Crosswicks is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) located along the

Crosswicks Creek Crosswicks Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in central an ...

in the northern part of Chesterfield Township in Burlington County in the

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 so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The area is served as

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

ZIP Code 08515. As of the 2000 United States census, the population for

ZIP Code Tabulation Area ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics. These were introduced with the Census 2000 and continued with the 2010 Census and 5 year American Community ...

08515 was 290.

History

Chesterfield Township comprises three distinct communities: Chesterfield, Crosswicks and Sykesville. The area was first settled in 1677, when a group primarily consisting of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

settled in the area of Crosswicks, the oldest of the Chesterfield's three villages. Its name derives from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

language word "Crossweeksung", meaning "house of separation". On June 23, 1778, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the Battle of Crosswicks was fought here over the bridge crossing the Crosswicks Creek.

Philemon Dickinson Philemon Dickinson (April 5, 1739February 4, 1809) was an American lawyer and politician from Trenton, New Jersey. As a brigadier general of the New Jersey militia, he was one of the most effective militia officers of the American Revolutiona ...

, brigadier general in the New Jersey militia, and William Maxwell, brigadier general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, delayed the march of British troops led by General Henry Clinton, preceding the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

on June 28. Crosswicks is home to a

Friends Meeting House A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...

, as well as a historic library which used to house the Crosswicks Fire Department. The fire department's current home is in the former schoolhouse on New Street, which it has occupied since 1968. The building was completed in 1909. The current engine bay (where trucks are kept) was built in 1914, although the original 1909 cornerstone lies in the new section (it was moved). The historic library, established in 1817 to serve Chesterfield Township, still served the community. The Crosswicks Community Association holds an annual family-style croquet tournament and music festival on the village green in July. There is live music provided by local bands during the day. Food is available from vendors. There are lawn games set up for children.

Historic district

The Crosswicks Historic District is a

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

encompassing the area along County Route 660 (Chesterfield-Crosswicks Road, Main Street), Church and Front Streets in the community. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on May 3, 1976, for its significance in architecture, military history, religion, and transportation. The district has 95

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 dist ...

, including the Crosswicks Friends Meeting House. The meeting house, historically known as the Chesterfield Friends Meeting House, was documented by the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) in 1936. Chesterfield Friends Meeting, now known as Crosswicks Friends Meeting, was founded in 1684. The first meeting house was built here in 1692. It was replaced by a larger brick building in 1706. The third and current one is a -story brick building from 1773 featuring Provincial Georgian architectural style. Next to it is the Friends First Day School which has the same style. The J. M. Bunting House is a three-story building featuring

Italianate architecture The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century ...

. The public library building was formerly a firehouse. With File:Chesterfield Friends Meeting House, Crosswicks, NJ.jpg, Crosswicks Friends Meeting House, built 1773 File:Friends First Day School, Crosswicks, NJ.jpg, Friends First Day School, built File:Crosswicks Public Library, Crosswicks, NJ.jpg, Crosswicks Public Library, built 1922 File:Crosswicks Community Center, Crosswicks, NJ.jpg, Crosswicks Community House, built 1923

Geography

The community has an area of and is located on the bank of

, a tributary of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. The community is located from Trenton, the capital of the U.S state of

and from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Demographics

Crosswicks first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 849.

Education

The school districts are Chesterfield Township School District (elementary) and Northern Burlington Regional School District (secondary).
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References

External links

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Census 2000 Fact Sheet for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 08515
from the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

Crosswicks Fire Department
{{Authority control 1677 establishments in New Jersey Chesterfield Township, New Jersey Census-designated places in Burlington County, New Jersey Census-designated places in New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Burlington County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey