NJPH - New Jersey Postal History Society

HEZEKIAH B. SMITH’S INDUSTRIAL VILLAGE ~ Doug D’Avino
Fig. 12: The Smithville railroad station, constructed in 1884 replacing an earlier station, on Railroad Avenue.
The early morning mail exchange with the RPO train was known as “mail on-the-fly.” Mail also arrived each
afternoon when the train stopped at the station.
In August, 1967, members of the Eastampton Fire Company burned the century-old,
crumbling building housing the Smithville post office to the ground. In an interview to the
Burlington County Times, Vaughn explained the reason behind the closure of the post office: “You
know where the Smithville Inn is in Atlantic County; well they wanted to erect a post office there and
give it our name. And as the powers to be will have it, permission was granted. The state only
allows one post office in the state to carry the name, and the Smithville Post Office is no longer
Burlington County’s.”
Today, although the Smithville branch of the Atlantic County’s Absecon post office is
assigned two zip codes (08201 and 08205), both of which are also assigned to Absecon, there is
no longer a functioning post office within the “Towne of Historic Smithville.” Figure 13 shows
what, at one time, was the post office branch within the Atlantic County “Towne,” and the map
in Figure 14 shows the relative location of both Smithvilles.
Currently, the site of Hezekiah B. Smith’s Industrial Village, owned and managed by
Burlington County, contains many of the original, restored buildings, as well gardens and nature
trails. Tours are held of the historic areas; the Smithville Mansion provides a venue for
weddings and other events; the park grounds host fairs and concerts throughout the year; and
Smithville Lake offers a serene location for kayaking, canoeing and other activities.
The author wishes to thank Edith Vaughn’s family for their memories, memorabilia and
ephemera used in this article; specifically her daughter Mrs. Mary McCullough, daughter-in-law
Mrs. Jeanne Vaughn, and granddaughter Mrs. Eleanor Dunker (Member of the Board of
Trustees, Friends of the Mansion at Smithville). I also wish to thank Joe Laufer, President of the
H. B. Smith Industrial Village Conservancy and Burlington County Historian, for providing
images and contacts for this project. And also, my thanks to my wife, Sheila, for her invaluable
research assistance.
NJPH 208
Vol. 39/No. 4
Nov 2011 Whole No. 184