|
| Self-Guided Walking Tour Provided by the Bordentown Historical Society History of Bordentown Area In 1682 Thomas Farnsworth, an English Quaker, moved upriver from Burlington, to make a new home for himself and family on a wind-swept bluff overlooking a broad bend of the Delaware. The area was not entirely a wilderness but it was still new land. Englishman and Quakers had farms located every few miles; but to visit them was to traverse pathless forests mostly frequented by Native American and wildlife. About twenty-three families were settled in the area along Black's Creek near Columbus and at Chesterfield. Farnsworth's Landing, located at the junction of Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware became the center of trade for the region. Joseph Borden, arrived on the scene in 1717. By 1724 he had acquired nearly the entire site of what is now Bordentown City. |
||
|
||
The villagers have long based their claim to fame on the fact that here an exiled King spent "twenty of the happiest years" of his life. In 1816, Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King o/' Naples and Spain, purchased 211 acres of land, later extending to 1700, on the east side of town. The Bonaparte Era (1816-18471 was a bright one. The elaborate estate "Point Breeze", became a center of culture and social life. His guest list often read like a "Who's Who" of the budding republic. In 1831, Bonaparte watched steam transportation make it's debut in New Jersey with the "John Bull" chugging along on nearby railroad tracks. By 1834, the Delaware Raritan Canal had opened. In 1871, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the railroad and canal. They gradually closed the shops and eliminated most of the canal's traffic by refusing to allow goods to be transported in competition to the railroad. The town's property suffered a severe blow. The canal, whose traffic dwindled to a seasonal parade of yachts, closed in 1932. The railroad hauled its last passenger in 1963. Bordentown Township was created from Chesterfield Township in 1852. The Borough of Bordentown, established in 1825, separated from the Township when it was chartered as a city in 1867. |
||
The Township is governed by a five member committee and employs a full time administrator and police force. The City changed to a three member commission form of government in 1913 and maintains a paid police force. Both the City and the Township support volunteer fire companies. The two communities operate a joint recreation program and a Regional School District. Fieldsboro, was settled in 1683 as the "White Hill Farm" of Marmaduke Hoseman, later the property of Benjamin Fields. It was incorporated as a borough within the Township of Mainsfeld in 1850. When Bordentown Township was formed in 1852 it included Fieldsboro but the borough separated from the township around 1894. As an important junction point between the River shipping and the Camden and Amboy Railroad, Fieldsboro was for a time an important industrial center. |
||
Bordentown Architecture Bordentown's 300 year old architectural heritage is comprised of a unique variety of styles dating from the late 1600's through the early 1900's. The earliest dwellings were simple structures whose primary purpose was to provide shelter. Executed in wood or brick, their simplicity of design reflected the English heritage of the Society of Friends (Quakers) who first settled here. As Bordentown became more populated and families grew larger and more wealthy, the town and its buildings assumed a more sophisticated urban character. Because Bordentown was an active transportation center linking Philadelphia with New York City, from the early 1800's through the late 1800's, the residents who settled here were conscious of what was architecturally in fashion elsewhere along the eastern seaboard. Those Philadelphians, especially those who spent their summers in Bordentown, contributed an awareness of architecturally popular styles. Joseph Bonaparte and his European entourage added a sense ofworldliness that continued throughout the railroad and canal era of the mid-1800's to the early 1900's. During the profitable time. Bordentown's merchants, factory owners, and professionals expressed their prosperity through grand houses built in the Italian Villa, Italianate Shingle, and Queen Anne styles. Public buildings, the town hall, churches, and banks - also reflected the most popular architectural styles of the day. Middle class residents, to keep up with the times, embellished their homes with gingerbread trim and Atlanta brackets. The subsequent demise of the railroad and the canal, as well as the routing of two major highways around Bordentown rather than through it, have contributed to the preservation of Bordentown's buildings in a relatively unaltered state. As you walk through the streets, note the hitching posts, brick walkways, and various door treatments. Don't ignore the marvelous examples of original cast and wrought iron, popular during most of the 19th century, which abound fences (in the form of wheat sheaves at the Borden House), basement window grilles, storefronts (104 Farnsworth) and a front porch (515 Prince Street). You'll quickly discover that Bordentown's past is still very much alive and that the town's buildings are important and irreplaceable reflections of our heritage. |
||
 |
||
