Pottersville, New Jersey

Pottersville, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
Church in Pottersville
Pottersville, New Jersey Pottersville's location in Hunterdon County (Inset: Hunterdon County in New Jersey)
Pottersville, New Jersey Pottersville's location in Morris County (Inset: Morris County in New Jersey)
Coordinates: 40°42′50″N 74°43′09″W / 40.71389°N 74.71917°WCoordinates: 40°42′50″N 74°43′09″W / 40.71389°N 74.71917°W
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Hunterdon, Morris and Somerset
Township	Bedminster, Tewksbury and Washington
Elevation[1]	243 ft (74 m)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
GNIS feature ID	874303[1]

Pottersville Village Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
NRHP Reference #	90001475[2]
Added to NRHP	September 18, 1990

Pottersville is an unincorporated community split between Bedminster Township in Somerset County, Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County and Washington Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States.^[3] The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07979.

As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 07979 was 589.^[4]

Education

The Purnell School, a private all-girls boarding high school founded in 1963, is located in Pottersville.^[5]

History

Pottersville was first called Lamington and afterwards Potters Mills. There were mills here as early as 1756 built and owned by William Willet. One Mill still stands on the left side of County Route 512 heading towards Califon. It was originally used for weaving woolen goods and later turned into a grist mill. The first grist mill was built along the Black River but no longer stands. A commemorative plaque has taken its place.

William Willet owned a day book in which he recorded sales to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. His main consideration became supplying the Continental Army. He was paid in Continental currency which around 1780 became worthless. He was ruined financially and was forced to sell both mills to Serrin Potter in 1783, which led to the community's name.

In 1887 upwards of 200,000 baskets of peaches were shipped from Pottersville and New Germantown (Oldwick) by wagons to Chester, Whitehouse and other area communities. The profitable peach growing industry led the Rockaway Valley Railroad to build a spur to Pottersville in 1888.

Black River Falls in Pottersville prompted the railroad to run excursions to the falls. The land around the glen were made into picnic grounds and an amusement park. There was a merry-go-round, dance pavilion and refreshment stand. Some visitors came from Jersey City, N.J. and usually stayed at the Pottersville Hotel. Failure of the peach crop eventually resulted in the end of the Rockaway Railroad. One town resident remembers the park open as late as 1920.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Pottersville include:

• Harriet Adams (1893–1982), author of some 200 books, including nearly 50 in the Nancy Drew series.^[6]

References

1. Feature Detail Report for: Allerton, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 1, 2015.
2. Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
3. New Jersey Local Name Search, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed June 9, 2014.
4. DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010; 2010 Demographic Profile Data for ZCTA 07979, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 9, 2014.
5. Purnell at a Glance, Purnell School. Accessed June 9, 2014.
6. Chira, Susan. "HARRIET ADAMS DIES; NANCY DREW AUTHOR WROTE 200 NOVELS", The New York Times, March 29, 1982. Accessed October 7, 2007. "Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, who wrote nearly 200 children's books including many of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, died Saturday evening. She was 89 years old, and lived in Pottersville and Maplewood, N.J."