Bowerstown
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The Village of Bowerstown was located near the Morris Canal and Pohatcong Creek, to the north of Washington Borough. This village was established by Jesse Vanetta and Michael B. Bowers in 1829 when an iron foundry was located there. |
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The town peaked in 1870. In 1871 the Erie Lackawanna Railroad was built bypassing the town and it began a long decline. In 1874, the village contained a school, smithy, and a few residences. Several of the town's industrial properties burned down in the 1890s. Between 1910 and 1940, all of the community's residents moved away to leave it a ghost town. However, in c.1930 the Bowers foundry and several adjacent farmsteads were purchased by Consumers Research, Inc., a pioneer consumer product testing organization, and a large facility was constructed. This complex survives and is currently being utilized as the Warren Hills Regional High School Administrative Offices.. Included in this complex of buildings is the stone structure that once housed the foundry. |
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Today, Bowerstown is only a place name within the Township, although there exists a few residences along the road through this area.
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Bowerstown Foundry today |
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| Original Consumers Research complex Remains of Peter Van Doren grist mill built 1838, which in 1870 did $92,000 worth of business |
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| Bowerstown Inclined Plane 7 West today |
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In March 1996, Bowerstown was put on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.