Hightstown History
The land that became the Borough of Hightstown and the surrounding East Windsor Township was acquired by William Penn in the late 1600s. He wanted to settle the land with Quakers, who were being persecuted in England and New England.
Hightstown was named for John and Mary Hight, who established a tavern in the area in the 1750s.
Hightstown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1853, within portions of East Windsor Township. The borough became fully independent c. 1894. Additional portions of East Windsor Township were annexed in 1913, 1915 and 1927.
The Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society was founded in 1971 by a number of historically attentive residents.
On June 21, 1974, the Society bought the house that it now uses as its headquarters, the Ely House, for $40,000. This Greek revival style house dates from ca. 1850. Three different families lived in the house before the Ely’s bought it in 1917. At least two generations of the Ely family lived there. Many of the Society members began volunteering to rehabilitate the house. Volunteers spent the next 5 years scraping, painting, and plastering. It wasn’t until the fall of 1979 that much of the work was done downstairs and ready for the open house.
The Society headquarters was officially dedicated as “Ely House” in June 1976.
On October 3, 1990, the Society had the remaining “freight station” of the Camden & Amboy Railroad, moved from the Coca Cola (Minute Maid) Summit Street property, through the middle of Hightstown to the back of the Ely House property. Coca-Cola paid $40,000 to have it moved and its foundation built. It took 9 years to renovate the freight station into a large meeting room, museum and library. The funding for the renovation was mostly provided by the Estate of Sara Hutchinson West and its executor Richard Hutchinson.
Hightstown Borough is pleased to offer the Historical Society’s Newsletters to its residents and interested parties. Hightstown is proud of its rich history and heritage.