Photo by Bill Horin/ArtC
Story by Rob Laymon/ArtC
Commissioned by Holly City Development Corporation
Introducing some of the great figures of Millville history. How about David Cooper Wood, who built the famous mansion that now bears his name? It was constructed of New Jersey ironstone, then covered by mortar and whitewashed. Wood’s Iron Foundry created the iron door sills, the pillars on the porch and the porch steps with the open grating. The Millville Historical Society is currently curating a museum to the city’s industrial past at this location.
Or how about Baracha Dunn (1775–1858), who arrived in the village of Millville in Maurice River Township at age 22, and built the house bearing his name on land he purchased from his former militia commander, Joseph Buck? Dunn had served under Millville’s founder in the Cumberland County Militia in 1793. He later moved to Ohio, where he founded the town of Lockland.
There are many more.
“Millville’s story reflects many broader national trends,” said Linda Jones, who heads the historical society, “including the transportation and industrial revolutions, immigration, child labor, company housing and company money, advances in communication, wars, civil rights, and the rise of workers’ movements and labor unions.”
And though history itself doesn’t change, the presentation of it does, which is what got Jones and the historical society working on a program about Juneteenth and black history in Millville. And then there are the new figures from the past ready to emerge into the light.
“What I find is that there is always something that stops me in my tracks,” Jones said of her discoveries. Such as the Millville woman who landed on Normandy with the Army Nurse Corps in the days after D-Day.
Or the Millville WAC who worked at Oak Ridge, a city in Tennessee built during World War II to secretly further the Manhattan Project.
Maybe most important when studying history is the knowledge you acquire of cycles—how highs and lows tend to alternate on their own eccentric scheme. Jones knows which part of the cycle Millville is on now.
“Even though we have had economic setbacks, we’re seeing signs of revitalization,” she said. “High Street is showing renewed energy with artists leading the way; restaurants and shops are now filling up empty spaces.”
Millville Historical Society
200 E. Main St
(856) 293-1078
Open Wednesday & Sunday 1 – 4 pm
https://millhistsoc.org/
