Abbott Farm Historic District

The Abbott Farm Historic District is a National Historic Landmark archeological site in New Jersey. It is the largest known Middle Woodland village of its type on the East Coast of the United States.[2] Significant evidence suggests that the Delaware River floodplain was occupied by Paleoindian people for a long period.[3] It was inhabited between 500 BC and 500 AD.[2] It has been a source of controversy and debate around early development.

Abbott Farm Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
The Isaac Watson House stands in the district
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Location	Hamilton Township, and Bordentown, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°11′10″N 74°43′37″W
NRHP reference No.	76001158
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 8, 1976
Designated NHLD	December 8, 1976[1]

The district encompasses some 2,000 acres (810 ha) of marshlands and bluffs in southern Mercer County and northern Burlington County, in the communities of Hamilton Township, Bordentown, and Bordentown Township. The area, in addition to its archeological importance, includes historically important buildings and transportation-related structures. Included within its boundaries are John A. Roebling Park and the Isaac Watson House in Hamilton Township.[4]

The importance of this site was established in the late 19th century by Charles Conrad Abbott, an archaeologist whose farm was located on one of the bluffs overlooking the marshlands. Abbott's finds on his farm, published in 1876, sparked a debate about when humans first arrived in the area, and consequently had significant influence on the direction of later archaeological work. Many finds from the site are at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, for which Abbott served as assistant curator for many years.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
• Assunpink Trail
• Lenape Trail
• Minisink Archeological Site
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Burlington County, New Jersey

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. NHL Writeup Archived March 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. "The Northeast". On the Record. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
4. "2008 Interpretive Plan for Abbott Farm National Historic Landmark" (PDF). Mercer County Parks Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2013-09-19.