Editing Stillwater Township, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:Paulins Kill Lake Dam, NJ.jpg|thumb|Paulins Kill Lake Dam]]
[[File:First Presbyterian Church, Stillwater, NJ.jpg|thumb|First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater]]
[[File:900 Main Street, Stillwater, NJ.jpg|thumb|The Academy, home of the Historical Society of Stillwater Township]]
The township was created on December 27, 1824, by an act passed by the [[New Jersey Legislature]].<ref name=Story/><ref>Snell, James P. (1881) ''History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers''. (Centennial ed., Harmony, NJ: Harmony Press, 1981), pg. 383</ref>

A prominent structure in the area's history is the [[Casper and Abraham Shafer Grist Mill Complex|Shafer Grist Mill]]. Originally built by Casper Shafer in 1741, it was moved approximately a half mile to its present location in 1764. It was rebuilt in 1844 and powered by water from the [[Paulins Kill]]. Casper's son, Nathan Armstrong Shafer lived in Whitehall Manor, which he built near what is now the center of the village. The [[gristmill]] operated commercially until 1955, making it one of the oldest, continuously operating, water-powered gristmills in the State of New Jersey.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} [[Aline Murray Kilmer]], the widow of poet [[Joyce Kilmer]], lived the last decade of her life at Whitehall, passing away there on October 1, 1941.<ref name="AlineKilmerCite#1">Talbot, Francis X. "A Tribute to Aline Kilmer" in ''America.'' (October 18, 1941), 46.</ref><ref name="AlineKilmerCite#2">Staff. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C10FF38541B728DDDA80B94D9405B878FF1D3 "KILMER CHILDREN GET $25,602 EACH; Soldier-Poet's Heirs Share in Estate Left by Their Grandfather in Jersey"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 31, 1937. Accessed January 20, 2013. "At Stillwater, N.&nbsp;J., today Mrs. Aline Kilmer, widow of the poet, said that her son, Kenton, in addition to his duties with the FHA, has been writing verse."</ref>

In the early 1900s, Swartswood Lake became a major resort. Weekenders took the train into nearby Blairstown through the 1940s to stay at such places as the North Shore Inn, The Casino, and The Dove Island Inn (now a private home). Later, summer cabins became popular with Brooklyn weekenders.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

The Stillwater creamery was built in 1910. [[Borden, Inc.]] later took control of the creamery.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051227030939/http://nynjctbotany.org/njrvtofc/stillwatertwn.html Stillwater Township Sussex County, New Jersey]}}, NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. Accessed October 9, 2015.</ref>

In the 1920s, the [[Paulins Kill]] was dammed to create Paulins Kill Lake<ref>{{Gnis|879175|Paulins Kill Lake}}</ref> and many summer residences sprang up. These summer cottages have grown into what is now a year-round community.<ref>[http://paulinskilllake.com/about/ About the PLA], Paulinskill Lake Association. Accessed October 9, 2015. "Currently, Paulinskill Lake is a year-round residential community of over 500 homes managed by the Paulinskill Lake Homeowners Association."</ref>

The [[First Presbyterian Church (Stillwater, New Jersey)|Presbyterian Church]] is the most prominent feature in Stillwater village.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} Opposite the church is the former Academy, an old schoolhouse that is now home of the Historical Society of Stillwater Township.<ref>{{cite web |title=Keepers of Our Heritage |url=https://www.historicstillwater.org/history-hsst/ |publisher=Historical Society of Stillwater Township |quote=The Academy was built in 1842, two decades before the Civil War, and served as Stillwater’s second school. }}</ref> Stillwater was, and still is, primarily agricultural. The area is dotted with [[lime kiln]]s, which used to burn lime to enrich the soil, but are now obsolete, becoming lost to history and the overgrowth of vegetation. An intact kiln still exists on Millbrook Road, a little more than two miles (3&nbsp;km) from Stillwater village.

Roughly one-third of Stillwater Township's area was ceded to create [[Fredon Township, New Jersey|Fredon Township]] in 1904.<ref name=Story/>