Did you know that Burlington County has 90 locations featured in the National Register of Historic Places? Thomas Paine, General Ulysses S. Grant, Alice Paul, and more historic figures have called Burlington County home, and their houses are still around today. You can also visit the abandoned factories and villages of Atsion and Batsto in the Pine Barrens.
Eastampton Township is home to the Historic Smithville Park, which includes the Smithville Mansion, built in 1840, workers’ houses, and the Burlington County Underground Railroad Museum. Tours of the mansion run at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm every Sunday and Thursday from May through October, and a $7 donation for adults ($6 for students and seniors) is requested. You can learn more about the mansion’s Tea Times, Victorian and Candlelight Christmas tours, and other special events that go on throughout the year by visiting the Friends of the Mansion at Smithville website here. The Underground Railroad Museum is temporarily housed in the Smithville visitor center, which is open from 8:30 am-4:30 pm, as its permanent location in the park undergoes renovations.
There’s also the Burlington County Prison Museum in Mount Holly, which operated from 1811-1965, along with the adjoining Warden’s House. The buildings are open for tours Thursday-Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 12pm to 4pm. The admission fee for tours is $4 for adults, $2 for children, seniors, and students. Children under the age of 5 get in for free. During the month of October, the prison hosts “haunted tours” leading up to Halloween.
Just up High Street from the prison museum is the Burlington County Lyceum of History and Natural Sciences, which is open from 10am-7pm on Monday and Tuesday, 10am-6pm Wednesday through Friday, and 10am-3pm on Saturdays. The Lyceum hosts numerous events on the history of both the county and the United States in general throughout the year, in addition to the Mount Holly Bridge Club. Story time, crafts, and music takes place every Tuesday and Thursday at 11am.
Check out http://www.co.burlington.nj.us/695/History for more information, and be sure to visit the Burlington County Historical Society located at 451 High Street in Burlington.