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Prehistoric Archaeological Record
Little Egg Harbor Township, the southernmost municipality in Ocean County, is bordered on the east by Little Egg Harbor, on the south by Atlantic County, on the west by Burlington County, and on the north by Eagleswood Township. Little Egg Harbor Township is approximately 49.5 square miles with a population of over 15,945. Acres of pine forest, swampland, scattered 19th century settlements and recent tract housing are found within the township’s boundaries.
Our existing knowledge about the prehistory of the township centers around the streams and the bay. The Pinelands Prehistoric Archaeological Resources Inventory indicates that there are known sites in Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor Township along the coastal area. Seven of these are in the “down shore” area. Within these sites both Archaic and Woodland material has been found. It is evident from the number of sites and the type of material in those sites that prehistoric man was in the area for over 5000 years.
Most of the prehistoric archaeological work in Little Egg Harbor Township was performed by Andrew Stanzeski. Stanzeski has conducted extensive work along both Great Bay Boulevard and Radio Road. He reported his work on clamshells in Bulletin #37 of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey.
Of all the sites in Little Egg Harbor Township, the site known as Jillson Farm has received the most attention. Twelve burials were found there in 1906. In 1938 the State Museum excavated a shell mound west of Great Bay Boulevard. A burial site near Jillson Farm was also excavated along Willis Creek. The site has been studied by the Smithsonian Institute. Most of these burial sites are gone but one such mound covered with shrubs and grasses can still be found just west of the first wooden bridge on Great Bay Boulevard. The Lenape Indians were the earliest inhabitants of Little Egg Harbor Township.
During The Revolutionary War
During the revolution,Little Egg Harbor was the principal port of privateering by the Americans. Many privateers used Tuckerton Creek for shelter and supplies and to unload contraband. Cargo seized by privateers found its way to Philadelphia via roads cutting through the Pine Barrens. Privateering, the illegal boarding and sometimes seizure of British ships, was conducted by smaller vessels, manned by local sailors, who were knowledgeable of the creeks and coastline. In a sense privateering was a form of piracy legitimized by war. The success of the privateers was attributed largely to inlets and bay where these smaller rebel vessels could elude and escape the larger deep-water British frigates.Privateering displeased the British and on October 6, 1776, British military planners organized the largest military and naval movement along the South Jersey Shore. The fleet carried British troops who landed to set fire to the entire settlement of Tuckerton. General Washington received word of the attack and dispatched Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish mercenary, who served as a brigadier general in the Revolutionary Army. A native of the area, Pulaski served with General Washington at the Battle of Long Island and carried out other military operations during the war. On Osborn Island British raiders under “Scotch” Ferguson attached Count Pulaski’s calvary during the night, killing 40 to 50 of them and capturing 5. Deserters from Pulaski’s ranks reported the military encampments of the calvary to the British. As a result, a fierce battle ensued and the British lost part of their fleet and the Americans suffered heavy casualties.
Inland military operations during the war were carried out by British loyalists known as Tories. These men would frequently attack stagecoach lines traveling through the Pine Barrens. It was at the Falkenburgh Tavern that Joseph Mulliner and William Giberson, two notorious Tory outlaws, held court with their gangs.
Little Egg Harbor’s most important 18th century history is perhaps the battle between Colonial and British troops. During the Revolutionary War men of the area often seized British ships in the bay resulting in the British retaliatory strike against Tuckerton by fire. The British were sent to destroy the “nest of rebel pirates” first at Chestnut Neck, then in Gloucester County. After destroying the fort they came to Osborn Island and marched up Island Road. A battle soon followed outside the town in October of 1778. Major DeBose and several other of Pulaski’s legion died. Pulaski arrived the nest day to bury the dead. The site of the battle is marked today with a stone monument along Radio Road in the Mystic Island section of the township.
Eyre Haven
The first recorded account of the area was made by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey who sailed the harbor area in 1614. This early explorer named the area Eyre Haven, the Dutch word for “harbor of eggs,” since numerous bird-nesting sites were found. This has been applied to the Little Egg Harbor and the Great Egg Harbor River areas. However, not until the turn of the 17th century was the area inhabited by white men, with the earliest settlements being made in what is known today as Tuckerton Borough.Henry Jacobs Falkinburg, Sr.
Henry Jacobs Falkinburg, Sr., the first white settler in Little Egg Harbor Township, had been an Indian interpreter for the first European settlers in Upper Burlington County. Falkinburg, a Quaker, purchased 800 acres in 1698 from Samuel Jennings. Jennings had purchased a large tract in the Little Egg Harbor Township area in 1689. Although he never actually lived here, Jennings governed the colony of Quakers that settled in the area. In 1702 the Quakers built their first Friend’s Meeting House in Tuckerton and town meetings were held in the building. Records of these meetings were the only substantial records of events during this period. Little Egg Harbor remained strictly a Quaker settlement until the American Revolution when other settlers of different faiths moved to the area.Colonal Times in LEHT
Henry Jacobs Falkinburg, Sr., the first white settler in Little Egg Harbor Township, had been an Indian interpreter for the first European settlers in Upper Burlington County. Falkinburg, a Quaker, purchased 800 acres in 1698 from Samuel Jennings. Jennings had purchased a large tract in the Little Egg Harbor Township area in 1689. Although he never actually lived here, Jennings governed the colony of Quakers that settled in the area. In 1702 the Quakers built their first Friend’s Meeting House in Tuckerton and town meetings were held in the building. Records of these meetings were the only substantial records of events during this period. Little Egg Harbor remained strictly a Quaker settlement until the American Revolution when other settlers of different faiths moved to the area.
The township originally included all the eastern section of Burlington County. Little Egg Harbor Township was formed from Northampton Township in 1740. In early colonial time Little Egg Harbor was part of West Jersey. Much of West Jersey was owned by Quakers. The rest of what is today Ocean County was considered part of East Jersey. In 1841 the State Legislature designated Tuckerton and the surrounding area communities to be known as Little Egg Harbor Township. The East Jersey-West Jersey boundary line marks may be observed along Route 9. Washington Township was formed in 1802 and Bass River Township became a separate entity in 1864.
At a later date three divisions of territory involved Little Egg Harbor Township. Originally a part of Burlington County, Little Egg Harbor became a part of Ocean County in 1891. The reason for this partition was political. The largely Democratic State Legislature desired to realign Little Egg Harbor Township, with its staunch Republican voters, with Republican Ocean County. The Democrats believed that such a maneuver would swing the rest of Burlington County with its mostly Democratic votes into their control.
In 1899 Tucker’s Beach, which is now part of Long Beach Township, was separated from Little Egg Harbor by an act of the State Legislature. In 1901 Tuckerton Borough broke away from Little Egg Harbor Township because of disputes concerning citizens paying a disproportionate share of taxes. This move reduced the township’s population from 1,856 to 388, a reduction of about 75%, quite a sizable reduction for that era.
The history of Little Egg Harbor Township is intertwined with the town of Tuckerton. The town was named for Ebenezer Tucker but has been variously called Clamtown, Fishtown, Quakertown Little Egg Harbor Meeting, Shrouds Mill, and Andrews Mill.
This area of the township was first settled in 1702 by two brothers, Edward and Mordecai Andrews. Edward held the land east of the creek while Mordecai owned 927 acres west of the creek. Edward, who purchased the land from Samuel Jennings, built a gristmill in 1704. The township developed around the mills and the meeting house. Some of the Andrews’ land and other parcels north and “down shore” from the town contained farms. The creek and bay supplied fish, shellfish and waterfowl to feed the area’s residents.
Tuckerton, once a part of Little Egg Harbor Township, played an important role in the history of the township inasmuch as it was a shipping port during the 18th and 19th centuries from which products such as lumber and charcoal were exported. Isolated settlements were found outside Tuckerton in the 18th century including farms along Center Street and north along Route 9. As early as 1721, Joseph Parker began the settlement of Parkertown, which developed into a small village in the 19th century. As was the case in other coastal communities in Ocean County, 18th century settlers in Little Egg Harbor farmed, hunted and collected food from the bay for their survival. At the end of the 18th century the outlying area of Tuckerton settlement was utilized for its natural resources, bringing more settlement along the main roads leading into the village.
By 1724 a major shipbuilding industry was underway. Before the end of the century over 100 ships set sail from Tuckerton. When the colonies agreed to form a nation, Tuckerton was designated as a Port of Entry. Shipbuilding continued throughout the century but the type of vessel that was being built changed from sloops and schooners to smaller catboats, garveys, and sneakboxes.
Tuckerton
In 1899 Tucker’s Beach, which is now part of Long Beach Township, was separated from Little Egg Harbor by an act of the State Legislature. In 1901 Tuckerton Borough broke away from Little Egg Harbor Township because of disputes concerning citizens paying a disproportionate share of taxes. This move reduced the township’s population from 1,856 to 388, a reduction of about 75%, quite a sizable reduction for that era.
The history of Little Egg Harbor Township is intertwined with the town of Tuckerton. The town was named for Ebenezer Tucker but has been variously called Clamtown, Fishtown, Quakertown Little Egg Harbor Meeting, Shrouds Mill, and Andrews Mill.
This area of the township was first settled in 1702 by two brothers, Edward and Mordecai Andrews. Edward held the land east of the creek while Mordecai owned 927 acres west of the creek. Edward, who purchased the land from Samuel Jennings, built a gristmill in 1704. The township developed around the mills and the meeting house. Some of the Andrews’ land and other parcels north and “down shore” from the town contained farms. The creek and bay supplied fish, shellfish and waterfowl to feed the area’s residents.
Tuckerton, once a part of Little Egg Harbor Township, played an important role in the history of the township inasmuch as it was a shipping port during the 18th and 19th centuries from which products such as lumber and charcoal were exported. Isolated settlements were found outside Tuckerton in the 18th century including farms along Center Street and north along Route 9. As early as 1721, Joseph Parker began the settlement of Parkertown, which developed into a small village in the 19th century. As was the case in other coastal communities in Ocean County, 18th century settlers in Little Egg Harbor farmed, hunted and collected food from the bay for their survival. At the end of the 18th century the outlying area of Tuckerton settlement was utilized for its natural resources, bringing more settlement along the main roads leading into the village.
By 1724 a major shipbuilding industry was underway. Before the end of the century over 100 ships set sail from Tuckerton. When the colonies agreed to form a nation, Tuckerton was designated as a Port of Entry. Shipbuilding continued throughout the century but the type of vessel that was being built changed from sloops and schooners to smaller catboats, garveys, and sneakboxes.
