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 would become part of an aerial target range for the Millville Army Air Field. 

After the last family moved out, the military built full-size wooden replicas of ships, tanks,  ammo dumps, etc., for aerial target practice; however the young fighter pilots shot up abandoned homes and barns as readily as they did the targets.  By the time World War II ended, Baileytown was in ruins.   

Seventy years later, Baileytown is no more than a frozen moment in time.  As part of the Bevan Wildlife Management Area, it's cellar holes and foundations have been preserved, and local history buffs enjoy hiking the area in search of old home sites.