Person:Catherine Craig (3)

 Hunterdon County contains over 40 historic districts on the National Register. Some of those, in Tewksbury Township, are located in some of the most beautiful and serene countryside in New Jersey. With a little historic perspective, your trip through these antique villages will become an excursion of discovery. An afternoon driving or biking along this route is time well-spent; one that you'll likely tell your friends about. 

From Interstate 78, County Route 523 strikes north to meet Route 517 just as it greets the village of Oldwick. The earliest European settlers here were English. As early as 1734 these citizens named their village "Smithfield" after its most prominent resident, Ralph Smith, who built the first mill in Tewksbury Township on Cold Brook. Most of these early occupants were farmers, with a few tradesmen to serve them who were located in the village. From these early days there was a general store in Smithfield. Around 1745, German immigrants began to settle in this area and soon made up the majority of the village's population. By 1754, Smithfield had become "New Germantown" and would retain that name until 1918, when Germany became America's enemy in the First World War.

(Research):Hard Copy Docs:

Census 036 - McDonough County, IL 1870 Census 037 - McDonough County, IL 1880 Obit 006 - Catherine (Craig) Simonson obit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Obituary.

   Verified: YES

2. ↑ GenCircles
   LAROY A. EVANS - [email protected], 14 Jun 2006.