Plan of Town Lots at Belvidere, N.J. The County Town of Warren

Early plat map of Belvidere, New Jersey.

This rare promotional map provides a detailed overview of the town of Belvidere, New Jersey just nine years after it was first incorporated on the banks of the Delaware River. A spacious public square sits across from the county courthouse – both iconic features that can still be seen today, though in slightly renovated forms. Other buildings, illustrated in profile, include an Episcopal Church, Stable, Academy, and the property of the Belvidere Delaware Rail Road. The last is of interest because the line (which originated in Trenton) wasn’t actually completed to Belvidere until early 1855.

Also of note are the numerous industries identified along Pequest Creek. Mills, foundries, and a cotton factory each have special channels diverted to facilitate water-powered mechanisms. Promotional text below the title block emphasizes this local amenity – “The Pequest Creek furnishes as fine Milling power as any in the Country.” Major property owners are also named throughout, descendants of early families like the Walls and Robesons.

The map was surveyed and drawn by William C. Howell in 1854. Printed in Philadelphia by P.S. Duval & Co’s steam lithographic press. Scarce, with one entry located in OCLC at the New Jersey State Library and another identified online at Rutgers.

Sources: OCLC #:4379133; Belvidere History