Bonny Beth Elwell

Upper Pittsgrove, Elmer, and Pittsgrove Bonny Beth Elwell

Upper Pittsgrove Township, Elmer, and Pittsgrove Township have a rich three-century heritage dating back to the late 1600s. Here, descendants of the original British, Dutch, French, and German colonists still live in the small villages and surrounding farmland that their ancestors cultivated. A colonial inn, churches, numerous houses, and many Revolutionary patriots' gravestones stand as memorials to these original founders. In the 1860s, the railroad came through, bringing some industry and change to the region, enlarging villages, and expanding the town of Elmer. Many residents, however, clung to their agricultural past. The Alliance Colony, founded in the 1880s, provided farmland for displaced Russian Jews, as a broader range of immigrants began to arrive. The 20th century brought Civilian Conservation Corps workers, Parvin's State Park, German POWs, and a crop of new housing developments. Upper Pittsgrove, Elmer, and Pittsgrove showcases the community growth of this area and its ability to remain a land of forests, farm fields, and small-town charm.