Editing Hunterdon County, New Jersey (section)

===European settlement===
Land purchases from Native Americans occurred from 1688 to 1758. Large land purchases from Native Americans occurred in 1703, 1709 and 1710. Over {{convert|150000|acre|km2}} were bought with metal knives and pots, clothing, blankets, barrels of rum or hard cider, guns, powder and shot allowing for European settlers to enter into Hunterdon County in the early 18th century. After 1760, nearly all Native Americans left New Jersey and relocated to eastern Canada or the Mississippi River area.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}

The first European settlers were Col. John Reading who settled in Reading Township in 1704 they called him Sir Reading of Readington and John Holcombe who settled in Lambertville in 1705.<ref name=FunFacts>[http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/facts/funfacts.htm Fun Facts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203344/http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/facts/funfacts.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }}, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Accessed October 5, 2013.</ref>

Hunterdon County was separated from Burlington County on March 11, 1714. At that time Hunterdon County was large, going from [[Assunpink Creek]] near [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]] to the New York State line which at that time was about {{convert|10|mi}} north of [[Port Jervis, New York]].<ref name=Story/>

On March 15, 1739, [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]] (which at the time included what would later become Sussex County and Warren County) was separated from Hunterdon County.<ref name=Story/> The boundary between Hunterdon and [[Somerset County, New Jersey|Somerset]] counties is evidence of the old [[Quintipartite Deed|Keith Line]] which separated the provinces of [[West Jersey]] and [[East Jersey]]. Hunterdon County was reduced in area on February 22, 1838, with the formation of [[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer County]] from portions of [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington County]], Hunterdon County and [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex County]]. In February 1839, the remaining portion of [[Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey|Hopewell Township]] was annexed to Mercer County. On March 13, 1844, Hopewell Township returned to Hunterdon County while Tewksbury Township was annexed by Somerset County but in February 1845 both of these changes were repealed. Since then, the county boundaries have remained the same.<ref name=Story/>

Hunterdon County was being affected by industrialization in the state and nation, mining speculation in northwest New Jersey, and competitors constructing [[List of New Jersey railroads|railroads]]. The [[Central Railroad of New Jersey|Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad]] leased a section to [[Whitehouse Station, New Jersey|White House]] just south of Tewksbury Township in 1848.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}