LARGEST -- State Forest East of the Mississippi - Hammonton, NJ - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

I was reading the Wharton State Forest & Batsto Village page from the booklet Your Passport to Adventure. This is a booklet to collect state park stamps for New Jersey. Inside each entry are fast facts. One of the fast facts explains the superlative status of this waymark. It reads Wharton is the largest state forest east of the Mississippi. The stamp and the passport books are free. To find out more about our fabulous passport program please visit HERE.

The coordinates are for the welcome center. The welcome center acts as a gateway for the entire Batsto experience. The left page, opposite the stamp reads "Wharton State Forest, located in the heart of the Pine Barrens, also is the site of Batsto Village, a former bog iron and glassmaking industrial center. Travel back in time to the 19th-century with the visit to the Batsto Mansion, general store, post office, workers' cottages ors sawmill. The forest also hosts more than the 155 miles of navigable rivers and streams, and 500 miles of unpaved roads - including a 32-mile stretch of the Botona Trail."

Charles Read is credited with building the Batsto Iron Works along the Batsto River in 1766. Batsto had the natural resources necessary for making iron. There was bog ore which was "mined" from the banks of the streams and rivers, wood from the forests became the charcoal for fuel, and water became the power for manufacturing. John Cox, a Philadelphia business man, became part owner in 1770 and full owner by 1773. The Iron Works produced household items such as cooking pots and kettles. During the Revolutionary War years, Batsto manufactured supplies for the Continental Army. Manager Joseph Ball became owner of Batsto Iron Works in 1779.

In 1784, William Richards, uncle of Joseph Ball, became a major owner of The Iron Works. This began the Richards’ era at Batsto which would last for 92 years. William was ironmaster until he retired in 1809. Son Jesse was in charge until his death in 1854; and he was followed by his son Thomas H. By the mid 1800’s, iron production declined and Batsto became a glassmaking community known for its window glass. Soon the glass business was also finished, and Batsto was in receivership.

Joseph Wharton, a Philadelphia businessman, purchased Batsto in 1876 at a Masters Sale. Wharton continued to purchase property in the area surrounding Batsto. He made improvements on the mansion, and on many of the village buildings. He was also involved in a variety of forestry and agricultural endeavors. Joseph Wharton died in 1909. From his death until 1954, the Wharton properties in the Pine Barrens were managed by the Girard Trust Company in Philadelphia.
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