Editing Mount Holly, New Jersey (section)

==History==
===Colonial era===
The first European settlement in what is now Mount Holly began in 1677 when Walter Reeves acquired land from the [[Lenape]] (Delaware) [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] living in the area. He constructed a dam on [[Rancocas Creek]] to channel water through a raceway to power a [[grist mill|gristmill]] and sawmill.<ref name=History>[http://www.mountholly.info/index.php/community/history History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513031628/http://www.mountholly.info/index.php/community/history |date=2012-05-13 }}, Mount Holly Township. Accessed June 21, 2012.</ref> Edward Gaskill and his sons dug the mill race on their property between 1720 and 1723.<ref>Shinn, Henry. ''The History of Mount Holly'' 1957.</ref> After the mills were established, more settlers were attracted to the area and built houses and commercial buildings on High, Church, White, Mill, and Pine streets, including the [[Shinn Curtis Log House]] (1712). By 1800, over 250 dwellings had been built.<ref>U.S. Census data 1820</ref>

Today no mills remain on the raceway, which still flows in its original course from the Rancocas just above the dam. The raceway proved a way for herring to make their way above the dam and was the scene of an annual fish run in the spring, which provided fresh herring for salting and eating. The former mill land has been preserved as the Mill Dam Park. It marks the importance of mills to the early settlements.

===Revolutionary War===
On December 17, 1776, Colonel [[Samuel Griffin]] of the [[Continental Army]] crossed the [[Delaware River]] with 600 men, mostly untrained men and boys with little equipment, who marched to Mount Holly where they set up a few 3-pounder artillery pieces on Iron Works Hill. [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian]] commanders von Block and [[Carl von Donop]] were told that there were 3,000 American troops at Mount Holly.

By December 23, 1776, 2,000 [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessians]] were moved from [[Bordentown, New Jersey|Bordentown]] and positioned at The Mount in Mount Holly, where they engaged in a three-day-long artillery exchange, known as the [[Battle of Iron Works Hill]] or Battle of Mount Holly, with the Americans on Iron Works Hill. The Americans slipped away that night.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130211011338/http://www.ironworkshill.org/history.htm History]}}, Battle of Iron Works Hill. Accessed October 19, 2013.</ref>

After [[George Washington]] crossed the [[Delaware River]] on December 25, 1776, the fact that thousands of [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian troops]] had been drawn to Mount Holly aided in the [[Continental Army]]'s success in the [[Battle of Trenton]] the next day, a surprising American victory that helped turn the Army's fading morale after the disastrous defeat at the [[Battle of Fort Washington]] just weeks before and the ignominious retreat through New Jersey.<ref>[http://www.burlco.lib.nj.us/county/history/diversionary.html Diversionary Battleground of December, 1776], Burlington County Library. Accessed December 29, 2006.</ref>

===19th century===
The 1793 state legislature approved the relocation of the [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington County]] seat from Burlington City to Mount Holly, which was approved by voters in a 1796 referendum.<ref>Staff. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/436881128 "Burlington County is one of oldest in the state"], ''[[Courier-Post]]'', February 5, 2000. Accessed November 27, 2013. "It was the first county seat until voters chose Mount Holly as the center of government in 1796."</ref><ref>Shinn, Henry. ''The History of Mount Holly.'' 1957.</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2012}} Several important municipal buildings were constructed, including the courthouse in 1796 and the county prison built {{circa|1819}}. The [[Burlington County Prison]] was designed by [[Robert Mills (architect)|Robert Mills]], a nationally known architect who designed the [[Washington Monument]]. The town has numerous 18th and 19th-century buildings, most of which are included in the Mount Holly Historic District.<ref>[http://www.mountholly.com/community/walkingtour/index.cfm "Walking Tour of Mount Holly"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714121258/http://www.mountholly.com/community/walkingtour/index.cfm |date=2011-07-14 }}, Mount Holly website. Accessed November 27, 2013.</ref> Commercial buildings were constructed primarily along High Street.

In 1849, the [[Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company|Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad]] was established, connecting communities along the [[Delaware River]] to [[Philadelphia]], the major city of the area. The railroad supported industrialization along its route. The [[Camden and Mount Holly Railroad]] constructed a station 20 years later near the intersection of Washington and King streets.

===20th century===
A trolley station was built in 1904 for passengers making connections to [[Burlington, New Jersey|Burlington City]] and [[Moorestown, New Jersey|Moorestown]]. New municipal buildings were constructed during the 20th century, including the Town Hall on Washington Street (1930) and the U.S. Post Office (1935) located across the street (1935), both federally funded and constructed as [[Works Progress Administration]] projects under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] during the [[Great Depression]].

In the late 1950s, Mount Holly began to have economic difficulties due to industrial restructuring and the loss of working-class jobs. In the post-[[World War II]] period, numerous [[blue collar]], [[family wage]] jobs disappeared as the community's traditional employers, the mills and dye factories, were shut down. At first, these job losses were offset in part by gains at the nearby military bases, [[Fort Dix]] and [[McGuire Air Force Base]], especially during the [[Vietnam War]]. In 1970, the residential vacancy rate in Mount Holly was 4.3%.

By 1980, however, the vacancy rate had climbed to 8.7% as a result of the nearby military installations' downsizing after the end of the Vietnam War. During this same period, 1970–1980, shopping malls proliferated in the suburban Philadelphia area, and retail business in Mount Holly suffered.<ref>[http://www.makeitmountholly.com/ecodev/?grp=uez&sec=hist "History of the Mount Holly UEZ"], Make It Mount Holly. Accessed October 22, 2007.</ref>