Former woolen mill by the remains of the Finesville Dam
The community is located along the Musconetcong River between Pohatcong Mountain and Musconetcong Mountain, about a mile east of the Delaware River in a section of the Musconetcong Valley called the Musconetcong Gorge. The settlement was named for Philip and John Fein (often misspelled Fine by locals) who settled in the area from Germany. They built a dam and ran an oil mill, gristmill, sawmill, hotel and a store.[15]
The area was first built up as a permanent settlement due to the construction of Chelsea Forge, built in 1751,[16] a charcoal-iron forge on the Musconetcong.[17] The forge helped to provide the Continental Army with weapons to defend Valley Forge. The Shank Brothers ran a ferry across the Delaware River from the point where the Musconetcong empties into it prior to 1800.[18] The Fein gristmill burned and was later rebuilt as the Riegel Paper Corporation's paper mill[19] and became the Taylor Stiles and Company knife factory.
The first Finesville Dam on the Musconetcong River was built around 1751 for an iron forge. The last one was a concrete dam built in 1952. This obsolete dam was removed in 2011 to restore migratory fish spawning and improve the river habitat.[20][21]
The district includes the Seigle Homestead, listed individually on the NRHP in 1977, and located in the Seigletown section of the community. There are over twenty early stone houses in the community. Many architectural styles are represented, including Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian, and Queen Anne.[25]
Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses on County Route 627
Stone house on Mount Joy Road in Holland Township
Stone house with Victorian embellishment
House with Gothic Revival influences
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Finesville had a total area of 0.325 square miles (0.841 km2), all of which was land.[5][26]
Of the 72 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18; 59.7% were married couples living together; 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.9% were non-families. Of all households, 23.6% were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.[14]
22.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 38.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 110.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 110.9 males.[14]
Places of worship
The Finesville Church was built in 1877.[28][29] The Finesville United Methodist Church was built in 1879 and displays Greek Revival influences.[30] Both are contributing properties of the historic district.[25]
Finesville Church
Finesville United Methodist Church
Transportation
Mount Joy Road Bridge crossing the Musconetcong River
The Mount Joy Road Bridge crosses the Musconetcong River and connects Pohatcong and Holland Townships. This Pratt truss bridge, a contributing structure of the historic district, was built c. 1890 and is the only known example made by G. M. Russling of Hackettstown.[25]County Route 627 (Riegelsville-Warren Glen Road) runs northeast-southwest through the community and intersects with Mountain and Mount Joy Roads.[31]
Points of interest
Hunts Meadow – named for patriot Edward Hunt who dug the millrace here and wintered sixty cavalry horses for the Continental Army in 1778.[32]
Seigletown – named for Benjamin Seigle, a Revolutionary militia captain, who lived here and made red clay pottery called Seigleware. The family owned a farm, a gristmill, clovermill, blacksmith shop and hematite mine.
^New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, p. III-5, August 2012. Accessed June 4, 2013. "Warren County—Name Changes: Beattystown CDP name corrected from Beatyestown; New CDPs: Allamuchy (formed from part of deleted Allamuchy-Panther Valley CDP), Anderson, Asbury, Blairstown, Brainards, Bridgeville, Broadway, Brookfield, Buttzville, Columbia, Delaware, Delaware Park, Finesville, Great Meadows (formed from part of deleted Great Meadows-Vienna CDP and additional area), Greenwich, Hainesburg, Harmony, Hope, Hutchinson, Johnsonburg, Lopatcong Overlook, Marksboro, Mountain Lake, Mount Hermon, New Village, Panther Valley (formed from part of deleted Allamuchy-Panther Valley CDP), Port Colden, Port Murray, Silver Lake, Stewartsville, Upper Pohatcong, Upper Stewartsville, and Vienna (formed from part of deleted Great Meadows-Vienna and additional area)"
United States
New Jersey
