 1877. The factory was built by

John H. Scott for the Estell family. Glass production began in 1826 and peaked during the mid-1800s.  It was

possibly the first glassworks that had the capability of producing both hollow ware (bottles) and window glass.

The Estell family owned and operated the factory until 1858.

 

Stop 4: Weymouth Furnace

6969 E Black Horse Pike (Intersection of Route 559 & Route 322), Mays Landing 08330

 

Opened in 1802, Weymouth was once a successful iron works and then a paper mill community

until abandoned in 1887. The Great Egg Harbor River runs by grand stone arches, a towering chimney stack

and moss-covered foundations from the old mill – all that remains of this historical landmark.

 

Stop 5: Batsto Village

31 Route 542 (Batsto Road), Hammonton, 08037

 

During the iron making and glass making periods (starting in 1777) at Batsto Village, there were hundreds of people

working and living in the village. Today there are more than forty sites and structures, including the Batsto mansion,

a sawmill, a 19th-century ore boat, a charcoal kiln, ice and milk houses, a carriage house and stable, a blacksmith

and wheelwright shop, a gristmill and a general store. The Post Office is still in operation and collectors can have stamps

hand-cancelled with no zip code.