Whitesbog

      Tuesday, August 17, 2021: Compared to Roebling, New Jersey, Whitesbog Historic Village, 120 West Whitesbog Road, #34, Browns Mills (Burlington County), NJ (609-893-4646), was a much smaller company town. In this rural community, growing cranberries and blueberries were its biggest industries. In 1916, Elizabeth White and Dr. Frederick A. Coville developed the first cultivated blueberry here. At the time, Whitesbog was already the largest cranberry farm in NJ. In addition, the White Family built this company town from 1890 to 1925, and provided workers’ houses, a general store, and a school, as well as an office, processing buildings, and storage buildings. Currently, this village has been part of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, and many of the buildings still stand: the general store, a gallery, an interpretive cottage, a barrel factory, and a cranberry & blueberry museum. In another area, I saw blueberry fields; a cranberry processing substation; and Suningive, Elizabeth White’s house. All of this on 3,000 acres! Because of covid-19, only the general store has been opened on certain Saturdays, and this place has started running special events again. Nevertheless, we did stop by, took pictures, and drove through the village. In time, I’m sure they will open the other buildings in the village and extend the opening days for the general store.