Pottersville 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) split between Bedminster Township in Somerset County and Tewksbury Township in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a County (United States), county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, 4th-least populous ...

, 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 07979. As of the 2010 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 ...

07979 was 589. In 1990, most of the village was listed on 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 ...

as the Pottersville Village Historic District.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the area was 467.

Education

The Purnell School, a private all-girls boarding high school founded in 1963, was located in Pottersville. In February 2021, Purnell School announced that it would cease operations upon the completion of the 2020–2021 academic year. Later that year,

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in ...

purchased the 82-acre campus to use as an extension of its existing campuses in Basking Ridge and Short Hills.

History

Pottersville was first called Lamington and afterwards Potters Mills. There were mills here as early as 1756 built and owned by William Willet. One Mill still stands on the left side of County Route 512 heading towards Califon. It was originally used for weaving woolen goods and later turned into a grist mill. The first grist mill was built along the Lamington River (Black River), but no longer stands. A commemorative plaque has taken its place. William Willet owned a day book in which he recorded sales to 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 ...

during the Revolutionary War. His main consideration became supplying the Continental Army. He was paid in Continental currency which around 1780 became worthless. He was ruined financially and was forced to sell both mills to Serrin Potter in 1783, which led to the community's name. In 1887, upwards of 200,000 baskets of peaches were shipped from Pottersville and New Germantown (Oldwick) by wagons to Chester, Whitehouse and other area communities. The profitable peach growing industry led the Rockaway Valley Railroad to build a spur to Pottersville in 1888. Black River Falls in Pottersville prompted the railroad to run excursions to the falls. The land around the glen were made into picnic grounds and an amusement park. There was a merry-go-round, dance pavilion and refreshment stand. Some visitors came from Jersey City, N.J. and usually stayed at the Pottersville Hotel. Failure of the peach crop eventually resulted in the end of the Rockaway Railroad. One town resident remembers the park open as late as 1920.

Historic district

The Pottersville Village 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 village. The district was added to the

on September 18, 1990, for its significance in industry, commerce, architecture, settlement, and archeology from 1750 to 1924. It includes 44

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 ...

, 4 contributing sites and 2 contributing structures. With

Gallery

File:23 Fairmount Road East, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Upper Mill, now a residence File:Lower Mill Site, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Lower Mill site, with commemorative plaque File:Lamington River, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Lamington River by Lower Mill site File:11 Pottersville Road, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Former Pottersville Store and Post Office File:11 Fairmount Road East, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Italianate style house File:7 Fairmount Road East, Pottersville, NJ.jpg, Federal style house File:1 McCann Mill Road, Pottersville NJ.jpg, Victorian Style House

Notable people

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

Harriet Adams Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 12, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile book packager, children's novelist, and publisher who was responsible for some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote the plot outlines for many book ...

(1893–1982), author of some 200 books, including nearly 50 in the ''

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudo ...

'' series. Chira, Susan
"HARRIET ADAMS DIES; NANCY DREW AUTHOR WROTE 200 NOVELS"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 29, 1982. Accessed October 7, 2007. "Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, who wrote nearly 200 children's books including many of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, died Saturday evening. She was 89 years old, and lived in Pottersville and Maplewood, N.J."

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Bedminster, New Jersey Tewksbury Township, New Jersey Census-designated places in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Census-designated places in Somerset County, New Jersey Census-designated places in New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Somerset County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Hunterdon County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey