Crosswicks in Chesterfield Township in Burlington County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Chesterfield Township

Photographed by Richard Peterson, August 23, 2026

1. Chesterfield Township Marker

Inscription. Chesterfield Township was first settled by Europeans in 1677 when Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) fleeing England to escape religious persecution settled along Crosswicks Creek. The Lenni-Lenape had long lived along the waterway and on the surrounding land. The creek continued to be a lifeline for Quaker settlers as a transportation route and a resource for industries, including milling and ice harvesting. The earliest Quaker settlers built their homes along what is today's Main Street.

The Quaker influence remained strong. In 1773, a Quaker Meeting House was prominently built on Crosswicks’ center green. The Chesterfield Township Historical Society’s Museum occupies a former 1850 Orthodox Quaker Meeting House, built following a temporary schism within the church.

Chesterfield Township's contributions to larger events in New Jersey history are notable:

• In 1775, residents of Chesterfield Township, led by Quakers, submitted the first petition to the New Jersey legislature asking for slavery to be abolished.

• In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Colonial troops occupied Crosswicks after marching from Burlington

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City. The troops stayed in Crosswicks until January 1, 1777, when they joined Washington’s troops in the crucial Battles of Trenton and Princeton.

There are three historic villages in the township: Crosswicks, Chesterfield (first named Recklesstown), and Sykesville. Early Chesterfield Township was primarily agricultural, including crops, livestock and dairy farming. The township is still largely rural, comprised mainly of farmland, more than half in permanent farmland preservation.

Visit the museum to learn more about the stories of Chesterfield Township history and its residents.

Captions:
— Crosswicks Friends Meeting House and School
— Chesterfield Village c. 1876
— Grist Mill along Crosswicks Creek

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Quakerism series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1677.

Location. 40° 9.218′ N, 74° 38.931′ W. Marker is in Chesterfield Township, New Jersey, in Burlington County. It is in Crosswicks. It is on Ward Avenue 0.1 miles

Chesterfield Township Marker and Historical Society Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard Peterson, August 23, 2026

2. Chesterfield Township Marker and Historical Society Museum

west of Church Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 530 Ward Avenue, Chesterfield NJ 08515, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South Jersey

and in Greater Philadelphia.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Crosswicks (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Friends Meeting (about 700 feet away); Crosswicks Quaker Meeting (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension (approx. 1.9 miles away); Bordentown Veteran's Memorial (approx. 2.6 miles away); George S. Bowers (approx. 2.7 miles away); Richard Watson Gilder House (approx. 2.9 miles away); Clara Barton (approx. 3 miles away).

Also see . . . History of Chesterfield Township.

Chesterfield Historical Society Museum (Former Orthodox Quaker Meeting House) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard Peterson, August 23, 2026

3. Chesterfield Historical Society Museum (Former Orthodox Quaker Meeting House)

On the Historical Society website.

After the Quaker schism in 1827, the Hicksite faction occupied the meeting house, while the Orthodox wing built its own meeting house on Ward Avenue, which today is in possession of the now-unified Quaker meeting and houses the Historical Society’s museum.

(Submitted on August 24, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey.)

Photographed by Richard Peterson, August 23, 2026

4. Chesterfield Township Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 24, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 18 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 24, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.