Editing Millville, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:Levoy Theatre Presents Our Home Town.webm|upright|left|thumb|Millville in the 1950s]]
[[File:Maurice River Millville.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Maurice River]] in Millville in 2006]]
[[File:Millville History Society.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Millville's First Bank Building]]]]
Around 1720, a sawmill was believed to have existed at Leaming's Mill, known as "Shingle Landing" in its earliest days.<ref>Staff. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F2AAA5333260D3A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Millville Bicentennial 1802-2002 / Did You Know?"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', April 2, 2002. Accessed May 21, 2012. "The settlement of Millville was known as 'Shingle Landing'? The sawmill of Leaming's Mill (circa 1720) brought its products to a ship's landing place on the east bank of the Maurice River along a road that roughly followed Smith Street."</ref> The area also had a public road, a boat landing, and a bridge-like structure.

In 1790, Joseph Smith and Henry Drinker purchased {{convert|24,000|acre|km2}} of land known as the Union Mills Tract. They formed the Union Estates Company, built lumber mills along the [[Maurice River]] and established a dam to power these new mills. Joseph Buck, an [[American Revolutionary War]] veteran who served under General [[George Washington]], was part of a group that purchased the land in the area in 1795 and laid out the plans for what would become Millville.<ref>Biddle, Henry Drinker. [https://archive.org/details/drinkerfamilyin00biddgoog/page/n39 <!-- pg=11 --> ''The Drinker Family in America: To and Including the Eighth Generation''], p. 11. [[J. B. Lippincott & Co.]], 1893. Accessed September 7, 2015. "In 1790, he, together with Joseph Smith and others, formed a company called the Union Company, and purchased twenty-four thousand acres of land in Cumberland County, New Jersey, -  the tract included the present site of Millville. They built a dam and erected mills. In 1795, they sold out to Eli Elmer, Joseph Buck, and Robert Miller and Joseph Buck, laid out the town of Millville."</ref>

In 1806, an Irish immigrant, James Lee, opened the area's first glass factory, making use of the large amounts of [[silica]] sand and the ample wood that could be used to operate the plant.<ref>[http://www.ettc.net/njarts/details.cfm?ID=911 Glass - Whitall Tatum Company, Millville] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927130740/http://www.ettc.net/njarts/details.cfm?ID=911 |date=2007-09-27 }}, Art & Architecture of New Jersey, [[Stockton University]]. Accessed May 21, 2012.</ref>

In the early 1850s, the Smith and Wood Iron Foundry and New Jersey Mills were constructed. In 1860, a bleachery and dye house were added to New Jersey Mills, which then became Millville Manufacturing. David Wood then constructed a dam, forming the largest man-made lake in the state, which powered the entire manufacturing organization. By 1870, the mill had 600 employees, and in 40 years this number doubled.

In 1862, [[Charles K. Landis]] laid out the city of [[Vineland, New Jersey|Vineland]] about {{convert|2.5|mi}} east of the Maurice River. In 1864, Vineland was separated from Millville Township and joined the new Landis Township.<ref name=Story/>

In 1936, the town was the site of Roosevelt Park, a project proposed by [[Effie Maud Aldrich Morrison]] as the country's first housing development for the elderly. The [[Retirement community|retirement colony]] was built on land which had been repossessed by the town of Millville for back taxes, and became known as the "Roosevelt Colony". It was later renamed to the "Roosevelt Park" old age colony, and was sometimes referred to as the Colony for the Aged at Roosevelt Park and Roosevelt Park Colony for Aged. When it opened on October 23, 1936, it became the first senior citizens retirement colony in the United States.<ref>[[Joseph Nathan Kane|Kane, Joseph Nathan]]. ''[[Famous First Facts]]'', Fifth Edition. [[H. W. Wilson Company]], {{ISBN|0-8242-0930-3}}. "The first retirement colony was dedicated on October 23, 1936, at Roosevelt Park, Millville, NJ. The project, which was completed on January 1, 1937, contained seven houses for couples, which rented for $7 a month; six houses for single people, which rented for $5; and a community house. The city of Millville supplied the land, which had been taken over for taxes; the federal government's Works Progress Administration supplied $34,571. The city collected rent and agreed to keep the houses in repair. Residents received $15 monthly from the state under the Old Age Assistance Act. The plan was originated by Effie Morrison, deputy director of the Cumberland County Welfare Board."</ref>

[[Millville Airport]] was dedicated "America's First Defense Airport" on August 2, 1941, by local, state, and federal officials.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1941/08/03/archives/15000-at-dedication-of-defense-airport-henderson-predicts-many.html "15,000 At Dedication Of Defense Airport; Henderson Predicts Many Fields Like That at Millville, N.J."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 3, 1941. Accessed October 14, 2018. "The nation's first defense airport, covering 660 acres, was dedicated here this afternoon."</ref> In less than a year, construction of military base facilities began, and in January 1943, the Millville Army Air Field opened as a gunnery school for fighter pilots. Gunnery training began with [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk]] aircraft, but after a few weeks was changed over to the [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt]]. During its three-year existence, thousands of soldiers and civilians served here, with about 1,500 pilots receiving advanced fighter training in the Thunderbolt.<ref>Vanaman, Joyce. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAEAE9722A5FB11&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Students Visit Air Museum / A Very Plane Experience in Millville"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', May 12, 1999. Accessed May 21, 2012. "Some 1500 pilots received gunnery training in P-47 Thunderbolts and P-40 Warhawk fighter planes."</ref>

Following [[World War II]], the airfield was declared excess to the government's needs, and returned to the City of Millville. Most of the airport buildings were converted to apartments for the many veterans returning from the war. The last of the apartments vanished in the early 1970s, and the airport soon became a hub of industry and aviation for Southern New Jersey.<ref>[http://www.p47millville.org/history/overview/ Overview], Millville Army Air Field Museum. Accessed August 25, 2014.</ref>

Up to the late 1990s the Millville downtown area was depressed and somewhat isolated, as illustrated by the abandoned [[Levoy Theatre]] and [[Wheaton Glass Factory]], with investors reluctant to venture in its development. Major redevelopment has occurred in the past several years, establishing the scenic Riverfront and Downtown areas into an artists' haven, including many studios, shops, and restaurants. Older abandoned buildings have been restored, and continued major development is planned.

Millville has an arts district named the Glasstown Arts District. A public art center with galleries and studios is the hub of activity, and is open six days a week. The district includes seven full-time galleries, along with ten part-time galleries and studios, which are open mostly on weekends and on the third Friday of each month. Wheaton Arts and the Creative Glass Center of America includes a major collection of early American glass with contemporary glass from CGCA Fellows and working glass artists in a restored 19th century glass factory.<ref>[http://www.millvillenj.gov/137/Arts-District-Tourism Arts District & Tourism], Milville, New Jersey. Accessed October 31, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.glasstownartsdistrict.com/pub/org/about About Us], Glasstown Arts District. Accessed October 31, 2019.</ref> Opened in 1908 and closed in 1974 with declining numbers of customers, the Levoy Theatre re-opened in September 2012.<ref>Loughlin, Ryan. [https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/how-the-levoy-theatre-brings-in-big-time-success/article_f66958fe-142a-5635-9243-a4a3d605c03b.html "How the Levoy Theatre brings in big-time success"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', March 10, 2018. Accessed October 31, 2019. "Opened in 1908, the Levoy originally served as a bustling venue for vaudeville acts, plays and bands. As time went on, it switched ownership and even its purpose, at one point becoming primarily a movie house, until it closed in 1974 after years of declining ticket sales.... But the sheer will of the Van Embdens and their team kept them focused, and the doors reopened in September 2012."</ref>

One of Millville's claims to fame is an original [[paperweight]] making technique which originated there. Fine paperweights from the classic period (1845–1870) were made with one of three techniques: millefiori, lampwork or cameo incrustations (sulphides). In the first decade of the twentieth century, crimp flowers, mostly roses, originated in Millville, with several glassworkers making them in their off duty time.<ref>Newell, Clarence A., ''Old Glass Paperweights of Southern New Jersey'' (1989) {{ISBN|0-9619547-0-1}}</ref> These paperweights are commonly called "Millville roses", even when sometimes made elsewhere.<ref>Minns, Edward W. [https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/paperweight-making-as-done-at-millville/ "Flashback: Paperweight Making as Done at Millville"], Collectors Weekly, March 10, 2009. Accessed October 31, 2019.</ref>