Smithville was a village in Eastampton Township,

Burlington County, New Jersey Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

. It was originally established as Shreveville in 1831 by Jonathan and Samuel Shreve as a textile village on the

Rancocas Creek Rancocas Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States. The creek's main stem is long, with a North Branch of and a South Branch flowing .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-re ...

. It was purchased by

Hezekiah Bradley Smith Hezekiah Bradley Smith (July 24, 1816 – November 3, 1887) was an American inventor and a Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for one term from ...

in 1865 and renamed to Smithville. The Smithville post office was established in 1866. The H. B. Smith Machine Company, which produced the

American Star Bicycle The American Star Bicycle was invented in 1880 by G. W. Pressey and manufactured by the H. B. Smith Machine Company in Smithville, Burlington County, New Jersey. It was characterized by a small wheel in front to avoid the problem of tipping forwa ...

beginning in 1880, was located there. In 1962, the Smithville Post Office was closed. In 1975, Burlington County purchased the property and created the first park in the county. It is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places as the Smithville Historic District.

Bicycle railroad

In 1892, Arthur Hotchkiss received a patent for a bicycle railroad and contracted with the Smith Machine Company to manufacture it. The initial track ran from Smithville, in a nearly straight line, crossing the Rancocas Creek ten times, and arrived at Pine Street, Mount Holly. It was completed in time for the Mount Holly Fair in September 1892, and the purpose of the railway was supposed to have been enabling employees to commute quickly from Mount Holly to the factory at Smithville. Monthly commuter tickets cost $2.00. The record speed on the railway was 4.5 minutes, and the average trip took 6–7 minutes. The railway was exhibited at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893. It only had one track so that it was impossible to pass another rider, and if riders traveling in opposite directions met, one had to pull off onto a siding. By 1897 ridership had declined, and the railway fell into disrepair.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Smithville include: *

Charles R. Chickering Charles Ransom Chickering (October 7, 1891 – April 29, 1970) was best known as the freelance artist who designed some 77 postage stamps for the U.S. Post Office while working at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC. Lerner, 2010 ...

(1891-1970), freelance artist who designed 77 U.S. postage stamps while working at the

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Rese ...

"Still life artist Peto led parade to retreat"
''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997. Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...

'', February 8, 1981. Accessed October 10, 2017. "Charles R. Chickering was born in Smithville in Burlington County in 1891 and at an early age moved with his family to Philadelphia."

References

External links

Burlington County Parks Department
{{authority control Company towns in New Jersey Historic districts in New Jersey Historic sites in New Jersey Eastampton Township, New Jersey