Baileytown

A Lost Town of Southern New Jersey
                              

Located in Cumberland County about a mile southwest of Laurel Lake, Baileytown was a rural farming community that dated back to 1799.  At one time the settlement was dotted with family farms, a small general store, sawmill, and quaint one-room schoolhouse.

Today it is long erased from the map, the end coming in late 1942 when residents were forced out by the War Department.  Its destiny written, Baileytown was to become part of an aerial target range for the Millville Army Air Field.

Thus began the destruction of Baileytown, and each family had its sad story.   One recalled riding atop a wagon loaded with household items and farm animals as his family took the last trip down their lane.  Another spoke of her uncle and how he never got over the loss of his farm.  The last family to leave described driving through an eerily abandoned Baileytown.

Although it may not have been the original intent, Baileytown would eventually be destroyed.  The military built full-size wooden replicas of warships, tanks, and ammo dumps in the fields, but young fighter pilots shot up barns and houses as readily as they did the wooden targets.  By the time the war was over, Baileytown was in ruins.

Seventy years later, Baileytown is no more than a frozen moment in time.  Local history buffs enjoy hiking the Bevan Wildlife Management Area in search of old home sites.  Cellar holes and foundations are the only evidence that Baileytown ever existed, and these remains sleep peacefully among acres of protected woodland.