The 1766 map of Somerset County, NJ, by Benjamin Morgan and I. Hills shows many of the early landmarks and settlers of Bedminster Township.  Bedminster at that time included the Borough of Peapack and Gladstone (created 1912).    

The surveyors paid close attention to the rivers and mills, which were key transportation and economic features.  The closeup of the northern section shows the Coxe grist mill on the Lemeton (Lamington) river south of what became Pottersville and Forman’s mill on Peapack Brook.     

The southern section of Bedminster shows the mill of Andrew Leake, which after an unfortunate fire would become Burnt Mills (see THSSH Newsletter, Feb. 2023, p. 4).  Pluckermin (Pluckemin) appears as the township’s principal settlement with a Dutch church.  This was actually St. Paul’s Lutheran church which occupied the site of the current Pluckemin Presbyterian Church.  The Bedminster Reformed Church at the site of the present Reformed cemetery is shown further north.

The surveyors identified landholders and their properties by lot number. In some cases, they provided the acreage.  See table below;

Lot             Name                                                 Acres
253            Andrew Hambleton (Hamilton)      875
254            Papack Patent
194            Alexander & Dunster                      1240
250            George Willocks                                    60
200            Campbell & Blackwood                   458
198            Daniel Extels (Axtell)                                  
199            Ann West                                               912
192            Campbel & Blackwood                  3970
193            Alexander & Dunster                                  
62               John Pottengers                                 200
61               Alexander McDowell                          64
60               Alexander & Dimster
66               Morris & Alexander
59               Benjam. Morgan
58               Samuel Nevill

Lot 254 is tagged as Papack Patent, a reference to the Peapack Patent of 1701 granted to George Willocks and John Johnstone.  That patent once extended across most of the township. Many of names on the map were absentee owners who rented out their land to tenants and much of the information is clearly out-dated.   George Willocks of Perth Amboy died in 1729.  Alexander refers to James Alexander (1691-1756) of New York City, father of Lord Stirling.  Note Benjamin Morgan, the surveyor, owned Lot 59.

Settlers known to be in Bedminster in 1766 like Johannes Moelich (Melick) are not named. Moelich’s farm, described in The Story of an Old Farm,  was located near the confluence of Peapack Brook and the Raritan (around the “I” in Bedminster).

The full map of Somerset County can be found at:  https://quod.lib.umich.edu/w/wcl1ic/x-586/wcl000691

 See also:  Bernards Township Landowners, 1766 for a discussion of land in Bernards Township from the same map.

Citation:  “Plan of Somerset County in the province of New Jersey : Copied from the original by Lieut. I. Hills, asst. engr. / survey’d by Benjamin Morgan in 1766.” In the digital collection William L. Clements Library Image Bank. William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. August 20, 2024.