Chatsworth:: Capital of the Pine Barrens

By Ellen V. Fayer, Stan Fayer and Walter A. Brower

Chatsworth, a small village in the New Jersey Pinelands, was known as Shamong until 1901. The community traces its beginning to the early 1700s, when settlers mined and forged bog iron to make cannonballs for the American Revolution, and farming was the primary source of income. In the mid-1800s, Chatsworth was a popular stopping point for stagecoach travelers to the Jersey Shore. The arrival of the railroad removed the remoteness of the village and captured the attention of people throughout the country. Prince Mario Ruspoli de Poggio-Suasa, an attaché of the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., built an elegant villa at the lake. Soon after, the exquisite Chatsworth Country Club was built and counted among its membership a sitting vice president of the United States. It was during this period that Chatsworth played a dominant role in the development of the cranberry industry and began attracting hunters and others seeking recreational opportunities in the Pinelands. The cultivated blueberry industry also had its beginnings in Chatsworth in the 1930s.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439623725

Ellen V. Fayer

Ellen V. Fayer, Stan Fayer, and Walter A. Brower are members of the Woodland Township Historical Society. With assistance from historical society members, they have endeavored to provide readers with an extraordinary view of Chatsworth and its residents.

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INTRODUCTION

Where we love is home, Home that our feet may leave, But not our hearts.

—Oliver Wendel Holmes From An American Hometown

Throughout the last four decades, Chatsworth has experienced a notable resurgence of interest in the town’s location, history, and its people by persons throughout New Jersey and the East. Located in Woodland Township, Burlington County, in the pine barrens of Southern New Jersey, it is widely known as the Capital of the Pines. It traces its roots to the 1700s, when settlers migrated to the area not only from other sections of the state but also from abroad. The early settlers came primarily to mine, forge bog iron, and to farm. There were four small settlements during the early years, Johnson Place, Jones Mill, Pasadena, and the largest, Shamong, which was renamed Chatsworth in 1901. Shamong was a popular overnight stagecoach stop for those traveling from Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore who would spend the night at the Peacock Inn on Main Street. The White Horse Inn, probably one of the oldest buildings in town, was available for lodging by those visiting or working in the area.

The continuous increase in the local population with many families with children necessitated that schools be built. Five one-room elementary schools were constructed. Meager by any standard, there was no electricity, no water, and no amenities one might expect to see in a school. They were schools with one teacher, usually a male, and accommodating more students than there were seats. Those schools were closed in 1915, when a larger school was built in Chatsworth to meet the needs of all the children in the township.

The village’s first church building was constructed in 1873 to serve the Presbyterian parishioners. Destroyed by fire 20 years later, a new church facility was constructed and the congregation affiliated with the Methodist denomination. It has continued to be a vital part of the community.

A development that was to have a major impact on the growing community was the arrival of the railroad in 1850. There were no privately owned vehicles and no public transportation at that time. It was the railroad that opened many doors to the outside world for the citizens who would travel to and from Bridgeton, Philadelphia, and New York for shopping. The railroad also made it possible for local citizens to ship to market the sphagnum moss, pine cones, and cattails they gathered and to also receive items needed for daily living. The railroad, along with the area’s natural beauty and its pure air, attracted persons from the populated cities of the Northeast and elsewhere to visit and in several instances, to relocate. A major development was the construction of a club at the lake in 1897 known as the Chatsworth Club by Prince Mario Ruspoli, an attaché of the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C. The prince also built a country villa, similar to an estate of the Duke of Devonshire in England, where he and his wife lavishly entertained notables from the United States and abroad. By the early 1900s, the club had over 500 members, among whom were the Astors, Morgans, Drexels, and Vanderbilts, and a sitting vice president of the United States, Levi P. Morton.

It was during the mid- to late 1800s that Chatsworth played a major role in the development of the cranberry industry in New Jersey. The cranberry growers provided employment for many local citizens. The growing of cranberries in the area continues to be a major industry. So major that for the last 27 years, thousands of people travel to Chatsworth each October to participate in the Annual Cranberry Festival, which is responsible for the complete rehabilitation of the White Horse Inn that had its beginning in the early 1860s. It was early in the 1900s that the location of Chatsworth became a year-round center for sportsmen and women to partake of the numerous recreational opportunities. These were namely hiking, fishing, and unlimited hunting, and in later years, canoeing and bicycling. Early in the 1900s, hunters built facilities, known as deer clubs, that continue to be used during hunting season and throughout the year.

Chatsworth played a vital part in the 1920s in the development of the cultivated blueberry industry. Many local citizens owned blueberry farms (known as fields), and each day during the harvesting season, June and July, they would send their berries to markets not only in New Jersey and Philadelphia, but to distant locations. Many in the community looked forward each year to the harvesting of the blueberries as another way to earn money to support their families.

In 1913, a meeting took place in Pemberton to discuss plans for a colony house for the care and training of the mentally disabled in Burlington County. It was estimated that New Jersey had over 6,000 persons who needed care and training. That facility, the first of its kind in New Jersey, became a reality in 1914 and was called Four Mile Colony. It was situated on 500 acres of state forestlands, sections of which the residents were clearing and preparing for cultivation. In 1915, the colony had 32 residents, and plans were made to construct a dormitory that would house 40 residents. The residents were taught various crafts and skills commensurate with their abilities. The first superintendent was J. Frank Macomber, who was assisted by his wife. They were credited with handling the residents in an ideal manner and maintaining an institution that was a credit to the county. By 1930, there were 563 residents at the