Down Jersey

Along Delaware Bay, discover a different side of the Garden State

By: Michael Redmond
   How much do you think you know about New Jersey?
   Try this. Consult a map showing the Mason-Dixon Line. Extend the line past the Delaware River, straight out to the Atlantic Ocean. Surprise. A substantial portion of the Garden State — in fact, the very portion that is believed to have earned New Jersey its nickname — lies south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
   That region of deep Jersey — the counties of Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland, basically, the southwest corner of the state, on Delaware Bay — have long been known as "Down Jersey," and they comprise some of the state’s least known and most sparsely settled territory.
   There’s a whole world down there. A lot of it is pristine, haunting and beautiful, much of it is as "green" as one might hope for, much of it is simply drenched in colonial and revolutionary history, with an extraordinary richness of period structures — and just about all of it is surprising.
   In fact, if you listen closely, a touch of Dixie can be heard in the speech of lifelong residents. This observation was confirmed by Paul M. Langley Sr., proprietor of the Wagon Wheel Restaurant, a popular stop in Pilesgrove, Salem County. And, by the way, the Wagon Wheel is the only place I know north of Virginia where you can breakfast on sausage gravy over biscuits.
   Item: What is believed to be the oldest continuing weekend professional rodeo in America is Cowtown Rodeo near Woodstown, founded in 1929. That’s right — an open-air rodeo in New Jersey, complete with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, broncos, bulls, steers, the whole nine yards.
   Owned and operated from the get-go by the Harris family, Cowtown attracts professional competitors from all over the country as well as large and enthusiastic crowds of rodeo fans. When competition opens, Cowtown troops the colors by a cavalcade of all participants. It’s an impressive sight.
   Item: There’s a cemetery for the Confederate dead in Down Jersey — Finn’s Point National Cemetery at Fort Mott State Park, on the Delaware River in Salem County. All of the Johnny Rebs buried there were prisoners of war who succumbed to their wounds or disease. A handsome monument pays tribute to their memory.
   Item: If you’re at all interested in antiques, fine art, quality crafts and collectibles and historic preservation, Mullica Hill in Gloucester County is for you. The entire village, early 18th century through Victorian, is listed on the national and state registers of historic places — and what better setting could there be for an antiques district that offers three large co-ops, showcasing the wares of some 200 dealers, plus a mile-long lane of specialty shops in picture-postcard historic buildings?
   Courtesy of the South Jersey Tourism Corp., a three-day expedition through Gloucester and Salem counties passed like a whirlwind — but left some indelible memories. Color this region of the state deep purple, which is what you get when you mix the red of conservative, traditional values with the blue of progressive aspirations and openness to change.
   In Gloucester, for instance, take Swedesboro, a destination just waiting to happen, according to Mayor Tom Fromm. Surrounded on all sides by the explosively developing Woolwich Township, quaint little Swedesboro is in the process of building upon its remarkable past (the town was settled by Swedes circa 1640 — that’s right, 1640) to transform itself into the place where Woolwichians and other folks will want to shop, dine and enjoy good times.
   Farther south in Salem City — settled in 1675 by Sir John Fenwick, a Jacobite émigré — Mayor Earl Gage is thinking the same thoughts. The county seat, Salem City has the look of a would-be Williamsburg, with handsome 18th-century houses being snapped and restored by people with means. The town needs a lot of work, but one can easily see what the potential is.
   Incidentally, there’s a brass star in the pavement at Star Corner in downtown Salem City, and the lore is that if you step on it, you will return to Salem City someday. With pleasure!
   Around and beyond Salem City are Delaware Bay tidelands of a haunting beauty that brings to mind some landscapes of the Chesapeake. Much of the county is still pristine, and South Jersey Tourism’s John R. Seitter — a professional historian who is a member of Rutgers-Camden’s adjunct faculty — is quick to describe Salem as "a treasure chest for historic and environmental tourism. Salem has the most (18th-century) patterned brick houses in the country."
   Green is another very important color in Down Jersey. Although open space and farmland are under some pressure, especially in the Philly ‘burbs in Gloucester County, you can still drive for miles in the region through farm country as rich and fertile as Indiana, and as peaceful, too. "Agri-tourism" is on the march.
   At Duffield’s Farm Market in Sewell, Tracey Duffield explains that "for farms to make it in this state, they’ve got to do other things," such as pick-your-own events, hay rides, all manner of parties, tours for up to 15,000 school children a year, putting in firs for the Christmas tree market, and running a farm market that can only be described as spectacular. Duffield’s is a working farm, however, not a theme park. "From 95 to 98 percent of everything we grow is sold right here," says Tracey. The farm has been a family affair since the 1930s. "Our hearts are in it — that’s why we succeed, I think," Tracey says.
   Out in the middle of a landscape now asprout with McMansions, Bill and Penni Heritage have successfully transformed the orchards that the family has been cultivating since the 1850s into a vineyard and winery of distinction — with a specialty in fruit wines.
   As is also the case with Duffield’s Farm, land-use pressure has forced creative adaptation — and the relationships that have developed are symbiotic. The farms keep their neighborhoods green — and all those new neighbors help to keep the farms in the black.
   Another Down Jersey destination that should not be missed is Red Bank Battlefield (Fort Mercer) and the Whitall House (1748) on the Delaware in Gloucester County — an inspiring site, a magnificent setting, where 600 patriots trounced 2,500 Hessians in October 1777. The actual cannons are still there.
   Nearby is the meticulously preserved home of the Whittall family, prosperous Quakers who accommodated 200 of the wounded — from both sides, let it be noted.