An Industrial Village
Smithville
H.B. Smith purchased the old village of Shreveville in 1865 and renamed it “Smithville.” The map of Shreveville, which accompanied the notice of sale, depicts three rows of houses. Shortly after Smith purchased the property, he razed the houses on Park Avenue, replacing them with new dwellings in 1870. The designs for these homes included a sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. Smith retained existing houses along Maple Avenue that conformed with this style. This included the entire row along the north side of Maple Avenue.He removed most houses on the south side, however perhaps due to their deteriorated condition. He did not replace these homes, which allowed the Park Avenue homes to feature considerable larger back lots. As a result of these changes, Smithville contained fewer workforce accommodations than Shreveville once possessed.
By 1883 Smith’s model industrial village encompassed nearly 500 acres and the residents numbered about 300. The number of persons per house averaged just five. The company rented homes primarily to married men with families. Eight families in the village provided room and
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(Inscription beside the image in the upper left)
View of the mansion and village looking west from the top of the observation tower on the Smithville farm.
(Inscription under the images on the upper right)
Left: Children sitting in front of a worker’s home on Maple Avenue, date unknown. Right: The brick homes on Maple Avenue in 1900. These houses were built prior to 1865, for the Shreveville workers.
(Inscription beside the image on the lower right)
Left: A row of worker’s brick homes looking down Maple Avenue towards the Smith mansion. Right: Two women sitting outside one of the brick homes.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1865.
Location. 39° 59.212′ N, 74° 44.981′ W. Marker is in Eastampton, New Jersey, in Burlington County. Marker is on Maple Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mount Holly NJ 08060, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Smithville Historic District (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Smithville Park (about 400 feet away); Smithville Lower Village (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Train Station & Smith’s Forest
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 3, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 3, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
