MULLICA TOWNSHIP: A BRIEF HISTORY

This is reprinted from The Press of September 29th:: The area gets its name form the Mulika family, originally from Finland, that comes from Pennsylvania to settle.

Mid-1700s The Sailor Boy Tavern in Elwood becomes a meeting place for patriots. In September 1778, a man said to be Gen. Benedict Arnold arrives from Philadelphia and tells Capt. Elijah Clark the British are planning to burn Chestnut Neck and the army’s warehouse in Pleasant Mills. He returns to the city and commandeer wagons from the Quakers, who oppose the Revolutionary War. He is court-martialed by Gen. George Washington and it is believed this incident leads to his later treason.

1762 Revolutionary War hero Capt. Elijah Clark builds his home in Pleasant Mills. In 1990, the Blank family, who’d been renovating the home, is routed by fire that starts in the attic. Architects are hired to restore the mansion.

1821 First area mill is built and “Sweetwater” is renamed “Pleasant Mills.” The cotton mill will be razed by fire 35 years later. Irving Maceil erects a mill to make brown wrapping paper on the site in 1856. It is also destroyed by fire.

1827 Irish and German workers from the Batsto Furnace and Iron Works build the wood frame St. Mary’s in the Pines, the first Catholic Church in Atlantic County. Its last service will be held in 1860 and it will be destroyed by fire about 1900. The adjoining cemetery is on the state historic register.

1838 township is founded. It will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 1988.

1865 Charles Williams, a Union soldier from Elwood, dies of dysentery on June 7, tow months after the Civil War ends and is buried in “The Sailor Boy Cemetery.” In 1991, Joseph Wilson of Hammonton, will seek to have gravesites in the woods identified and preserved.

1878 The Pleasant Mills Paper Co. builds in the pinelands and operates until 1915. In the 1950s arts patron Ada V. Fenno will turn the back of the mill into a theater.

1918 On March 4, the Atlantic Loading Co. begins construction on the Amatol munitions plant and a village 2 miles away from the plant. With the Armistice on NO. 11, building ceases and the 642 buildings are abandoned.

1925 Brick Elwood School replaces the wooden structure. It will be razed in 2003 to make room for a new $8.6 million facility.

1926 Green Bank Bridge is built. In 2001, it will be refurbished. It features a 200,000 pound concrete slab counterweight that slides down to lift the roadway for boat passage. The 234 foot bridge is on the state’s historic register.

1926 Charles M. Schwab, following a dispute with the Indianapolis speedway, purchases a 6,000 acre tract along Moss Mill Road for an auto racetrack. A California construction company is hired to produce a 50-foot wide, (one and a half) mile oval wooden track, the largest in the world at the time. The 75 foot high grandstand accommodates 60,000 fans. A train station is built with special service to the track. Board track racing ends just two years later. The oval is used for motorcycle racing for a while, then is razed in 1933. The area reverts to forest. The 1,700 acres of the town and track eventually come under management of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.

1927 Rustic, wood paneled building is built with windows overlooking the Mullica River and becomes a popular restaurant, the Sweetwater Casino.

1945 Hammonton State Police barracks is built in the former administration building of the closed munitions plant.

1965 The Elwood En Route Radar Site is constructed on Elwood Road. The 90 foot tall tower with the 60 foot diameter “electric ball” or “golf ball” atop is a radar antenna owned by the FAA for testing new radar systems. It is one of 20 in the county.

1986 There is a weeklong fire at Perona Brothers tire junkyard in December. In 2002, the cleanup of 75,000 to 100,000 tires begins.

1994 Fire damages the basement and a classroom of the Hilda S. Frame School.

1994 In July, ReClaim of New Jersey paves two mile of Railroad Avenue, a rural dirt road, with recycled roofing shingles at no cost. “Nailroad Avenue” will cause numerous flat tires and respiratory problems and the township applies for $700,000 grant to resolve the problems.

(1994/95 The Republican Mayor Lawrence Wimberg pleads guilty to official misconduct in office and steps down as part of a plea bargain. A few months later the Republican Business Administrator, Peter Ponzetti, plead guilty to Official Misconduct and theft and is sentenced to jail.)

1995 Voters forgo their mayor council form of government and return to a township committee.

1996 Volunteer build the Pine Cone Zone, the first play ground in the township.

1996 The township’s first Chamber of Commerce is formed.

1997 Longtime tradition of a decorated boat parade is reestablished by the Sweetwater Casino to raise funds for a young cancer victim.

2000 Population is 5,912 according to the Census. Median family income is $55,143.

2003 Nesco Volunteer Fire Company’s 1920 building is razed by a fire that also destroys their 1925 fire truck. They rebuild in 2004.

2004 Skateboard park opens at the recreation field on Elwood Road.