Batsto Village in Hammonton, NJ

Batsto Village Home Page
31 Batsto Road
Hammonton, NJ 08037
609-561-0024

To understand the origins of Batsto Village, one must first come to terms with a certain weighty subject: Bog iron ore. Once, swamp and stream beds in the New Jersey Pine Barrens abounded with iron ore deposits. The source of this mineral was iron-bearing groundwater, which typically emerged as a spring. In the early 1800s there were as many as fourteen furnaces and forges in southern New Jersey to process bog iron, and one of the foremost such facilities was by the banks of the Batsto River, a few miles upstream from its confluence with the Mullica River.

Pine Barrens iron, glass, wood, timber and charcoal were shipped to markets on the Mullica River and its tributaries, and over those waterways goods acquired in exchange were imported. The Batsto Village site was well suited for an iron works. Bog iron ore and wood from which charcoal was made were both available in the surrounding vicinity, and water power was supplied by the Batsto River. Finished goods were shipped down the Mullica River to market.

We know that an iron furnace was in operation there a decade before the American Revolution. Over the years stores and mills were added, and European immigrants were brought over to work the estate. An ironmasters’ mansion overlooked the village, whose inhabitants were occupied in the making of iron prod­ucts, glass and pottery, and worked in saw mills, farms and ship­yards.

Bog iron is a relatively impure ore, and the use of charcoal to fuel iron furnaces was replaced in the first half of the 1800s by anthracite coal from eastern Pennsylvania. The furnace ceased operation in 1848, and the village gradually fell into disuse. This was not, however, the end of the story of Batsto Village.

The property was acquired in 1876 by Joseph Wharton of Philadelphia, and turned into a family estate. If the combination of name and place sounds familiar, you’re right. Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant who founded the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, co-founded the Bethlehem Steel company, and was one of the founders of Swarthmore College. Mr. Wharton spent $40,000 rebuilding and enlarging the old ironmasters’ mansion in the elegant Italianate style of architecture. Its thirty-six rooms were finely finished in hard woods of various kinds and the building surmounted by a tower one hundred and sixteen feet high. In a region always living in fear of forest fire, the tower contained a large water cistern with standpipe water distribution throughout the house.

The site has been owned and managed by the state of New Jersey since the 1950s, and Batsto Village is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. The historic village is quite extensive and contains plenty of landmarks and exhibits to explore. It’s located in Wharton State Forest, so a scenic drive is an added incentive to visit.

So, now you know what bog iron looks like after accumulating at the bottom of some swamp, being dug up and then placed on display. It is said that Pine Barrens swamps abound in stumps and trunks of trees that have been completely converted into oxide of iron. As you might imagine, bog iron ore contains a high percentage of impurities when compared to other types of iron ore.

This is what an iron ore boat looks like, after spending some time at the bottom of Batsto Lake and finally being brought up in 1957. Boats of this type were used to transport raw bog iron to the Batsto Iron Furnace during the early 19th century.

The ironmasters’ mansion sits at the heart of the historic village, reflecting the prosperity enjoyed during Batsto’s industrial years. Fourteen rooms, including parlors, a dining room, a library and bedrooms, are open to the public for tours. I didn’t go inside that afternoon, being more interested to see what else was around the village.

The Ice and Milk House kept food cold for mansion residents during the warm seasons. Slabs of ice were cut from Batsto Lake and stored in this structure, which is dug approximately 20 feet below ground level. Packed with sawdust, ice kept meat, butter and other dairy products cool year-round.

This is a little off-topic, but here’s the downstream side of the Batsto Lake dam (see satellite photo above). On the far bank is a fish ladder, added to allow alewife, blueback herring and American eel to follow their natural migration routes.

Past the dam and facing downstream, this is where Batsto River flows by the old gristmill, which is just out of view to your left.