Chesterfield, New Jersey

Chesterfield, originally known as Recklesstown, is an unincorporated community located around the intersection of County Route 528 (Bordentown-Chesterfield Road, Chesterfield-Arneytown Road) and County Route 677 (Chesterfield-Georgetown Road) in Chesterfield Township of Burlington County, New Jersey.^[1][2]

Chesterfield, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
The Chesterfield Inn
Chesterfield Show map of Burlington County, New Jersey Chesterfield Show map of New Jersey Chesterfield Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°6′54″N 74°38′22″W[1]
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Burlington
Township	Chesterfield
GNIS feature ID	875404[1]

History

In the 1830s, the village had a store, hotel, church, and post office. The village was originally named after Joseph Reckless, who had bought a mill here in 1712.^[3] His grandsons, Anthony and Robert, served in the American Revolutionary War. The name of the community was changed to Chesterfield in 1888 by congressman Anthony Bullock. The oldest part of the Recklesstown Tavern, now the Chesterfield Inn, was built c. 1710. The tavern was expanded in 1774.^[4]

Historic district

Recklesstown Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Kessler House
Area	200 acres (81 ha)
Architectural style	Late Victorian, Georgian
NRHP reference No.	75001125[5]
NJRHP No.	781[6]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 19, 1975
Designated NJRHP	May 8, 1975

The Recklesstown Historic District is a 200-acre (81 ha) historic district encompassing the village. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1975, for its significance in agriculture, religion, and transportation. The district includes 49 contributing buildings. The Kessler House is a two and one-half story brick building built c. 1849. The Chesterfield Baptist Church was built in 1848 and features Greek Doric columns. Across the street is the Clayton House, once the church rectory, now a florist.^[4]

• 
  Chestefield Baptist Church
• 
  Clayton House

Notable people

• Charles Newbold (1764–1835), blacksmith, invented the first one piece cast iron plow, patented in 1797^[4]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Burlington County, New Jersey
• List of turnpikes in New Jersey

References

1. "Chesterfield". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Variant name: Recklesstown
2. "Locality Search". State of New Jersey.
3. Woodward, E. M.; Hageman, John F. (1883). "Recklesstown". History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck. pp. 287–288.
4. Winters, John (April 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Recklesstown". National Park Service. With accompanying 17 photos
5. "National Register Information System – (#75001125)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
6. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Burlington County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. September 29, 2022. p. 5. listed as the Recklesstown Historic District (Village of Chesterfield)

External links

• Media related to Chesterfield, New Jersey at Wikimedia Commons