David Kilby, Managing Editor
JAMESBURG — Jamesburg officially became a borough in March 1887, making this month the 125th anniversary of the square-mile town.
The Jamesburg Historical Association website, www.jamesburghistory.com, has extensive information about the settlement and development of the community.
According to the site, before European settlement, the Leni Lenape occupied the area. The first European settlers in Jamesburg were from Scotland and arrived in the area in the late 17th century. In 1685, these settlers built the original part of the Buckelew House on Buckelew Avenue and a sawmill.
Around 1734 a gristmill was built near Manalapan Lake within the borders of the present Jamesburg.
From 1746 to 1760 a mission for about 160 American Indians, with an 80-acre farm, log cabins and a church, existed in the area.
Soon after, the community became part of the Industrial Revolution, and its industrious roots have historic significance. The borough is known for being the location of the first tomato-canning factory, which was built in Jamesburg in 1847. In the mid-19th century, the borough also had brickyards, a draining tile manufactory and the Downs, Gourlay and Finch shirt factory. Built in 1871, the shirt factory was the largest in the world by 1882.
The gristmill also continued to function well into the 19th century. It would change ownership several times until James Buckelew, Jamesburg’s namesake, bought it in 1832. Thus the area was called Buckelew’s Mills and officially became part of the newly formed Monroe Township in 1838.
Mr. Buckelew quickly became known for his success as a businessman, having successful business ventures with the Camden Amboy Railroad, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and a stagecoach line between Jamesburg and Freehold. He was perhaps best known for providing mule-towing teams for the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and for establishing the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad in 1853.
Mr. Buckelew’s house, the Buckelew Mansion, is also known in town as Lakeview due to its view of Manalapan Lake. Now owned by the JHA, the house is on the national and state registers of historic places. Before undergoing renovations in recent years, the mansion served as a history museum for the borough. The society has received a few grants to continue renovations, but the project has slowed down since the mansion was damaged during Hurricane Irene.
Mr. Buckelew built a school in 1847 on the corner of Church Street and Gatzmer Avenue, where the Jamesburg Presbyterian Church manse is now located. The school was built to allow students of all color since the Monroe school system at the time did not accept African American children. The school was called the James B. School, which eventually evolved into Jamesburg School, hence the name of the borough today.
Jamesburg built its own high school in 1911, and the school remained open until the late 1970s.
Jamesburg officially separated from Monroe and became its own borough in 1887. The railroad and factories in town brought prosperity for about 50 years, and when they became less successful the borough’s small shops became a more popular attraction, making the town the commercial center for Monroe during the mid 20th century.
But as Monroe became more of a suburban retirement boomtown, it began building its own commercial centers, and in the 1980s Jamesburg saw a 10 percent decrease in population.
Since then the borough has been thriving, however. East and West Railroad Avenues are filled with chain retailers as well as mom-and-pop shops, making Jamesburg’s central business district one of the few in the area to welcome both.

