Finesville, New Jersey

Finesville, New Jersey
Census-designated place
Stone houses on Mount Joy Road
Finesville Location in Warren County Show map of Warren County, New Jersey Finesville Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Finesville Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°36′30″N75°10′16″W / 40.60833°N 75.17111°W / 40.60833; -75.17111 [1]
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Warren
Township	Pohatcong
Named for	Philip and John Fein
Area [2]
• Total	2.19 sq mi (5.68 km2)
• Land	2.12 sq mi (5.48 km2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.20 km2)  0.00%
Elevation [3]	262 ft (80 m)
Population  (2020) [4]
• Total	364
• Density	171.94/sq mi (66.39/km2)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Area code	908
FIPS code	34-23340 [5] [6] [7]
GNIS feature ID	876338 [1] 2583989 [5] [8]

Finesville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) ^[9] located within Pohatcong Township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[10] The CDP was defined as part of the 2010 United States Census. ^{[11] [12] [13]} As of the 2010 Census, the CDP's population was 175. ^[14]

History

Former woolen mill by the remains of the Finesville Dam

The community is located along the Musconetcong River between Pohatcong Mountain and Musconetcong Mountain, about a mile east of the Delaware River in a section of the Musconetcong Valley called the Musconetcong Gorge. The settlement was named for Philip and John Fein (often misspelled Fine by locals) who settled in the area from Germany. They built a dam and ran an oil mill, gristmill, sawmill, hotel and a store. ^[15]

The area was first built up as a permanent settlement due to the construction of Chelsea Forge, built in 1751, ^[16] a charcoal-iron forge on the Musconetcong. ^[17] The forge helped to provide the Continental Army with weapons to defend Valley Forge. The Shank Brothers ran a ferry across the Delaware River from the point where the Musconetcong empties into it prior to 1800. ^[18] The Fein gristmill burned and was later rebuilt as the Riegel Paper Corporation's paper mill ^[19] and became the Taylor Stiles and Company knife factory.

The first Finesville Dam on the Musconetcong River was built around 1751 for an iron forge. The last one was a concrete dam built in 1952. This obsolete dam was removed in 2011 to restore migratory fish spawning and improve the river habitat. ^{[20] [21]}

Historic district

Finesville–Seigletown Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Finesville Hotel on County Route 627
Location	County Route 627; Mountain, Musconetcong, Mount Joy and Bellis Roads
Area	195 acres (79 ha)
Architectural style	Early Republic, Late Victorian, multiple styles
NRHP reference No.	10000892 [22]
NJRHP No.	4398 [23] [24]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 10, 2010
Designated NJRHP	March 4, 2010

The Finesville–Seigletown Historic District is a 195-acre (79 ha) historic district encompassing the community along County Route 627 (Riegelsville-Warren Glen Road); Mountain, Musconetcong, Mount Joy and Bellis roads, and extending into Holland Township, Hunterdon County. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 2010, for its significance in architecture, industry, engineering, and exploration/settlement. The district includes 97 contributing buildings, 6 contributing structures, and 5 contributing sites. ^[25]

The district includes the Seigle Homestead, listed individually on the NRHP in 1977, and located in the Seigletown section of the community. There are over twenty early stone houses in the community. Many architectural styles are represented, including Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian, and Queen Anne. ^[25]

• 
  Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses on County Route 627
• 
  Stone house on Mount Joy Road in Holland Township
• 
  Stone house with Victorian embellishment
• 
  House with Gothic Revival influences

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Finesville had a total area of 0.325 square miles (0.841 km²), all of which was land. ^{[5] [26]}

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	175		—
2020	364		108.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [27] 2010 [14] 2020 [4]

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 175 people, 72 households, and 49 families in the CDP. The population density was 538.8 per square mile (208.0/km²). There were 87 housing units at an average density of 267.9 per square mile (103.4/km²). The racial makeup was 97.14% (170) White, 0.00% (0) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 1.14% (2) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.57% (1) from other races, and 1.14% (2) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.86% (5) of the population. ^[14]

Of the 72 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18; 59.7% were married couples living together; 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.9% were non-families. Of all households, 23.6% were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88. ^[14]

22.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 38.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 110.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 110.9 males. ^[14]

Places of worship

The Finesville Church was built in 1877. ^{[28] [29]} The Finesville United Methodist Church was built in 1879 and displays Greek Revival influences. ^[30] Both are contributing properties of the historic district. ^[25]

• 
  Finesville Church
• 
  Finesville United Methodist Church

Transportation

Mount Joy Road Bridge crossing the Musconetcong River

The Mount Joy Road Bridge crosses the Musconetcong River and connects Pohatcong and Holland Townships. This Pratt truss bridge, a contributing structure of the historic district, was built c. 1890 and is the only known example made by G. M. Russling of Hackettstown. ^[25] County Route 627 (Riegelsville-Warren Glen Road) runs northeast-southwest through the community and intersects with Mountain and Mount Joy Roads. ^[31]

Points of interest

• Hunts Meadow – named for patriot Edward Hunt who dug the millrace here and wintered sixty cavalry horses for the Continental Army in 1778. ^[32]
• Seigletown – named for Benjamin Seigle, a Revolutionary militia captain, who lived here and made red clay pottery called Seigleware. The family owned a farm, a gristmill, clovermill, blacksmith shop and hematite mine.

Wineries

• Alba Vineyard
• Villa Milagro Vineyards

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Warren County, New Jersey

References

1. "Finesville". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Finesville Census Designated Place, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed June 3, 2013
4. Census Data Explorer: Finesville CDP, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 15, 2023.
5. Gazetteer of New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2016.
6. U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
7. Geographic codes for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
8. US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
9. State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022.
10. Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed April 18, 2015.
11. GCT-PH1 – Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County – County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Warren County, New Jersey Archived February 12, 2020, at archive.today , United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 4, 2013.
12. 2006–2010 American Community Survey Geography for New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 4, 2013.
13. New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, p. III-5, August 2012. Accessed June 4, 2013. "Warren County—Name Changes: Beattystown CDP name corrected from Beatyestown; New CDPs: Allamuchy (formed from part of deleted Allamuchy-Panther Valley CDP), Anderson, Asbury, Blairstown, Brainards, Bridgeville, Broadway, Brookfield, Buttzville, Columbia, Delaware, Delaware Park, Finesville, Great Meadows (formed from part of deleted Great Meadows-Vienna CDP and additional area), Greenwich, Hainesburg, Harmony, Hope, Hutchinson, Johnsonburg, Lopatcong Overlook, Marksboro, Mountain Lake, Mount Hermon, New Village, Panther Valley (formed from part of deleted Allamuchy-Panther Valley CDP), Port Colden, Port Murray, Silver Lake, Stewartsville, Upper Pohatcong, Upper Stewartsville, and Vienna (formed from part of deleted Great Meadows-Vienna and additional area)"
14. DP-1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Finesville CDP, New Jersey Archived February 12, 2020, at archive.today , United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 3, 2013.
15. Dale, Frank. "Lower Musconetcong Valley; A Drive in the Country", Skylands Visitor. Accessed July 10, 2015.
16. Wacker, Peter O. The Musconetcong Valley of New Jersey: A Historical Geography, p. 152. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1968. Accessed July 10, 2015.
17. Finesvile Marker
18. "Musconetcong River". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
19. Cummins, George Wyckoff. "History of Pohatcong, NJ" ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, from History of Warren County, NJ, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911. Accessed July 10, 2015.
20. "Dam Removals: Finesville". Musconetcong Watershed Association.
21. "Restoring the Musconetcong". United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. March 13, 2013.
22. "National Register Information System – (#10000892)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
23. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Warren County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. September 28, 2021. p. 10.
24. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hunterdon County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. September 28, 2021. p. 8.
25. Bertland, Dennis; Armstrong, Janice (July 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Finesville–Seigletown Historic District". National Park Service. National Archives Catalog for New Jersey}} With accompanying 21 photos (Downloading may be slow.)
26. US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
27. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
28. Greenagel, Frank L. "Finesville Christian Church". The New Jersey Churchscape . Rutgers University Press. ISBN   9-780-8135-2990-5.
29. "Finesville Church". Finesville Church.
30. Greenagel, Frank L. "Finesville Methodist Episcopal Church". The New Jersey Churchscape . Rutgers University Press. ISBN   9-780-8135-2990-5.
31. "Warren County Route 627 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. p. 1.
32. Finesville Historical Markers

External links

• Media related to Finesville, New Jersey at Wikimedia Commons
• "Finesville Dam". Historical Marker Database.