| Smithville, New Jersey | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | USA New Jersey Burlington County |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Smithville in Burlington County (Inset: Location of county within the state of New Jersey) |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Burlington |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Subdivision Name3: | Eastampton |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 39 |
| Coordinates: | 39.9858°N -74.7486°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 08060[1] |
| Area Code: | 609 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 880667 |
| Unit Pref: | imperial |
Smithville was a village in Eastampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.[2] It was originally established as Shreveville in 1831 by Jonathan and Samuel Shreve as a textile village on the Rancocas Creek.[2] It was purchased by Hezekiah Bradley Smith in 1865 and renamed to Smithville.[2] The Smithville post office was established in 1866.[3] The H. B. Smith Machine Company, which produced the American Star Bicycle beginning in 1880, was located there.[2] In 1962, the Smithville Post Office was closed. In 1975, Burlington County purchased the property and created the first park in the county.[2] It is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places as the Smithville Historic District.[4]
In 1892, Arthur Hotchkiss received a patent for a bicycle railroad and contracted with the Smith Machine Company to manufacture it. The initial track ran 1.8miles from Smithville, in a nearly straight line, crossing the Rancocas Creek ten times, and arrived at Pine Street, Mount Holly. It was completed in time for the Mount Holly Fair in September 1892, and the purpose of the railway was supposed to have been enabling employees to commute quickly from Mount Holly to the factory at Smithville. Monthly commuter tickets cost $2.00. The record speed on the railway was 4.5 minutes, and the average trip took 6–7 minutes. The railway was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. It only had one track so that it was impossible to pass another rider, and if riders traveling in opposite directions met, one had to pull off onto a siding.By 1897 ridership had declined, and the railway fell into disrepair.[2] [5] [6] [7]
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Smithville include: