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Welcome to Jamesburg, New Jersey and the home of the Jamesburg Historical Association. Jamesburg is a small community in central New Jersey containing a very rich and glorious past combined with strong cultural ties and traditions. Since before its beginnings in 1887 as the Borough of Jamesburg, the community has had a strong sense of history, as seen by the large Victorian houses and old storefronts lining East and West Railroad Avenues. The Jamesburg Historical Association has worked tirelessly since 1979 to preserve and educate the public about history of Jamesburg and the surrounding area. The famed Lakeview Mansion, the residence of Borough namesake James Buckelew, is the centerpiece of Buckelew Park, a 1.75 acre park across from Lake Manalapan. This mansion serves as the museum for Jamesburg history and the headquarters of the Jamesburg Historical Association. The mansion, built in various stages between 1685 and 1870, serves as a time capsule for Jamesburg, demonstrating not just different building styles and architecture but social patterns from its first residents in 1685 through its the last in 1978. To read a brief history of the structure via our historical marker, click here. Sadly, the efforts of the Jamesburg Historical Association members is not enough. The Association cannot reach every document, photograph, item, or oral history. Thus, in honor of the preservation of Jamesburg's history, this web site has been established as a means of conveying and collecting Jamesburg's history. The Association asks that any resident or visitor of Jamesburg, former or present, who has pictures to share or a story to tell, please contact the Jamesburg Historical Association. The stories and pictures can be personal or general. Pictures, postcards, and images of the mansions and stately homes that once adorned Jamesburg's streets, the shops that filled East and West Railroad Avenues, and lakefront images are just a sample of the many types of images being preserved, in addition to donations of memorabila from the greater Jamesburg area. The earliest documented settler in the Jamesburg area arrived in 1685 from Scotland. A mill was in operation along the Manalapan Brook as early as 1734. With the arrival of James Buckelew in 1829, the area, then part of South Amboy Township, began to slowly grow and become more populous. With the coming of the Camden & Amboy Railroad in 1831, the upper end of town began to develop. In 1853, the establishment of the Jamesburg & Freehold Agricultural Railroad caused Jamesburg to become a railroad hub. As you walk through town, streets in the older section bear the names of railroad pioneers (Gatzmer, Stockton, Stevens) or Civil War leaders (Hooker, Sherman, Lincoln). In 1887, Jamesburg separated from Monroe Township and became an independent borough. Today, Jamesburg is a primarily residential and commerical community with no industry within its nine-tenths of a square mile area. |
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