History of Smithville, Atlantic County??

BarryC

Explorer
Dec 31, 1969
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Does anyone know anything about Smithville from BEFORE it became the "Historic Towne of Smithville"?? There is a Methodist Church there that was built in 1869, which is on the site of a Friends Meeting House from much earlier. And the Smithville Inn that is there now was supposed to have been one of those taverns that were all over South Jersey in the 1700s and 1800s. It was built in either 1737 or 1787. These are the only real Smithville buildings left. But what about the rest of the town? Does anyone know anything about what the village was like in those days? What we see now is just a collection of buildings that Fred and Ethel Noyes rescued from all over South Jersey and moved there in the 1950s and 60s. Included among these buildings are the old Lower Bank School and Hosea Joslin's Chapel, which came from Sugar Hill, east of Mays Landing.
On a side note...unfortunately, Smithville is just outside the boundaries of the Pinelands, so the commission has no jurisdiction there and development is running rampant! There are thousands of single family homes and condominium units there. It's unbelievable. It's mostly to the west of Route 9 and south of the "Towne". So many homes and condos are being built that Galloway Township built a new school just for Smithville (just a couple years ago), and it's already overcrowded and they need to build yet another. Go figure.
Thanks,
Barry
 
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