Abbott Farm Historic District
The Abbott Farm Historic District is a National Historic Landmark archeological site in New Jersey. It is the largest known Middle Woodland village of its type on the East Coast of the United States. Significant evidence suggests that the Delaware River floodplain was occupied by Paleoindian people for a long period. It was inhabited between 500 BC and 500 AD. It has been a source of controversy and debate around early development.
The district encompasses some of marshlands and bluffs in southern Mercer County and northern Burlington County, in the communities of Hamilton Township, Bordentown, and Bordentown Township. The area, in addition to its archeological importance, includes historically important buildings and transportation-related structures. Included within its boundaries are John A. Roebling Park and the Isaac Watson House in Hamilton Township.
The importance of this site was established in the late 19th century by Charles Conrad Abbott, an archaeologist whose farm was located on one of the bluffs overlooking the marshlands. Abbott's finds on his farm, published in 1876, sparked a debate about when humans first arrived in the area, and consequently had significant influence on the direction of later archaeological work. Many finds from the site are at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, for which Abbott served as assistant curator for many years.
