Григгстаун: Жаңа Жерси штатының тарихы мен географиясы

Populated place in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Griggstown is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, in the U. S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 819. The area was first settled around 1733. The Millstone River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal both flow through Griggstown.

Many of the earliest European settlers of the area came from Gravesend, Brooklyn. Among these settlers were four sons born to John and Elizabeth Griggs: Benjamin (b. 1690), Daniel, Samuel, and Thomas. Griggstown was named after Benjamin Griggs, who established a grist mill on the Millstone River that served as a meeting place for the European farmers of the area and as such the center of the community that would become Griggstown. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Griggstown residents reported seeing a feral cow along the parallel Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Millstone River, said to be a ghost of one that was one of many herded along the canal in years past. An actual feral bull believed to be the phantom cow was found in a ditch in November 23, 2002, dying after being rescued.

The Griggstown Historic District is a national historic district encompassing the community along Canal Road from Old Georgetown Road to Ten Mile Run. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 1984 for its significance in agriculture, architecture, commerce, industry, and transportation. The district includes 68 contributing buildings. The Griggstown Reformed Church was established in 1842 as the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Griggstown. The building was dedicated on August 8, 1843, and features Greek Revival architecture. The Bridge Tender's House, the Bridge Tender’s Station and the Lock Tender's House, all built for the Delaware and Raritan Canal, are contributing buildings.