New Jersey has long been famous for it's "Forgotten Towns". Dots on the map, that were once thriving towns, or the remainders of somones dreams that didn't quite make it. I have written about Archaeology and History out your back door, approx. 2 miles from my home is one of those dots, Actually my house sits on one. Irish Wharf is what the area where my home is now was called in the 1800's - early 20's. The dot 2 miles away was a town called "Texas". Population at it's peak was roughly 200. Texas was where the first mass produced phosphorus tipped kitchen matches were made. The Rancocas River was navigable back then. They brought shiploads of raw phosphorus into "The Port of Rancocas". Another dot.
In the 1890's Diamond Match bought out the factory, workers houses, company store, everything. They shut the plant down and dismantled everything, factory houses, everything. After the Turnpike went through there wasn't even a cellar hole to show a town had been there. If it wasn't this type of action,forest fires and economic "panics" did in other "dots".
To my knowledge, this is the only image of the Factory at it's peak.
Image credit- Paul Tschopp
Edited by red clay - 25-Jul-2012 at 10:47