| Official Name: | Finesville, New Jersey |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | USA New Jersey Warren County#USA New Jersey#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Finesville |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Warren County##Location in New Jersey##Location in the United States |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Warren |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Subdivision Name3: | Pohatcong |
| Named For: | Philip and John Fein |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.68 |
| Area Land Km2: | 5.48 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.20 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.19 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.12 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.08 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 364 |
| Population Density Km2: | 66.39 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 171.94 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | −05:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −04:00 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [3] |
| Elevation M: | 80 |
| Elevation Ft: | 262 |
| Coordinates: | 40.6083°N -75.1711°W |
| Area Code: | 908 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | [4] [5] [6] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 876338 2583989[7] |
Finesville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)[8] located within Pohatcong Township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[9] The CDP was defined as part of the 2010 United States Census.[10] [11] [12] As of the 2010 Census, the CDP's population was 175.[13]
The community is located along the Musconetcong River between Pohatcong Mountain and Musconetcong Mountain, about a mile east of the Delaware River in a section of the Musconetcong Valley called the Musconetcong Gorge. The settlement was named for Philip and John Fein (often misspelled Fine by locals) who settled in the area from Germany. They built a dam and ran an oil mill, gristmill, sawmill, hotel and a store.[14]
The area was first built up as a permanent settlement due to the construction of Chelsea Forge, built in 1751,[15] a charcoal-iron forge on the Musconetcong.[16] The forge helped to provide the Continental Army with weapons to defend Valley Forge. The Shank Brothers ran a ferry across the Delaware River from the point where the Musconetcong empties into it prior to 1800.[17] The Fein gristmill burned and was later rebuilt as the Riegel Paper Corporation's paper mill[18] and became the Taylor Stiles and Company knife factory.
The first Finesville Dam on the Musconetcong River was built around 1751 for an iron forge. The last one was a concrete dam built in 1952. This obsolete dam was removed in 2011 to restore migratory fish spawning and improve the river habitat.[19] [20]
| Finesville–Seigletown Historic District | |
| Nrhp Type: | HD |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Location: | County Route 627; Mountain, Musconetcong, Mount Joy and Bellis Roads |
| Architecture: | Early Republic, Late Victorian, multiple styles |
| Added: | November 10, 2010 |
| Refnum: | 10000892 |
| Designated Other1 Name: | New Jersey Register of Historic Places |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | NJRHP |
| Designated Other1 Link: | New Jersey Register of Historic Places |
| Designated Other1 Date: | March 4, 2010 |
| Designated Other1 Number: | 4398[21] [22] |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Designated Other1 Color: |
|
The Finesville–Seigletown Historic District is a 195acres historic district encompassing the community along County Route 627 (Riegelsville-Warren Glen Road); Mountain, Musconetcong, Mount Joy and Bellis roads, and extending into Holland Township, Hunterdon County. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 2010, for its significance in architecture, industry, engineering, and exploration/settlement. The district includes 97 contributing buildings, 6 contributing structures, and 5 contributing sites.[23]
The district includes the Seigle Homestead, listed individually on the NRHP in 1977, and located in the Seigletown section of the community. There are over twenty early stone houses in the community. Many architectural styles are represented, including Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian, and Queen Anne.[23]
According to the United States Census Bureau, Finesville had a total area of 0.325 square miles (0.841 km2), all of which was land.[4] [24]
The 2010 United States census counted 175 people, 72 households, and 49 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 87 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 97.14% (170) White, 0.00% (0) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 1.14% (2) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.57% (1) from other races, and 1.14% (2) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.86% (5) of the population.[13]
Of the 72 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18; 59.7% were married couples living together; 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.9% were non-families. Of all households, 23.6% were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.[13]
22.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 38.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 110.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 110.9 males.[13]
The Finesville Church was built in 1877.[25] [26] The Finesville United Methodist Church was built in 1879 and displays Greek Revival influences.[27] Both are contributing properties of the historic district.[23]
The Mount Joy Road Bridge crosses the Musconetcong River and connects Pohatcong and Holland Townships. This Pratt truss bridge, a contributing structure of the historic district, was built and is the only known example made by G. M. Russling of Hackettstown.[23] County Route 627 (Riegelsville-Warren Glen Road) runs northeast-southwest through the community and intersects with Mountain and Mount Joy Roads.[28]