Readington Village is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located within Readington Township in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, that is centered on the converging of Readington Road, Hillcrest Road, Centerville Road and Brookview Road. It is located on

Holland Brook Holland Brook is a tributary of the South Branch Raritan River in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey in the United States. Holland Brook flows through Readington and Branchburg. It is the last tributary of the South Branch Raritan Ri ...

, originally named ''Amanmechunk'', which means large creek in the Unami dialect. The area was inhabited by the Raritan prior to the arrival of European settlers. The Native Americans who lived near Readington Village travelled to

the coast The Coast may refer to: * ''The Coast'' (newspaper), a weekly newspaper in Halifax, Canada * The Coast, Newark, New Jersey, a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, USA * "The Coast", a song by Paul Simon from his 1990 album ''The Rhythm of the Saints ...

during the summer for fish and clams. Such a trip is mentioned in an Indian deed transferring lands around Holland Brook to George Willocks, an East and West New Jersey Proprietor. The deed mentions two of the natives, who lived at Readington: Metamisco and Wataminian.

History

Readington was first settled by Europeans in the early 18th century by people of Dutch descent, including Emanuel Van Etta, from

Esopus, New York Esopus ( ) is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2010 census. The town was named after the local indigenous tribe and means "small river" in English. They were one of the Lenape (Delaware) bands, b ...

, and Adrian Lane, a settler who erected a mill on Holland Brook. Nearby Van Etta Road is named for Emanuel Van Etta, whose surname means "from Etten". In 1738, the Dutch Reformed Church of North Branch was moved west to Readington Village because of the growing population. The third building on this site, pictured left, stands there today. A parsonage was built on the north side of the brook on the hill, still in Readington Township. The nearby Parsonage Hill Road in Branchburg is named for this site. The church location before the parish was moved to Readington was three miles east. This structure was a log building just north and west of the convergence of the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

branches of the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Rar ...

formerly called ''Tucca-ramma-hacking'' by the Raritan, which meant the "flowing together of waters". The church's pastor,

Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen ( – ) was a Dutch-American Dutch Reformed minister, theologian and the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in the United States of America. Frelinghuysen is most remembered for his religious contribution ...

later helped to form a seminary at the

Old Dutch Parsonage The Old Dutch Parsonage is a historical house built in 1751, moved about 1913 and now located at 65 Washington Place, Somerville, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, ...

Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...

. This eventually became Queen's College, now known as Rutgers University. Rutgers during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

held classes at the old church at the convergence. During the 19th century, Readington Village had a church, a mill, a store, a school and a tavern. One of the former school buildings is a garage between the bottom of Hillcrest and Centerville Roads on Brookview Road. A later former school building can be seen just west of there and is now being used as a barn. The mill in Readington Village continued to run until about 1920 and was still standing until 1935. A general store in the community continued to function until the 1990s. The store was eventually sold and later became a post office. The only non-residential buildings in Readington Village today are the small post office, a volunteer fire house (also used as a

polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building

) and the

Readington Reformed Church The Readington Reformed Church is a historic church located at 124 Readington Road, Readington Village, an unincorporated community located within Readington Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was known in colonial times as the Dutch ...

. The post office is on property owned by the

Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians The Little Shell Band of Chippewa are a historic sub-band of the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians led by Chief Little Shell in the nineteenth century. Based in North Dakota around the Pembina River, they are part of the Ojibwe, one of the Anishin ...

.Readington Post Office
/ref> The community has seen extensive flooding of Holland Brook a few times in recent years (including during

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

) that has closed the Hillcrest Bridge and damaged nearby houses. Just northwest of Readington is Solberg Airport, the site of the New Jersey Balloon Festival. This annual festival began in 1983 and its hundred-plus balloons draw over a hundred thousand people. It is the largest annual event in New Jersey and the largest balloon festival in North America during the summer.

Historic district

The Readington Village Historic District is a national

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 ...

located along Readington, Hillcrest, Centerville and Brookview roads in the village. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 24, 1991 for its significance in architecture, exploration/settlement and community planning and development. The district includes 43

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 2

contributing sites 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 ...

Gallery

File:Readington Reformed Church, south view.jpg,

File:READINGTON VILLAGE H.D..jpg, Village store from the 1830s File:READINGTON VILLAGE HISTORIC DIST.jpg, Aaron Berger house

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Readington Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey

History

Historic district

Gallery

See also

References

External links