| Smithville, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated area — | |
| Nickname(s): Historic Smithville | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Atlantic |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 34,958 |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 609 |
| Website | Historic Smithville & Village Greene |
Smithville is an unincorporated area located within Galloway Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. Smithville is located 15 miles (24 km) from Atlantic City. Although Smithville has been around since the American Revolutionary War, most of the town remained very rural until in the 1960s when the Smithville Towne Center, a tourist attraction containing over 80 shops opened. The Towne Center was expanded to include numerous rides and other shops named "The Village Greene" which was the centerpiece of a large planned community developed since the 1980s.
Smithville is located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
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James Baremore built what is now the Smithville Inn in 1787, a single room along a well-traveled stagecoach route. However, historians debate whether it was originally planned as an inn. The inn continued to operate and by 1874, it had grown to six times its original size. Its success was well established, but it was eventually abandoned at the turn of the 1900s. In 1952, a local couple purchased the inn and restored the building, and opened it as a restaurant with 42 seats. The inn was declared a historic landmark in 1964 by the U.S. Department of Interior.
Around the 1960s, the owners of the Smithville Inn decided to expand the site into a historical attraction, like Colonial Williamsburg. Several historic buildings from around South Jersey were brought to the site, restored, and converted into shops and attractions.
In 1990, the newly-formed Smithville Development Company began construction on the second part of the Smithville Towne Center, named "The Village Greene", which includes more stores and other activities, such as paddleboats, miniature golf, a carousel, an old-fashioned steam train, and several other attractions. In addition to The Village Greene, the company embarked on a Planned Unit Development containing 6,800 condominium units. Due to legal disagreements, the number of units were dwindled down to 4,000. Soon after, a recession forced the construction to stop in 1991, leaving around 1,600 completed units. In 1995, the remaining land was sold to KHovnanian of Red Bank. KHovnanian reduced the number of planned residences from 2,500 condominium units to a 2,000-unit retirement community.[1] The project was later renamed "Four Seasons at Historic Smithville", which was built in several phases. As of 2009, the construction of the final phase of Four Seasons at Historic Smithville is still ongoing.[2]
Smithville is accessible via Exit 48 of the Garden State Parkway (southbound only) by way of U.S. Route 9 (New York Road) and via the Atlantic City Rest Stop off the Parkway (mile 41, northbound only), by following Jimmie Leeds Road east to Route 9 North.
Notable current and former residents of Smithville include:
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