The Burlington County Commissioners commemorated the 50th anniversary of the preservation of Historic Smithville Park on Sunday during the annual May Faire festival where officials announced plans for additional restoration work and a new trail connection.
“Burlington County is a destination where residents want to live and raise families. A big part of Burlington County’s appeal is because of places like Smithville Park and the entire Burlington County Park System,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, the liaison to the Department of Resource Conservation and Parks. “Smithville’s transformation over the past five decades is one of our County’s biggest success stories and we continue to make investments to protect and enhance this special place.”
America’s ideal industrial town
Smithville is located along the Rancocas Creek in Eastampton. It was originally known as Shreveville before industrialist Hezekiah B. Smith purchased it in 1865 and transformed the sleepy mill town into a thriving industrial center that manufactured cutting-edge woodworking machines and the famed American Star bicycles for shipment across the country. The town also featured the nation’s first bicycle railroad.
Smith and his wife Agnes Gilkerson Smith also oversaw the expansion of the mansion and its grounds, the construction of an opera house and the growth of Smithville’s newspaper as part of a drive to create America’s ideal industrial town.
Smith’s manufacturing company declined in the early 1900s and the village suffered along with it. Buildings and homes were torn down or became abandoned. Train service to the town ended. Eventually Smithville Mansion was sold.
By the 1960s the town was significantly diminished compared to its late 1800s glory, and by 1975 it was practically a ghost town when Burlington County acquired it.
Burlington County bought the village, Smith’s mansion and what remained of the H.B. Smith Machine Company factory in 1975 for a little over $595,000 with the intent of making it into the first County park.
In the ensuing 50 years, the County has invested more than $17.5 million to preserve and restore the mansion and other historic buildings and to make other park enhancements, including a floating trail across Smithville Lake, playgrounds and a Smithville pavilion.
The park is also the permanent home of two art galleries located in the Smithville Mansion Annex and the Worker’s House Gallery. The Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County is also housed in a former worker’s cottage in the park.
Additional restoration work
Burlington County is preparing plans for additional work to stabilize and make repairs to some of Smithville’s remaining structures. The projects include restoration work at the Pike Farmhouse, which was first built in 1750 and is the oldest property in Smithville. The County is also planning to do restoration work at the former Smithville warehouse and make repairs to the wall surrounding the Smithville mansion.
The Burlington County Department of Resource Conservation plans to seek grant funding from the New Jersey Historic Trust to help pay for much of the preservation work.
The County is also applying for a New Jersey Department of Transportation grant to cover the estimated $1.5 million construction cost for a new 1.25-mile walking and biking trail from Smithville Park to the intersection of Woodcrest and Powell roads in Eastampton.
The proposed trail, called the Smithville Park Spur Connector, would be handicapped accessible and provide a link between Smithville and the Rancocas Valley Regional High School athletics complex off Millcreek Road. It would also connect to an Eastampton bike path.
The project has been pre-screened by both the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
The County is also pursuing state funding for the design and construction of a separate 4-mile trail between Smithville Park and Pemberton Township, where it would connect with the existing Pemberton Rail Trail in the Birmingham section of Pemberton Township. The proposed trail would have a pedestrian and bicycle-safe crossing on Route 206 and would eventually become part of the larger Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail envisioned to travel the entire 30 miles of the Rancocas Creek.
“Smithville was not only our first County park, but it continues to be our park system’s crown jewel. It’s a symbol of our ongoing commitment to preserve and protect our county’s history and environment,” said Commissioner Eckel. “These projects are important investments to safeguard Smithville’s historic buildings and make the park even more accessible.”