Galloway Gears Up To Celebrate 250th Anniversary

GALLOWAY, NJ — This summer, Galloway will be celebrating its 250th anniversary. The township was officially incorporated - by Royal charter, as it predates American independence - in 1774.

To honor the township and its history, Galloway has planned a day-long festival on Aug. 17.

"Join us for a day filled with food, music and fun as we commemorate this special milestone in our history," the township said.

The 250th Anniversary Craft and Food Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Municipal Complex (300 East Jimmie Leeds Road).

And ahead of the celebration, the Galloway Township Historical Society put together a brief history of the township, along with a historical map. You can find both of those documents here.

Though Galloway officially became a township in 1774, according to the Historical Society its history dates back to 1524 when European contact was first made at the Jersey Shore, then inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans.

The area was dubbed "Eyren Haven," or "Harbor of Eggs," by Cornelius Jacobsen Mey of Holland in 1614, according to the timeline. It was named so because of all the small wild fowl eggs there, the Historical Society said. A 1670 map called the region "Little Egg Harbor."

It was 1678 when Leeds Point was first settled, and Smithville was settled the next year.

And in 1731, Joseph Galloway was born. An early American political figure, he was a staunch Loyalist and eventually fled to England, where he died in 1803.

The timeline shows that Galloway officially became a township on April 4, 1774. At that time, it was in Gloucester County, and included what is now Brigantine, part of Atlantic City, Port Republic, Mullica Township, Hammonton, Egg Harbor City and what is now Absecon City north of Absecon Creek. Absecon Inlet, Absecon Bay and Creek were then known as "Absequan."

The timeline stretches until 1976, 200 years since the township was officially founded. You can read it for yourself here.