Many of the earliest European settlers of the area came from Gravesend, Brooklyn. Among these settlers were four sons born to John and Elizabeth Griggs: Benjamin (b. 1690), Daniel, Samuel, and Thomas. Griggstown was named after Benjamin Griggs, who established a grist mill on the Millstone River that served as a meeting place for the European farmers of the area and as such the center of the community that would become Griggstown.
From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Griggstown residents reported seeing a feral cow along the parallel Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Millstone River,[13] said to be a ghost of one that was one of many herded along the canal in years past. An actual feral bull believed to be the phantom cow was found in a ditch in November 23, 2002, dying after being rescued.[14]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.519 square miles (6.524 km2), including 2.447 square miles (6.338 km2) of land and 0.072 square miles (0.187 km2) of water (2.86%).[1][2]
Griggstown is accessible via Route 27 (Lincoln Highway), County Route 518 and U.S. Route 206. The major roads in Griggstown are Bunker Hill Road and Canal Road. There is also a small access road with a one-lane bridge(at one time referred to as "twin bridges") known as the Griggstown Causeway that offers access to and from Griggstown as well. The D&R Canal State Park is located on this road in conjunction with the canal side tow-path.[15]
Of the 346 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18; 57.2% were married couples living together; 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.5% were non-families. Of all households, 27.2% were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.[12]
18.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 101.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 101.5 males.[12]
The Griggstown Historic District is a 861-acre (348 ha) national historic district encompassing the community along Canal Road from Old Georgetown Road to Ten Mile Run. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 1984 for its significance in agriculture, architecture, commerce, industry, and transportation. The district includes 68 contributing buildings. The Griggstown Reformed Church was established in 1842 as the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Griggstown. The building was dedicated on August 8, 1843, and features Greek Revival architecture. The Bridge Tender's House, the Bridge Tender’s Station and the Lock Tender's House, all built for the Delaware and Raritan Canal, are contributing buildings.[18]
^History of Franklin Township, NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. Accessed September 22, 2007. "1777:... In Griggstown John Honeyman (with a home that still stands at the foot of Bunker Hill Road and Canal Road) posed as a cattle-trader sympathetic to the British in order to spy on them. Honeyman's information helped Washington plan the surprise attack on Trenton."
^"Making history in Griggstown". Princeton Packet. November 27, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2008. Two presentations by John Allen, president of the Griggstown Historical Society, were made. Mark Alan Hewitt, project architect, received an autographed copy of Moy Sand & Gravel by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, a Griggstown resident.[permanent dead link]
