Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

In 1978, Congress declared the NJ Pinelands the nation’s first National Reserve, covering a large portion of southern New Jersey. The Pinelands, an affiliated unit of the National Park Service, administers the protected areas within through other agencies.

Wharton State Forest, in the NJ Pinelands, manages the Historic Batsto Village. There is a visitor center in the village with souvenirs, NPS literature and information. We signed up here for a $3 guided tour of Batsto Mansion with a docent.

The village grew up around an iron works in the 1760s and provided artillery for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. As the need for iron wares diminished, the village turned to glass-making. The village fell on hard times until Philadelphia businessman Joseph Wharton purchased Batsto in 1876. He improved the structures, started a sawmill and cranberry farming.

In the 1950s, the State of NJ began purchasing the historic structures, and by the late eighties, the last residents had departed. Today, Batsto boasts a museum village with about 40 restored buildings, including the central mansion, accessible only through guided tours.

Joseph Wharton renovated the mansion in the late 1800s to its current design. It has 32 rooms and many of the furnishings are intact. We did enjoy the tour of the mansion, but it was too cold to explore any of the other buildings in the village.

---

Location: Batsto Rd, Batsto, NJ 08037
Designation: National Reserve, State Park, NRHP
Date designated/established: 1978
Date of my visit: January 31, 2016