Marshalltown is an unincorporated community located within

Mannington Township Mannington Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Salem County, New Jersey, Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,475, a decrease of 331 (−18.3%) from the ...

, in Salem County, New Jersey. It has also been known as Frogtown. The community is centered at Marshalltown Road and Roosevelt Avenue, located southeast of Glenside and east-southeast of Pennsville.N 39.6375 W 75.453333
ACME Mapper. Accessed January 1, 2015.

History

Located near the Salem River, Marshalltown was one of five pre-Civil War communities developed along tributaries of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

by freedmen. It is named after Thomas Marshall (1803–1856), who purchased land here starting in 1834. Before the abolition of slavery, these black-populated communities offered protection and aid to

fugitive slave In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...

s, and "the likelihood that there was antebellum Underground Railroad activity is high". The settlement once contained many houses and gardens, a school, stores, and two churches. Mount Zion

A.U.M.P. Church The African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called "the A.U.M.P. Church," is a Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It was chartered by Peter Spencer (religious leader), Peter Spencer (1782–1843) ...

in Marshalltown is one of the earliest African Methodist churches. By 2010, only a school house, a church, and two cemeteries survived, and "isolation, theft, vandalism, and lack of historic preservation planning threaten the surviving cultural landscape of Marshalltown".

Historic district

The Marshalltown Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

encompassing the community. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 2013, for its significance in architecture, ethnic heritage - Black, community development, landscape architecture, religion, and social history from 1834 to 1951. The district includes 7

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

and 33 contributing sites. With accompanying 78 photos

References

{{NRHP in Salem County, New Jersey Mannington Township, New Jersey Populated places established by African Americans Unincorporated communities in Salem County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey African-American history of New Jersey A.U.M.P. Church

History

Historic district

See also

References