Batsto Village - A Walk Back in Time

Batsto. The name brings back many memories. When the children were small we were dawn time and again to the Batsto historical area near Hammonton, NJ. Close to home, it was ideal for Sunday picnics and strolls along picturesque Batsto Lake. (pictured above)
After a lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers we would walk up the sandy path and stop to exclaim over the iron ore barge that had been excavated from the bottom of the lake. Children would be tugging at our coat sleeves because the peacocks and hens and other assorted caged fowl would be waiting to be fed. Five cents got you a handful of corn to toss into the chickens (some fancy breeds, most domestic) that were scratching the dirt floors of their cages. On we would go, the kids knowing that once we got to the General Store in the center of the old, restored village, there would be ice cream for all.

Situated on the edge of the lake was the saw mill. Deep rumbling indicated that it had been restored to its former roaring glory. The floorboards vibrated and shook beneath our feet as we stood at the door and watched as logs were sawed into planks and shingles for use at other State restorations.

It was peaceful and quiet on the way to the Nature Museum up the woods-scented path that followed the meandering shore of the lake. An old log cabin had been turned into a treasure trove of artifacts from and about nature. Pieces of driftwood were displayed with arrowheads and bird's nests, articles clipped from magazines and newspapers on every conceivable subject dealing with nature or naturalists, quaint old tools that were used in the days when Batsto had been an important town in South Jersey. Many old relics attested to the fact that during the Civil War Batsto had produced many of the cannonballs so vital to the Northern Campaign.

As we left the Nature Museum, we knew that the most exciting part of the visit was still waiting - - the real, honest-to-goodness stage coach with real, honest-to-goodness horses! I can still see my two little girls' eyes grow big with awe as the powerful stage-horses came into view and stopped a few feet from where we were standing. Climbing aboard for the ride through the village had to rank as the highlight of the day.
Homeward bound after a long and exciting afternoon, the girls chattering about what they had seen and done, is one of my fondest memories.

Author's note: Built in 1766 by Charles Read, on the Batso River, it was called the Batsto Iron Works and was located near the site of the future village. Batsto Iron Works continued to be an important iron producing unit until after the Civil War in the Mid 1800's.