I was driving home from a crabbing trip and saw the sign. Paid $10 for a scoop of brown sauce covered swamp rat, sides of cole slaw (which was great) and green beans, and a wedge of amazing corn bread from a cast iron pan. I'd have paid $10 for the corn bread and slaw. Ate at a communal table with 4 generations of a local family. Was a slice of Americana that September evening, I remember it well.
It's a rodent that looks like a large rat. Lives near water. Eats plants and the occasional bug. It's like a less industrious beaver. Not the best table fare.
So the early French Catholic missionaries decided muskrat didn't count as meat for Fridays in lent and eventually it became a weird Friday lent tradition. Usually more around the Mississippi
Ate it once, would eat again if i was hungry enough but wouldnt seek it out. It's not farmed or feral, definitely a wild animal. Trapped for their pelts.
on a road trip back from VA last year, we stopped at Southern Grille in Ellendale, DE, because they are known as the place that serves muskrat, but, alas, it's only available seasonally and was not on the menu that day in September.
not unlike cuy (Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig)
>it looks like a giant rat or gerbil has died while resting on a kale leaf, and then has been smothered in barbecue sauce or gravy
https://www.washingtonian.com/2024/02/08/why-does-delaware-love-eating-muskrat/
It's like a beaver mixed with a rat. In the rural parts of Maryland they hunt them and in the *really* rural parts they eat them. I once had a crush on a bartender/coworker who had won a muskrat skinning competition. Hope you're happy out there wherever you are, Cheyenne.
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.
Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for North Americans. In the southeastern portion of Michigan, a longstanding dispensation allows Catholics to consume muskrat as their Friday penance. In 2019, it was reported that a series of muskrat dinners were held during Lent in the areas along the Detroit River, with up to 900 muskrats being consumed at a single dinner. The preparation involved the removal of the musk glands and the gutting and cleaning of the carcass, before the meat was parboiled for four hours with onion and garlic and finally fried.
Cool info. Although I 🤔’d at this: “At 69.3 square miles, Vineland is the largest municipality in the state.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_New_Jersey
(Sort by square mileage, looks like it’s actually #12)
>Also the place where the first woman voted in a presidential election.
I think your source might be wrong.
Women in some states could vote in Post (and pre) revolutionary America. This included NJ for a time.
>In 1797, the election laws of New Jersey referred to voters as “he or she” throughout the whole state. **Many unmarried women voted in New Jersey from 1776 to the early 1800s.**
>However, the clause “he or she” was rescinded in 1807 and changed to “free, white, male citizens.” The change in the language of voting laws restricted women from voting as well as African Americans and noncitizens.
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/08/15/rightfully-hers-woman-suffrage-before-the-19th-amendment/#:~:text=Many%20unmarried%20women%20voted%20in,as%20African%20Americans%20and%20noncitizens.
Jessie Kratz is a historian for The National Archives.
The US constitution makes no distinction about who can vote and left that completely up to the states to figure out so these women did actually vote for presidents.
From your source:
>Vineland was the first place in the nation where women voted in a presidential election (even though the country didn’t recognize the results). In 1869, a local suffragist named Sarah Pearson distributed a handbill that urged women to cast symbolic ballots. “Men will concede your right of suffrage when convinced that you earnestly desire it,” she wrote.
In 1869, the same year Sarah Pearson (who I could find no record of from a quick google search and the quote only brings up that article) cast a symbolic vote, the then territory of Wyoming granted women to right to vote. In 1870 a Wyoming woman was the first woman in the world to vote under the protection of a law granting unrestricted and equal access for women to vote.
https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/topics/womens-suffrage-and-womens-rights
I just want to point out that women not being able to vote was a voter suppression thing, not a battle of the sexes thing. Candidates and parties were losing/winning because of women so some of these people worked to take away their rights. NJ and a few other states made strides through the years that increased access to voting. That is until the late 1700s and early 1800s when rumors of minorities, women and other undesirables committing voter fraud and stealing elections started to swirl (history doesn't repeat, it rhymes) and steps where taken to limit voting access to just white males.
NJ Motorsports Park is in Millville! Fun racing complex, two car/bike tracks, go kart track, dirt bike tracks. Go down a few times a year, my friend tracks a Porsche. The surrounding area doesn’t seem to have much to offer but I’m sure the locals would have better ideas!
And just down the street from NJMP is Maurice River Bluffs preserve. Super fun mountain bike trails back there with separated hiking and biking paths. Love stopping down there on the way to Wildwood in the summer.
Oh and ps, there's a great little brewery called "Glasstown Brewery" just over by the airport.
We love NJMP! We drive from central Jersey for 2-3 race weekends every summer. (We have family like 35m away). Race weekend is always a blast, it’s very fan friendly! You can walk around the pit area & talk with the racers/racing teams. It’s fun to meet the racers & most of the racers are awesome with the kids, let them sit in the cars & show them the controls. Someone always gives kiddo a checkered flag. We made friends 2 years ago with a driver that races in SCCA series (usually wins too!) Last year, we got to see a Ford Falcon race & it was incredible. You could hear it the whole way around the track. We got to meet the driver, who took my 6yo around the whole car & he talked about all the interesting things on the car. (The tail lights were from an original falcon, head lights were stickers, etc). It’s always a fun time.
You can drive your car right up to some of the grandstands. We always bring our canopy tent & camping chairs, so we can get some break from the sun. You can also camp overnight there! 10/10 would recommend.
a whole lot of nothing outside Vineland. that’s why it has 60k people, its a regional hub down here.
i love watching north jerseyans discover south jersey as if its not part of the state they live in.
(very, very respectfully, its funny).
I'm totally guilty of this, I've been up and down the shore and everywhere North/West of the Turnpike down to Philly, but the entire area between like Voorhees, Egg Harbor and the mouth of the Delaware I've never visited and tend to forget about.
Seriously lol Idk if I'm in south or Central but I've been aware of Vineland since I moved to the state. Its weird sometimes seeing people be like "oh em gee did you know this area existed????"
Correct.
From ~1840 to ~1860 NJ made 1/3 of all glass produced in the US.
In the late 1800s light bulbs were on the rise but were hindered by production costs so Michael Joseph Owens invented an automated glass blowing process which eventually helped to kill the dominance of NJ glass companies.
I live in this area and I love it. Lots of farming and rural 1 lane roads. Beautifully quiet with gorgeous sunsets and lots of stars at night. Y’all would hate it, I’d avoid!
I used to drive down there a ton for work, you definitely don't have to worry about me moving there lol
Driving down some of those country/pine barren roads with the windows down and the radio blasting on a nice afternoon was always a treat though.
You don't need to use reverse psychology. I worked there quite a bit. You don't have to worry about Cumberland becoming the next Hudson or Bergen county in terms of housing costs.
I actually did a project for grad school on Cumberland county. We had to pick a community in Nj that struggles to receive or utilize mental health services and I looked at rural NJ residents. I decided to use Cumberland county as my case example as it as has the highest suicide rate in NJ and is a very rural county. I asked people on Reddit for input and everyone there was super welcoming and helpful. One day I want to take a trip down there and just talk with some locals.
Mike Trout, along with Tiger Woods, are preparing to open a world class golf venue in Vineland.
https://www.nj.com/cumberland/2024/03/heres-when-this-nj-golf-course-developed-by-tiger-woods-and-mike-trout-will-open.html
We're just becoming a big old golf course down here.
Seriously, you could throw a stone from where Trout's golf course is and hit at least 3 other golf courses in every direction.
There are two right next to each other in Pittsgrove (one of which the Trout family is currently member of), another ~~3~~ one in Vineland proper (excluding Trout's), and then a few more over towards Buena and Hammonton or up north around Franklinville.
I don't even know enough people who play golf to use all these courses, yet there's somehow 20 within half an hour of my house.
Edit: Two of those courses I counted in Vineland are actually in Buena, just in the area where your address still pops up as Vineland.
Vineland used to have one of the last Bennigans in America, I remember stopping there on the way to Wildwood sometime in the past five years I guess? It's closed now.
It also used to be the headquarters of Progresso soup--that too is closed.
A lot of Hispanic immigration to the area for farming jobs.
Yeah, a local family (the Roths) owned that Bennigans so they didn't have to shut it down when the company went tits up, and it was one of the more profitable Bennigans in the country with steady business. Eventually the lack of corporate took it's toll and drove up costs so they sold it, but they kept it going for a long time.
Lots of farming outside of the major cities (Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton). The further south you go from Hammonton down route 54 to Vineland to Millville to bridgeton the less affluent you’ll see the living conditions be.
Bridgeton is also home to Century Bakery which, as far as I’m concerned, has the best donuts I’ve ever eaten.
They have a type of [Pershing](https://www.centurybakery.com/fries) that is just absolutely incredible
Omfg yes this is the god damned TRUTH!!! Half and half fried is still my guilty pleasure and I have paid for delivery before to North Jersey. Tempted now to see if they deliver to FL because Terrignos blowssss
In all seriousness, with the unaffordable home posts we get here, if you are in your 20s, you could absolutely afford a place in Millville and have a walkable downtown at your hands.
Is it struggling? Sure.
Are there amazing people opening up businesses? Yes.
If you work remote, even for only some of the week, I’d consider it to Philly AND Wilmington.
But the dealbreaker for many here is roommates. I was a teacher living in Atlantic County, working in Cape May County, and I bought a house & only had roommates before marriage, which is still a roommate
This part of NJ is absolutely affordable
It is also the poorest county in the state, but has the best recycling rate IIRC because you have to save money!
I grew up in Vineland, and I still live there today. As I travel throughout the state for work, people often ask what it’s like. I explain it as such:
It offers the full spectrum of American society. You have your millionaires, your homeless, and everything in between. Extremely dense areas along with hundreds of thousands of acres of fruitful farmland. Mansions beyond your dreams and slums as well.
Just like in Manhattan, you’ll see the city become way over saturated with commuters either passing through or working within the city. Vineland does seem to have a bedtime, however.
As with any small town/city Vineland certainly has its problems. But it is a wonderful, unique, little city whose full potential has not yet been tapped. I eagerly look forward to seeing what Vineland can become, as a resident or a visitor.
It blows my mind that vineland shut down the whole idea of the sports complex. At least i think that’s what i remember happening. Then there was the idea of a recurring music festival in east vineland that a bunch of farmers squashed. I think that was the idea in part for Metallica’s Orion Festival that ended up at Bader Field in AC. At least the Mike Trout/Tiger Woods golf course is still happening.
There are a bunch of old farms in Salem and Gloucester county that are slowly becoming subdivisions and mega warehouses as old times retire and young folks don’t want the hassle and sell/lease off the land. I can see that happening in Vineland.
Millville was going to have an airshow this July, but it was recently cancelled due to a lack of sponsorship interest and an inability to book a military headlining act. They're hoping for a 2025 airshow...
I used to work for a mattress chain that doesn't exist anymore (Mattress Giant) and I had to work a single shift once in their Vineland location. I agreed being young and dumb and not realizing how far away it actually is from Mercer county. "It's basically by Cherry Hill" is the lie my boss told me. This was 2006 and by the time I checked MapQuest I had already agreed. And I've also driven on 55 on my way to Cape May. That's my total experience with this county.
I went to HS in Cherry Hil. Vineland was then in our division of sports.... I remember a 2 hour bus ride to watch the game... Oh, and the two hours back was lots of fun (we won)
Basically Cherry Hill, my Ass!
Vineland is the largest city in the state by area. Lots of industry and farmland in the county. The south shore used to be very important for oyster fishing and river commerce but not so much in the last century.
Pretty good fishing down along the bay, nice and quiet area. As someone from Salem County it’s just like us but with less but bigger towns and more farmland, I like Cumberland.
As a Salem County person who hasn't been able to find a house to live in locally, we've been looking at CumbieCounty. I like it out there, and I have the hots for the Amish market like whoa.
I’m convinced rt 55 is haunted.. travelled to do some roadwork there and everyday skid marks just veering off the road and saw one car stuck UP in a tree.. no idea how they got it up there.
Impoverished. Red necks. Stuck in time. Went from manufacturing economy to a prison economy. Some incredible natural beauty, the bay, Maurice River, woods and marshlands. Some very poor little towns, Port Norris , Leesburg, Delmont , Laurel Lake and others. Very tough place to live if not born and raised there. Western part is a lot of farming.Bridgton must have been beautiful at one point now don’t get out of your car. East and south of Millville is more like Mississippi than NJ. Before you bark, yeah I lived down there for 8-9 years.
Edit: Spelling
This is the real answer. Lots of rose tinted glasses in this thread. Born and raised (and left) Cumberland County. Lots of poverty or close to it. Those who aren’t poor work in prisons, schools, or hospitals. Plenty of drugs, though crime isn’t so bad if you get away from downtown Bridgeton or downtown Millville. That’s mostly because there’s nothing going on, though. It’s true that there’s lots of farmland, as others have pointed out, but it doesn’t seem to do much for anyone economically.
You'd actually be surprised by the amount of investment happening in Vineland and Millville right now. The work economy is actually finally starting to diversify away from that. Giant unnecessary golf course incoming, family fun centers opening up, the Millville HS just got a multi million upgrade with robotics and CS as a big focus.
This place has been in the shitter for a while but it genuinely seems to be on the upswing right now.
Born, raised and left here too. My mom moved the family to coastal Delaware when she married after her second divorce. We would have had to leave eventually even if she did not get remarried because my mom was unable to make the house payments due to the insane property taxes in NJ. Every few years she was out of work looking for a new job because she needed more pay due to the low wage scale in the area or her employer went out of business. This was in the seventies to the eighties as the glass factory (Owens-Illinois) and the canning factory (PJ Ritters) were closing down. It was a very tough place to try to survive. I don't think much has changed except to get worse. MY first jobs as a kid were working on the local farms, but I doubt I could do that now if I were growing up as most of that work is done by Hispanic immigrants now. Do I think Cumberland County will ever gentrify? Maybe I could see remote workers maybe, but remote workers who happen to be based out of a home office in Philly have better options to live in satellite towns in Pennsylvania and Delaware that are not saddled with New Jersey's high tax burden.
It's gotten better, at least in parts. Vineland has a thriving industrial park with a lot of industries coming in with good paying jobs, and having 55 run through it makes commuting elsewhere not that bad so lots of commuters as well. There's still rough parts, and other parts of the county are worse off, but the low cost of living makes it pretty easy to raise a family here. North Jersey folks down voted me to oblivion in another thread because they couldn't wrap their heads around $37k/year not being poverty wages, but in Cumberland you can do decently on that.
I mean I'm from south jersey and i don't see how $37/yr isn't poor? That's what my fiance makes and if it were just him, alone, after taxes and paying rent, phone, and electric or gas bill, he would be left with $500 a month for food, gas, car insurance and leisure. That is not even including health insurance. How can you say that isn't poverty wages?
How much do you spend on yourself for food a month? Or if you need socks or some new work pants? Work boots? What if your car needs an expensive repair? You have to choose oh, do i spend $100 on barely any clothes or should i just deal with ripped pants and socks for another few weeks? Do i get a ride from a coworker for the next 3 months to save up for mechanic fee or do i eat ramen and buy the parts and tools and try to fix it myself?
Making "that much" means you don't qualify for SNAP or medicaid and it's like you are stuck in a paycheck to paycheck rut. Where can you find a 1 bedroom apartment that isn't $1300? It's absolutely insane!! That is unrealistic and i know houses that have 2 and 3 blended families living under one roof to make ends meet.
We had to move in with my parents to save up money for a home. And it's scary. If we didn't have my parents, we would probably be homeless. There's no way me and him and our 2 kids would be able to survive. I'm so grateful to them for helping us out.
Meh. I’ve been in the Vineland/Bridgeton area since 2004 (moved from Sussex county up north) and I’d say Vineland is worse by far in terms of “not getting out of your car.” I currently live just outside of Bridgeton, actually. We’ve all seen the nj map that describes Salem and western Cumberland County as Alabama. It’s legit accurate. Honestly, I’d take north jersey over down here any day of the week. But it’s where we landed out of college. 🤷♂️
Vineland also has some of THE worst roads I’ve ever driven on due to non-existent maintenance.
The Mason-Dixon line is a finite thing. As you said, it doesn’t reach NJ at all. Can’t stand when those ‘stars n bars’ wavers use that line. I always smack them in the face with a link to the journal of George Mason until they give it up.
I live just outside Bridgeton. It’s… not nice. Very, very poor. No jobs to speak of unless you do farm work. I get by on a full remote job based in another state entirely. My wife commutes to Atlantic County every day.
The constant game of “gunshots or fireworks?” got especially old. As do the farmer types from Stow Creek and Alloway who have built their identity out of being as Republican as possible and are convinced Trump is the second coming of Jesus… even had a few 3-percenters out this way, which embarrassed the hell out of me when I realized what those “III” decals on the jacked-up brodozers were.
And then there’s the mobs of 4-wheelers and dirt bikes clogging up traffic from Bridgeton to Vineland in the summer.
I would *love* to get out of here, if you can’t tell. Gloucester might be more crowded, but I’m tired of living where people think being as backwards as possible is some kind of badge of honor.
I drive a decent distance to hit them up. Was down that way taking one of our south jersey discord members bowling before he went to air force basic training the other week. The whole area is super chill right there. Also, the smoothie lady in the back is awesome. Smoothies and hot Amish soft pretzels *drools
I moved to vineland area from Central PA for a job about a year ago. Honestly? The locals talk a lot of shit on their own area. But I love it here.
Less than an hour from the beach, Philly, Pinelands and so many other things. Fantastic farmers markets. With so many farms around, the food here is underrated. Check out Sweet Amelia's oyster shack near Malaga. Decently priced with ingredients from a farm that you likely passed to get there.
Culturally I'd say it has the Philly vibe of "you hate us we don't care" attitude in a rural, self reliant setting.
Because the majority of the people who live in Vineland are not Reddit users. Also the majority of this sub has spent no time in south jersey other than the shore and as a place they pass through to get to Philly and points south.
I always asked myself the same thing, so I took a road trip around Cumberland and Salem Counties. A lot of 55mph one lane highways, fields, marshes, and some farmland. Vineland's an old town that seen better days but has a couple of neat things like a drive in theater.
I found a racetrack there as well, and a few oddly placed suburbs. The funny thing, is you'll come across a small patch of population, or a town, and then it all of the sudden drops off into nowhere land.
Its a place you have to purposely go to. Nobody goes there by accident or happens to pass through. There's no reason to be there, other than the hell of it really. Nothing against the area, I figure it's supposed to be that way, and hopefully never changes like the Northern part of the State.
From the perspective of a Hudson County native.
Its kind of the only county that minds its business and never really gets too involved in the rest of New Jersey. I like to think of them as our more polite sibling.
I was in neighboring Salem County for a wedding and popped over. It’s rural. Gorgeous farmland down there. Felt similar to the Eastern Shore/Delmarva peninsula; southern feel.
I grew up in Cumberland County and currently live in Salem County. There are definitely rough parts. But a lot of it is very "country." I have a neighbor who has been driving his tractor around the neighborhood all weekend.
There isn't a ton to do, but I was roughly 30 to 45 mins away from Ocean City when I lived in Millville and Bridgeton. Right now, I'm about 20 mins from Christiana mall and 30 from Philly.
It's quiet, mostly. I personally enjoy it, but I'm a little biased because it is home.
Welch’s Grape Juice was invented in Vineland in 1893.
The town founder, a Mr Landis, named the town Vineland because he found the soil ideal for growing grapes.
I guess Dr Welch agreed.
At some point, the Welch company moved to Massachusetts.
However the soil actually is well suited for grapes and South Jersey has many small wineries.
The oldest winery in NJ is the Renault Winery in Galloway Township founded in 1864. At one point it was the largest producer of champagne in the US.
In recent decades they have diversified into a resort with a hotel, golf course, wedding and party venues and they continue to make champagne and wine.
Located about 5 miles west of Parkway exit 44..
Vineland used to be a hotbed for the floral industry. A lot of commercial cut-flower farms used to exist in south Jersey. Vineland was known for lilacs in the spring-people would literally fight over the rights to cut the rows of hedges, paying the owners of those years in advance. some would get stolen during the night and show up in the flower market. most flower growers would bring their crops to a depot in Vineland to ship to the ny flower market (where all the wholesale florists in the tri-state area would pick up). There are still some very well industry-known grower/shippers for tulips, sunflowers and peonies in that area.
My great-grandfather used his massive grove of lilacs on his farm as a cash crop. He had regular shipments to Philadelphia markets via the railroad that abutted his property. We still had folks come down from the city wanting to cut them even years after it stopped being a farm. Now, it’s a Best Buy.
Bridgeton is a dump and has horrible poverty, Vineland and Millville less so but still poverty and lack of employment opportunities so most people commute to Glassboro, the shore or Philadelphia/Cherry Hill area.
It's one of those "weird" parts of New Jersey you get lost in when you need to make a stop off the Turnpike. It has a very odd, "where am I" vibe to it. Definitely feels like you're not in Jersey anymore. One the few times I found myself there, the people were still driving Saturn cars from the 90s, and there were a lot of Jerri Curls still being rocked, and this was in the 2010's.
I'm pretty sure that's the area that is the basis for the Jersey setting movie "Nothing But Trouble" with Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Demi Moore, and the late great John Candy. Of course, it also featured a music cameo with Digital Underground and a young Tupac.
Used to visit a Mennonites community down in Vineland growing up. Aside from that I don't know much of the area. They were nice people though and made some pretty decent bbq
So I grew up in vineland and millville. Claim to fame for millville is one of the heads of the rationing board during ww2 was from there. Roosevelt once toured it for that reason and because of the rationing board guys influence, it got the first airport built for war defense. Now, it's got some shopping, Mike Trout, and a junior high that looks like a prison because the designer also designed prisons.
[Vineland Municipal Electric Company is the only municipally owned electric company in all of New Jersey and has existed since 1899.](https://utilities.vinelandcity.org/about-us/#:~:text=Vineland%20Municipal%20Electric%20Utility%20is,City%20of%20Vineland%20since%201899) Everyone else in the state is either on Atlantic City Electric, JCP&L, or PSE&G
Bridgeton is seriously an underrated town. In need of development but has some beautiful architecture and features one of the best public parks in NJ (it includes a zoo!). Living conditions are pretty bleak throughout the country compared to the rest of the state. Some towns along the bay have been evacuated due to flooding.
I live in a rural area in Dorchester (Cumberland Co). I can sit outside on my back deck and admire the land around me because it is older homes (Victorian-1920s), and neighbors are not on top of neighbors here, plenty of land in between. In fact I have a small field that separates me from my other neighbors. I live on a pretty quiet street. I can sit on the deck, close my eyes and say "this is the life."
When I sit out on the deck, the air is clean, no smog, no diesel fumes, no factories surrounding me....absolutely nothing like West Deptford (Gloucester Co). In fact, because I live close enough to the water, there are many days when you can smell the salt water on the breeze, and the mud from the marsh.
The flowering shrubs and flowers in and around the home provide me with a perfume like no other can replicate. I have lots of deer that come into the yard all year round. I have a pair of skunks, a pair of raccoons and a pair of opossums that I feed every day and yes, I give them names. I have several community cats that I take care of as well and took one in this year.
The sound the trees make when the wind is blowing, birds chirping sweet songs, the buzzing crickets and cicadas. The thousands of blackbirds that come into the trees surrounding the house and field at the break of dawn, it's like watching a black lace veil falling from the sky and landing onto the trees. When they take flight, a near thunderous sound erupts as thousands of wings fan out and beat the sky beneath them. Seagulls cry from above, bluebirds and cardinals find mates and huge turkey vultures stalk their carrion.
My neighbors are polite and considerate, several have vegetable gardens and will bring some over to share when ready to be picked. Some neighbors even cut other neighbor's lawns for them. Other than that, most people keep to themselves. I have a quiet neighborhood, for that I am extremely thankful. I could not say that for the last place in lived - a total noise nightmare. I feel very fortunate to live in an area that is not as spoiled as the rest of the state, I just hope it continues to stay this way for awhile longer.
The area reminds me a lot of the Amish country I lived in years ago. Quiet, peaceful.
Vineland is the largest city in the entire state. It does rank 21 out of 21 counties when looking at statistics. There are really three major cities/towns to the area and that includes Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland.
Bridgeton is an area that’s in need but there are a number of programs available to help. Cumberland county is mainly rural and there are a number of nice townships that have a Bridgeton zip code even though they aren’t in Bridgeton city.
Homes cost less than other counties and the county is split between the shore and hitting 55 to Philly.
There is more to the county than people realize.
Muskrat, muskrat candlelight
Doin' the town and doin' it right
In the evenin', it's pretty pleasin'
Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam
Do the jitterbug
Out in the muskrat land
And they shimmy
Sam is so skinny
And they whirl and they twirl and they tango
Singin' and jinglin' a jango
Floatin' like the heavens above
Looks like muskrat love
Nibblin' on bacon, chewin' on cheese
Sam says to Susie
Honey, would you please be my Mrs?
Suzie she says yes, with her kisses
Now, he's ticklin' her fancy
Rubbin' her ties
Muzzle to muzzle now
Anything goes
As they wiggle
Sue starts to giggle
I used to work at the Atlantic City Press, and the best trivia question I had for newcomers was "what's the most populated municipality in our coverage area?"
It was Vineland, but people would always say Atlantic City, when it was only ⅔ the size of Vineland, and besides, AC's not even the biggest in Atlantic County.
Point is, whole region hits below its weight class.
You don't want to go there if you don't know anything about it.
I grew up there, and even the nice memory I have is the rare moments that make you go "wtf ".
There are fun things to offer but most of the year it gets real quiet.
I grew up in cumberland, millville area. It's a cool area, but also pretty boring, not a lot of major things, but just enough to stay busy. I never traveled until later on, so for the majority of my life, this was all NJ was.
My grandparents owned a poultry farm in Millville from the 50s till my grandfather retired in the 90s. I spent my summers and countless vacations over there and have fond memories of the town and Vineland and Bridgeton, where many of their friends lived. I just drove back there for a funeral in December and the area seems like it’s struggling but there is such potential. I always loved the slower pace down there compared with the North Jersey/NYC pace where I live now.
I love living in Elmer, its 15 minutes north west of vineland. I was born and raised in medford which was really nice but super expensive and filled with tons of stuck up pricks that has now become over populated. I've been to every part of new jersey and travel often to random places here for work and pleasure. The only place I would ever live in New jersey is where I am now. Although I'm technically on the very edge of Cumberland and Salem county lines I've been in and out of every small town or bigger sized place to have an understanding of everything here. There's tons of things that I enjoy down here compared to the highly taxed over crowded ritzy and over governed areas up north. Salem the city itself is extremely sketchy like Camden jr, bridgeton is pretty much the same, millville has some crackhead vibes in spots or maybe a little meth, and vineland isn't as bad but not great in a small amount of areas. Anywhere besides these listed are really nice with a ton of things to do in nature, fishing, hunting, shooting, or outdoor sports. Having the industrial sections in vineland on delsea drive have helped me drastically with materials for home renovations and projects. Farmland everywhere has been so much better with organic foods from actual people and not a shoprite or acme. No more neighbors with houses ontop of each other and traffic to worry about. I'm actually enjoying life compared to stressing and feeling my blood pressure rise from leaving my house. Its slower, people are respectful and kind, it's more simple than cut throat rude behavior I've noticed almost everywhere else. Financially speaking I sold my last house in Mt laurel- 3bed,1bath, 1300sqft, .2 acres-$6500/taxes for $350k, I purchased here 4bed,2 bath, 1800sqft, 2.5 acres with 2 car garage and a large polebarn for only $250k and taxes are just $5800. Every day things are slightly less expensive than what I'm used to. I shop in Delaware at Costco for bulk tax free groceries and only takes me 35minutes. If I want to go fishing down the shore like ocean city it's only 45 minutes of a nice scenic drive. There's alot of old stuff down here so finding cars or deals on cool stuff is actually feasible for flipping. Overall this area fits my needs and is going to enable me to not have a heart attack at 40 and save up enough to pay off my house in the next few years and invest/retire early so I'm very happy here.
I ate muskrat at a firehouse dinner near Bivalve in the 90s.
Grew up with muskrat and chicken dinners in Alloway!!!
I was driving home from a crabbing trip and saw the sign. Paid $10 for a scoop of brown sauce covered swamp rat, sides of cole slaw (which was great) and green beans, and a wedge of amazing corn bread from a cast iron pan. I'd have paid $10 for the corn bread and slaw. Ate at a communal table with 4 generations of a local family. Was a slice of Americana that September evening, I remember it well.
I swear, I never know when people are joking or not. I was so convinced this was a joke… until I saw more comments below
It's not so weird when you consider that some people eat squirrel, possum, rabbit and even armadillo.
Can someone explain what muskrat is to us here city-folks?
It's a rodent that looks like a large rat. Lives near water. Eats plants and the occasional bug. It's like a less industrious beaver. Not the best table fare.
And you eat this animal? Are they farmed or feral?
So the early French Catholic missionaries decided muskrat didn't count as meat for Fridays in lent and eventually it became a weird Friday lent tradition. Usually more around the Mississippi
Ate it once, would eat again if i was hungry enough but wouldnt seek it out. It's not farmed or feral, definitely a wild animal. Trapped for their pelts.
I've got a nice Russian style hat made of muskrat fur.
Did Bob Sacamano sell it to you?
And some hair for my little friend here.
Doesn't wild=feral?
No. Feral animals are escaped or released domesticated animals.
on a road trip back from VA last year, we stopped at Southern Grille in Ellendale, DE, because they are known as the place that serves muskrat, but, alas, it's only available seasonally and was not on the menu that day in September. not unlike cuy (Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig) >it looks like a giant rat or gerbil has died while resting on a kale leaf, and then has been smothered in barbecue sauce or gravy https://www.washingtonian.com/2024/02/08/why-does-delaware-love-eating-muskrat/
It's like a beaver mixed with a rat. In the rural parts of Maryland they hunt them and in the *really* rural parts they eat them. I once had a crush on a bartender/coworker who had won a muskrat skinning competition. Hope you're happy out there wherever you are, Cheyenne.
Pressure cooked then deep fried as I recall
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans. Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for North Americans. In the southeastern portion of Michigan, a longstanding dispensation allows Catholics to consume muskrat as their Friday penance. In 2019, it was reported that a series of muskrat dinners were held during Lent in the areas along the Detroit River, with up to 900 muskrats being consumed at a single dinner. The preparation involved the removal of the musk glands and the gutting and cleaning of the carcass, before the meat was parboiled for four hours with onion and garlic and finally fried.
But that is Salem
But we had to go to Bridgeton to buy food…nearest grocery store
Truth
THIS IS THE MOST CUMBERLAND COUNTY SENTENCE EVER. OP, this is all you need to know.
For lent? I heard muskrat is considered fish by Catholic Church for purpose of lent fasting.
Makes perfect sense the Catholic Church would call a mammal a fish for some strange lent loophole. Just get a pizza ffs. 🤦
r/brandnewsentence
Vineland is the egg basket of America. Lots of poultry. Also the place where the first woman voted in a presidential election.
Vineland was the eggplant, and zucchini capitols of the world in the mid ‘70’s
No way! Native of the place and never knew! Can you elaborate?
[Here’s](https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/visionary-vineland/) some good info for ya
Cool info. Although I 🤔’d at this: “At 69.3 square miles, Vineland is the largest municipality in the state.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_New_Jersey (Sort by square mileage, looks like it’s actually #12)
That’s inaccurate. It’s the largest “city” by area.
Ah. Good catch.
>Also the place where the first woman voted in a presidential election. I think your source might be wrong. Women in some states could vote in Post (and pre) revolutionary America. This included NJ for a time. >In 1797, the election laws of New Jersey referred to voters as “he or she” throughout the whole state. **Many unmarried women voted in New Jersey from 1776 to the early 1800s.** >However, the clause “he or she” was rescinded in 1807 and changed to “free, white, male citizens.” The change in the language of voting laws restricted women from voting as well as African Americans and noncitizens. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/08/15/rightfully-hers-woman-suffrage-before-the-19th-amendment/#:~:text=Many%20unmarried%20women%20voted%20in,as%20African%20Americans%20and%20noncitizens. Jessie Kratz is a historian for The National Archives. The US constitution makes no distinction about who can vote and left that completely up to the states to figure out so these women did actually vote for presidents. From your source: >Vineland was the first place in the nation where women voted in a presidential election (even though the country didn’t recognize the results). In 1869, a local suffragist named Sarah Pearson distributed a handbill that urged women to cast symbolic ballots. “Men will concede your right of suffrage when convinced that you earnestly desire it,” she wrote. In 1869, the same year Sarah Pearson (who I could find no record of from a quick google search and the quote only brings up that article) cast a symbolic vote, the then territory of Wyoming granted women to right to vote. In 1870 a Wyoming woman was the first woman in the world to vote under the protection of a law granting unrestricted and equal access for women to vote. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/topics/womens-suffrage-and-womens-rights I just want to point out that women not being able to vote was a voter suppression thing, not a battle of the sexes thing. Candidates and parties were losing/winning because of women so some of these people worked to take away their rights. NJ and a few other states made strides through the years that increased access to voting. That is until the late 1700s and early 1800s when rumors of minorities, women and other undesirables committing voter fraud and stealing elections started to swirl (history doesn't repeat, it rhymes) and steps where taken to limit voting access to just white males.
Not much poultry anymore.
It's where the term "moron" came from too!
Ironically NOT referring to the locals, but to patients at “The New Jersey Home for the Education and Care of Feebleminded Children”
NJ Motorsports Park is in Millville! Fun racing complex, two car/bike tracks, go kart track, dirt bike tracks. Go down a few times a year, my friend tracks a Porsche. The surrounding area doesn’t seem to have much to offer but I’m sure the locals would have better ideas!
And just down the street from NJMP is Maurice River Bluffs preserve. Super fun mountain bike trails back there with separated hiking and biking paths. Love stopping down there on the way to Wildwood in the summer. Oh and ps, there's a great little brewery called "Glasstown Brewery" just over by the airport.
A few years ago my family took a Maurice River cruise and saw bald eagles nesting!
And Verna’s! For the diner experience.
We love NJMP! We drive from central Jersey for 2-3 race weekends every summer. (We have family like 35m away). Race weekend is always a blast, it’s very fan friendly! You can walk around the pit area & talk with the racers/racing teams. It’s fun to meet the racers & most of the racers are awesome with the kids, let them sit in the cars & show them the controls. Someone always gives kiddo a checkered flag. We made friends 2 years ago with a driver that races in SCCA series (usually wins too!) Last year, we got to see a Ford Falcon race & it was incredible. You could hear it the whole way around the track. We got to meet the driver, who took my 6yo around the whole car & he talked about all the interesting things on the car. (The tail lights were from an original falcon, head lights were stickers, etc). It’s always a fun time. You can drive your car right up to some of the grandstands. We always bring our canopy tent & camping chairs, so we can get some break from the sun. You can also camp overnight there! 10/10 would recommend.
a whole lot of nothing outside Vineland. that’s why it has 60k people, its a regional hub down here. i love watching north jerseyans discover south jersey as if its not part of the state they live in. (very, very respectfully, its funny).
I'm totally guilty of this, I've been up and down the shore and everywhere North/West of the Turnpike down to Philly, but the entire area between like Voorhees, Egg Harbor and the mouth of the Delaware I've never visited and tend to forget about.
You don’t know what your missing
Just like interstellar space. Technically, I don't know what I'm missing, but there's probably not much to explore. It's a long, lonely drive.
Not surprising, there have literally been more NJ governors from the country of Ireland than from all of South Jersey by a factor of 3 (6 vs 2)
You could have given me 100 guesses and i would have never guessed Vineland had a population of 60k people lol
Seriously lol Idk if I'm in south or Central but I've been aware of Vineland since I moved to the state. Its weird sometimes seeing people be like "oh em gee did you know this area existed????"
John Landis Mason - The guy who invented Mason jars, lived in Vineland.
Was the glass from Millville?
Possibly idk, the entire south Jersey region historically had developed a moderate glass industry I believe.
Correct. From ~1840 to ~1860 NJ made 1/3 of all glass produced in the US. In the late 1800s light bulbs were on the rise but were hindered by production costs so Michael Joseph Owens invented an automated glass blowing process which eventually helped to kill the dominance of NJ glass companies.
I live in this area and I love it. Lots of farming and rural 1 lane roads. Beautifully quiet with gorgeous sunsets and lots of stars at night. Y’all would hate it, I’d avoid!
Careful. I might move there become your neighbor.
I used to drive down there a ton for work, you definitely don't have to worry about me moving there lol Driving down some of those country/pine barren roads with the windows down and the radio blasting on a nice afternoon was always a treat though.
Horseshoe crabs for the masses!
Fun fact: horseshoe crab blood is blue and extremely valuable.
Shhh . They need all the shelter you can offer!
🤐 you’re right about that!
You don't need to use reverse psychology. I worked there quite a bit. You don't have to worry about Cumberland becoming the next Hudson or Bergen county in terms of housing costs.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
I actually did a project for grad school on Cumberland county. We had to pick a community in Nj that struggles to receive or utilize mental health services and I looked at rural NJ residents. I decided to use Cumberland county as my case example as it as has the highest suicide rate in NJ and is a very rural county. I asked people on Reddit for input and everyone there was super welcoming and helpful. One day I want to take a trip down there and just talk with some locals.
Millville produced the greatest baseball player on the planet of this generation, so that’s something. Otherwise I have no idea
Mr Mike Trout! A professor of mine runs a baseball team and always hangs out with Trout when he’s back home, super nice guy
Ohtani is from Millville?
Yeah, Trout formally adopted him so he has New Jersey citizenship now
Eric Bruntlett
Mr Unassisted Triple Play
Mike Trout, along with Tiger Woods, are preparing to open a world class golf venue in Vineland. https://www.nj.com/cumberland/2024/03/heres-when-this-nj-golf-course-developed-by-tiger-woods-and-mike-trout-will-open.html
We're just becoming a big old golf course down here. Seriously, you could throw a stone from where Trout's golf course is and hit at least 3 other golf courses in every direction. There are two right next to each other in Pittsgrove (one of which the Trout family is currently member of), another ~~3~~ one in Vineland proper (excluding Trout's), and then a few more over towards Buena and Hammonton or up north around Franklinville. I don't even know enough people who play golf to use all these courses, yet there's somehow 20 within half an hour of my house. Edit: Two of those courses I counted in Vineland are actually in Buena, just in the area where your address still pops up as Vineland.
There's not three in Vineland. Trout's course will bring Vineland up to two.
Pretty much a perfect spot, cheap land, super flat, easy to get to, it’s a great spot
Vineland used to have one of the last Bennigans in America, I remember stopping there on the way to Wildwood sometime in the past five years I guess? It's closed now. It also used to be the headquarters of Progresso soup--that too is closed. A lot of Hispanic immigration to the area for farming jobs.
Yeah, a local family (the Roths) owned that Bennigans so they didn't have to shut it down when the company went tits up, and it was one of the more profitable Bennigans in the country with steady business. Eventually the lack of corporate took it's toll and drove up costs so they sold it, but they kept it going for a long time.
Lots of farming outside of the major cities (Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton). The further south you go from Hammonton down route 54 to Vineland to Millville to bridgeton the less affluent you’ll see the living conditions be.
Bridgeton is also home to Century Bakery which, as far as I’m concerned, has the best donuts I’ve ever eaten. They have a type of [Pershing](https://www.centurybakery.com/fries) that is just absolutely incredible
Omfg yes this is the god damned TRUTH!!! Half and half fried is still my guilty pleasure and I have paid for delivery before to North Jersey. Tempted now to see if they deliver to FL because Terrignos blowssss
Nah. Terrigno’s are better.
Century was sold and now it sucks. Nothings fresh and the staff is terrible.
Terrignos is better how dare you
Lots of farming in Vineland as well
This is just sneaky advertising for Diggerland /S
Lol I hate when places show as ads on Google Maps.
In all seriousness, with the unaffordable home posts we get here, if you are in your 20s, you could absolutely afford a place in Millville and have a walkable downtown at your hands. Is it struggling? Sure. Are there amazing people opening up businesses? Yes. If you work remote, even for only some of the week, I’d consider it to Philly AND Wilmington. But the dealbreaker for many here is roommates. I was a teacher living in Atlantic County, working in Cape May County, and I bought a house & only had roommates before marriage, which is still a roommate This part of NJ is absolutely affordable It is also the poorest county in the state, but has the best recycling rate IIRC because you have to save money!
Check out Greenwich if you're interested in colonial era history
I grew up in Vineland, and I still live there today. As I travel throughout the state for work, people often ask what it’s like. I explain it as such: It offers the full spectrum of American society. You have your millionaires, your homeless, and everything in between. Extremely dense areas along with hundreds of thousands of acres of fruitful farmland. Mansions beyond your dreams and slums as well. Just like in Manhattan, you’ll see the city become way over saturated with commuters either passing through or working within the city. Vineland does seem to have a bedtime, however. As with any small town/city Vineland certainly has its problems. But it is a wonderful, unique, little city whose full potential has not yet been tapped. I eagerly look forward to seeing what Vineland can become, as a resident or a visitor.
It blows my mind that vineland shut down the whole idea of the sports complex. At least i think that’s what i remember happening. Then there was the idea of a recurring music festival in east vineland that a bunch of farmers squashed. I think that was the idea in part for Metallica’s Orion Festival that ended up at Bader Field in AC. At least the Mike Trout/Tiger Woods golf course is still happening. There are a bunch of old farms in Salem and Gloucester county that are slowly becoming subdivisions and mega warehouses as old times retire and young folks don’t want the hassle and sell/lease off the land. I can see that happening in Vineland.
New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville is my favorite place in the state. Anyone remotely into cars owes it a trip (or two, or ten)
Millville was going to have an airshow this July, but it was recently cancelled due to a lack of sponsorship interest and an inability to book a military headlining act. They're hoping for a 2025 airshow...
Millville trained a whole lot of our pilots during WWII
You should check out the WWII Air Museum!
What happens in Cumberland County stays in Cumberland County
I used to work for a mattress chain that doesn't exist anymore (Mattress Giant) and I had to work a single shift once in their Vineland location. I agreed being young and dumb and not realizing how far away it actually is from Mercer county. "It's basically by Cherry Hill" is the lie my boss told me. This was 2006 and by the time I checked MapQuest I had already agreed. And I've also driven on 55 on my way to Cape May. That's my total experience with this county.
I went to HS in Cherry Hil. Vineland was then in our division of sports.... I remember a 2 hour bus ride to watch the game... Oh, and the two hours back was lots of fun (we won) Basically Cherry Hill, my Ass!
Bro cherry hill is like 45 mins at most who tf was your driver.
Vineland is the largest city in the state by area. Lots of industry and farmland in the county. The south shore used to be very important for oyster fishing and river commerce but not so much in the last century.
I love sailing out of shellpile, heislerville is a bit weird though.
Vineland is also home to the second largest industrial park in the state, or so a friend told me. I didn’t fact check.
Pretty good fishing down along the bay, nice and quiet area. As someone from Salem County it’s just like us but with less but bigger towns and more farmland, I like Cumberland.
As a Salem County person who hasn't been able to find a house to live in locally, we've been looking at CumbieCounty. I like it out there, and I have the hots for the Amish market like whoa.
I’m convinced rt 55 is haunted.. travelled to do some roadwork there and everyday skid marks just veering off the road and saw one car stuck UP in a tree.. no idea how they got it up there.
it is known
Impoverished. Red necks. Stuck in time. Went from manufacturing economy to a prison economy. Some incredible natural beauty, the bay, Maurice River, woods and marshlands. Some very poor little towns, Port Norris , Leesburg, Delmont , Laurel Lake and others. Very tough place to live if not born and raised there. Western part is a lot of farming.Bridgton must have been beautiful at one point now don’t get out of your car. East and south of Millville is more like Mississippi than NJ. Before you bark, yeah I lived down there for 8-9 years. Edit: Spelling
This is the real answer. Lots of rose tinted glasses in this thread. Born and raised (and left) Cumberland County. Lots of poverty or close to it. Those who aren’t poor work in prisons, schools, or hospitals. Plenty of drugs, though crime isn’t so bad if you get away from downtown Bridgeton or downtown Millville. That’s mostly because there’s nothing going on, though. It’s true that there’s lots of farmland, as others have pointed out, but it doesn’t seem to do much for anyone economically.
Truth, we were poor.
You'd actually be surprised by the amount of investment happening in Vineland and Millville right now. The work economy is actually finally starting to diversify away from that. Giant unnecessary golf course incoming, family fun centers opening up, the Millville HS just got a multi million upgrade with robotics and CS as a big focus. This place has been in the shitter for a while but it genuinely seems to be on the upswing right now.
I had plenty of time to assess the place. Not for me or my family. Trumpistan before there was a Trump.
Vineland and Bridgeton not so much, other parts yeah, but not so much as Salem. Cumberland is actually the least Trumpy of the far southern counties.
How bad was the fentanyl when you lived there? The rural parts of south jersey seem to have it rough nowadays.
Fent is just as bad as anywheres else. Nobody is escaping it no matter if your big city or small town.
Born, raised and left here too. My mom moved the family to coastal Delaware when she married after her second divorce. We would have had to leave eventually even if she did not get remarried because my mom was unable to make the house payments due to the insane property taxes in NJ. Every few years she was out of work looking for a new job because she needed more pay due to the low wage scale in the area or her employer went out of business. This was in the seventies to the eighties as the glass factory (Owens-Illinois) and the canning factory (PJ Ritters) were closing down. It was a very tough place to try to survive. I don't think much has changed except to get worse. MY first jobs as a kid were working on the local farms, but I doubt I could do that now if I were growing up as most of that work is done by Hispanic immigrants now. Do I think Cumberland County will ever gentrify? Maybe I could see remote workers maybe, but remote workers who happen to be based out of a home office in Philly have better options to live in satellite towns in Pennsylvania and Delaware that are not saddled with New Jersey's high tax burden.
It's gotten better, at least in parts. Vineland has a thriving industrial park with a lot of industries coming in with good paying jobs, and having 55 run through it makes commuting elsewhere not that bad so lots of commuters as well. There's still rough parts, and other parts of the county are worse off, but the low cost of living makes it pretty easy to raise a family here. North Jersey folks down voted me to oblivion in another thread because they couldn't wrap their heads around $37k/year not being poverty wages, but in Cumberland you can do decently on that.
I mean I'm from south jersey and i don't see how $37/yr isn't poor? That's what my fiance makes and if it were just him, alone, after taxes and paying rent, phone, and electric or gas bill, he would be left with $500 a month for food, gas, car insurance and leisure. That is not even including health insurance. How can you say that isn't poverty wages? How much do you spend on yourself for food a month? Or if you need socks or some new work pants? Work boots? What if your car needs an expensive repair? You have to choose oh, do i spend $100 on barely any clothes or should i just deal with ripped pants and socks for another few weeks? Do i get a ride from a coworker for the next 3 months to save up for mechanic fee or do i eat ramen and buy the parts and tools and try to fix it myself? Making "that much" means you don't qualify for SNAP or medicaid and it's like you are stuck in a paycheck to paycheck rut. Where can you find a 1 bedroom apartment that isn't $1300? It's absolutely insane!! That is unrealistic and i know houses that have 2 and 3 blended families living under one roof to make ends meet. We had to move in with my parents to save up money for a home. And it's scary. If we didn't have my parents, we would probably be homeless. There's no way me and him and our 2 kids would be able to survive. I'm so grateful to them for helping us out.
Because people down here that bought houses before 2019 have like $600 mortgages.
It would really help if the state figured out a way to get Rt. 55 from Port Elizabeth down to the “Shore”. To RIo Grande or CM Court House area.
Never gonna happen. Environmental concerns make it all but impossible, basically.
That’s been th word for 40 years. Not many miles but many sensitive environmental areas.
I grew up in Port Norris!
Meh. I’ve been in the Vineland/Bridgeton area since 2004 (moved from Sussex county up north) and I’d say Vineland is worse by far in terms of “not getting out of your car.” I currently live just outside of Bridgeton, actually. We’ve all seen the nj map that describes Salem and western Cumberland County as Alabama. It’s legit accurate. Honestly, I’d take north jersey over down here any day of the week. But it’s where we landed out of college. 🤷♂️ Vineland also has some of THE worst roads I’ve ever driven on due to non-existent maintenance.
Note: it's south of the Mason-Dixon line (if it came to NJ) and definitely acts that way
The Mason-Dixon line is a finite thing. As you said, it doesn’t reach NJ at all. Can’t stand when those ‘stars n bars’ wavers use that line. I always smack them in the face with a link to the journal of George Mason until they give it up.
Believe me I felt every minute of it.
It's a good, quiet life. A traffic stop brings out the entire police force.
They’ll send both cops for a traffic stop?
You only get the local cops in town. A lot of the area is patrolled by the state police.
It’s such a cool area to explore. It’s legit the south…. In New Jersey. Open fields. Trucks, emptiness. It’s really beautiful.
All roads lead to Bridgeton, so I guess it must be pretty nice…
I live just outside Bridgeton. It’s… not nice. Very, very poor. No jobs to speak of unless you do farm work. I get by on a full remote job based in another state entirely. My wife commutes to Atlantic County every day. The constant game of “gunshots or fireworks?” got especially old. As do the farmer types from Stow Creek and Alloway who have built their identity out of being as Republican as possible and are convinced Trump is the second coming of Jesus… even had a few 3-percenters out this way, which embarrassed the hell out of me when I realized what those “III” decals on the jacked-up brodozers were. And then there’s the mobs of 4-wheelers and dirt bikes clogging up traffic from Bridgeton to Vineland in the summer. I would *love* to get out of here, if you can’t tell. Gloucester might be more crowded, but I’m tired of living where people think being as backwards as possible is some kind of badge of honor.
I live in Stow Creek. My wife has a "Taylor Swift 2024" flag outside. Strangely, not many of our neighbors stop by...
I’m also in stow creek, I haven’t seen the flag yet but I’d love to see it lol.
Bridgeton is Mordor.
But they have that Amish market with the bangin soft pretzels tho...
You do make a solid point, that Amish market is the tits.
I drive a decent distance to hit them up. Was down that way taking one of our south jersey discord members bowling before he went to air force basic training the other week. The whole area is super chill right there. Also, the smoothie lady in the back is awesome. Smoothies and hot Amish soft pretzels *drools
Keep in mind that Millville wasn't built in a day.
I moved to vineland area from Central PA for a job about a year ago. Honestly? The locals talk a lot of shit on their own area. But I love it here. Less than an hour from the beach, Philly, Pinelands and so many other things. Fantastic farmers markets. With so many farms around, the food here is underrated. Check out Sweet Amelia's oyster shack near Malaga. Decently priced with ingredients from a farm that you likely passed to get there. Culturally I'd say it has the Philly vibe of "you hate us we don't care" attitude in a rural, self reliant setting.
Because the majority of the people who live in Vineland are not Reddit users. Also the majority of this sub has spent no time in south jersey other than the shore and as a place they pass through to get to Philly and points south.
*waves from /r/southjersey*
I always asked myself the same thing, so I took a road trip around Cumberland and Salem Counties. A lot of 55mph one lane highways, fields, marshes, and some farmland. Vineland's an old town that seen better days but has a couple of neat things like a drive in theater. I found a racetrack there as well, and a few oddly placed suburbs. The funny thing, is you'll come across a small patch of population, or a town, and then it all of the sudden drops off into nowhere land. Its a place you have to purposely go to. Nobody goes there by accident or happens to pass through. There's no reason to be there, other than the hell of it really. Nothing against the area, I figure it's supposed to be that way, and hopefully never changes like the Northern part of the State. From the perspective of a Hudson County native.
Its kind of the only county that minds its business and never really gets too involved in the rest of New Jersey. I like to think of them as our more polite sibling.
A graduate of Vineland High School scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl!
I always like going to the Stewart's Drive-In, while coming back from the shore.
Delsea Drive-In is still around I think. Loved going there
Tomatoes, basically.
Used to be a lot of chickens as well.
bok
In DC Comics, that’s where Gotham City is (Metropolis is across the river in Delaware)
It’s like Kansas , very peaceful.
Reminds me more of central Florida, not far from the beaches, ton of farmland, some swamp, some towns
Including the crazies?
Not as many crazies, but unfortunately we do have our share.
Vineland has the Delsea Drive-In, NJ's only drive in movie theater. Been a few times.
I was in neighboring Salem County for a wedding and popped over. It’s rural. Gorgeous farmland down there. Felt similar to the Eastern Shore/Delmarva peninsula; southern feel.
What goes on in Cumberland County? Voting Republican.
Not everyone
Somewhere I have a picture if a road sign from long ago that said "Muskrat crossing" from that area.
Millville is the hometown of Mike Trout
I grew up in Cumberland County and currently live in Salem County. There are definitely rough parts. But a lot of it is very "country." I have a neighbor who has been driving his tractor around the neighborhood all weekend. There isn't a ton to do, but I was roughly 30 to 45 mins away from Ocean City when I lived in Millville and Bridgeton. Right now, I'm about 20 mins from Christiana mall and 30 from Philly. It's quiet, mostly. I personally enjoy it, but I'm a little biased because it is home.
Welch’s Grape Juice was invented in Vineland in 1893. The town founder, a Mr Landis, named the town Vineland because he found the soil ideal for growing grapes. I guess Dr Welch agreed. At some point, the Welch company moved to Massachusetts. However the soil actually is well suited for grapes and South Jersey has many small wineries. The oldest winery in NJ is the Renault Winery in Galloway Township founded in 1864. At one point it was the largest producer of champagne in the US. In recent decades they have diversified into a resort with a hotel, golf course, wedding and party venues and they continue to make champagne and wine. Located about 5 miles west of Parkway exit 44..
Vineland used to be a hotbed for the floral industry. A lot of commercial cut-flower farms used to exist in south Jersey. Vineland was known for lilacs in the spring-people would literally fight over the rights to cut the rows of hedges, paying the owners of those years in advance. some would get stolen during the night and show up in the flower market. most flower growers would bring their crops to a depot in Vineland to ship to the ny flower market (where all the wholesale florists in the tri-state area would pick up). There are still some very well industry-known grower/shippers for tulips, sunflowers and peonies in that area.
My great-grandfather used his massive grove of lilacs on his farm as a cash crop. He had regular shipments to Philadelphia markets via the railroad that abutted his property. We still had folks come down from the city wanting to cut them even years after it stopped being a farm. Now, it’s a Best Buy.
Bridgeton is a dump and has horrible poverty, Vineland and Millville less so but still poverty and lack of employment opportunities so most people commute to Glassboro, the shore or Philadelphia/Cherry Hill area.
Rural, sleepy county. Worked there previously. People calling it Alabama have clearly never experienced Alabama.
It's one of those "weird" parts of New Jersey you get lost in when you need to make a stop off the Turnpike. It has a very odd, "where am I" vibe to it. Definitely feels like you're not in Jersey anymore. One the few times I found myself there, the people were still driving Saturn cars from the 90s, and there were a lot of Jerri Curls still being rocked, and this was in the 2010's. I'm pretty sure that's the area that is the basis for the Jersey setting movie "Nothing But Trouble" with Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Demi Moore, and the late great John Candy. Of course, it also featured a music cameo with Digital Underground and a young Tupac.
I grew up down there, small towns not a lot of money. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I sure miss it sometimes.
There’s a pretty good race track in Millville and that’s about it lol
The soccer teams we played there in high school were tough as nails I’ll tell you that.
I drive down to Port Norris several times a year to buy oysters. At $50/box of ~100, it’s a nice outing.
From what I hear from a lot of my co-workers, good Spanish food.
Used to visit a Mennonites community down in Vineland growing up. Aside from that I don't know much of the area. They were nice people though and made some pretty decent bbq
Bridgeton and Millville are some of the toughest towns in the state but people don't talk about them as much.
So I grew up in vineland and millville. Claim to fame for millville is one of the heads of the rationing board during ww2 was from there. Roosevelt once toured it for that reason and because of the rationing board guys influence, it got the first airport built for war defense. Now, it's got some shopping, Mike Trout, and a junior high that looks like a prison because the designer also designed prisons.
[Vineland Municipal Electric Company is the only municipally owned electric company in all of New Jersey and has existed since 1899.](https://utilities.vinelandcity.org/about-us/#:~:text=Vineland%20Municipal%20Electric%20Utility%20is,City%20of%20Vineland%20since%201899) Everyone else in the state is either on Atlantic City Electric, JCP&L, or PSE&G
Or the really small tip of north jersey, Rockland electric!
Bridgeton is seriously an underrated town. In need of development but has some beautiful architecture and features one of the best public parks in NJ (it includes a zoo!). Living conditions are pretty bleak throughout the country compared to the rest of the state. Some towns along the bay have been evacuated due to flooding.
I live in a rural area in Dorchester (Cumberland Co). I can sit outside on my back deck and admire the land around me because it is older homes (Victorian-1920s), and neighbors are not on top of neighbors here, plenty of land in between. In fact I have a small field that separates me from my other neighbors. I live on a pretty quiet street. I can sit on the deck, close my eyes and say "this is the life." When I sit out on the deck, the air is clean, no smog, no diesel fumes, no factories surrounding me....absolutely nothing like West Deptford (Gloucester Co). In fact, because I live close enough to the water, there are many days when you can smell the salt water on the breeze, and the mud from the marsh. The flowering shrubs and flowers in and around the home provide me with a perfume like no other can replicate. I have lots of deer that come into the yard all year round. I have a pair of skunks, a pair of raccoons and a pair of opossums that I feed every day and yes, I give them names. I have several community cats that I take care of as well and took one in this year. The sound the trees make when the wind is blowing, birds chirping sweet songs, the buzzing crickets and cicadas. The thousands of blackbirds that come into the trees surrounding the house and field at the break of dawn, it's like watching a black lace veil falling from the sky and landing onto the trees. When they take flight, a near thunderous sound erupts as thousands of wings fan out and beat the sky beneath them. Seagulls cry from above, bluebirds and cardinals find mates and huge turkey vultures stalk their carrion. My neighbors are polite and considerate, several have vegetable gardens and will bring some over to share when ready to be picked. Some neighbors even cut other neighbor's lawns for them. Other than that, most people keep to themselves. I have a quiet neighborhood, for that I am extremely thankful. I could not say that for the last place in lived - a total noise nightmare. I feel very fortunate to live in an area that is not as spoiled as the rest of the state, I just hope it continues to stay this way for awhile longer. The area reminds me a lot of the Amish country I lived in years ago. Quiet, peaceful.
If you don't hear about a town in NJ, they don't want you to know.
Shhhhh!
Vineland is the largest city in the entire state. It does rank 21 out of 21 counties when looking at statistics. There are really three major cities/towns to the area and that includes Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland. Bridgeton is an area that’s in need but there are a number of programs available to help. Cumberland county is mainly rural and there are a number of nice townships that have a Bridgeton zip code even though they aren’t in Bridgeton city. Homes cost less than other counties and the county is split between the shore and hitting 55 to Philly. There is more to the county than people realize.
Lots of fishing, and quite a few lost Atlantic City bound tourists.
The Weekly World News has a movie studio in downtown Vineland and has already filmed a movie there.
Got married in an old wool mill in Bridgeton
Muskrat, muskrat candlelight Doin' the town and doin' it right In the evenin', it's pretty pleasin' Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam Do the jitterbug Out in the muskrat land And they shimmy Sam is so skinny And they whirl and they twirl and they tango Singin' and jinglin' a jango Floatin' like the heavens above Looks like muskrat love Nibblin' on bacon, chewin' on cheese Sam says to Susie Honey, would you please be my Mrs? Suzie she says yes, with her kisses Now, he's ticklin' her fancy Rubbin' her ties Muzzle to muzzle now Anything goes As they wiggle Sue starts to giggle
I used to work at the Atlantic City Press, and the best trivia question I had for newcomers was "what's the most populated municipality in our coverage area?" It was Vineland, but people would always say Atlantic City, when it was only ⅔ the size of Vineland, and besides, AC's not even the biggest in Atlantic County. Point is, whole region hits below its weight class.
Awesome racetrack down there. Otherwise it’s basically the hood 😂
lol honestly not much happens around here
Grew up there…forest,cows,orchards, farms
[Vineland was important in American Eugenics.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics_in_the_United_States)
I’m from Vineland … literally nothing lol
You don't want to go there if you don't know anything about it. I grew up there, and even the nice memory I have is the rare moments that make you go "wtf ". There are fun things to offer but most of the year it gets real quiet.
I grew up in cumberland, millville area. It's a cool area, but also pretty boring, not a lot of major things, but just enough to stay busy. I never traveled until later on, so for the majority of my life, this was all NJ was.
You don't hear about it? Do u watch the news it's farms and meth
East Point Lighthouse is awesome
As someone who likes motorsports, NJMP (Millville) is our only real track left.
My grandparents owned a poultry farm in Millville from the 50s till my grandfather retired in the 90s. I spent my summers and countless vacations over there and have fond memories of the town and Vineland and Bridgeton, where many of their friends lived. I just drove back there for a funeral in December and the area seems like it’s struggling but there is such potential. I always loved the slower pace down there compared with the North Jersey/NYC pace where I live now.
I love living in Elmer, its 15 minutes north west of vineland. I was born and raised in medford which was really nice but super expensive and filled with tons of stuck up pricks that has now become over populated. I've been to every part of new jersey and travel often to random places here for work and pleasure. The only place I would ever live in New jersey is where I am now. Although I'm technically on the very edge of Cumberland and Salem county lines I've been in and out of every small town or bigger sized place to have an understanding of everything here. There's tons of things that I enjoy down here compared to the highly taxed over crowded ritzy and over governed areas up north. Salem the city itself is extremely sketchy like Camden jr, bridgeton is pretty much the same, millville has some crackhead vibes in spots or maybe a little meth, and vineland isn't as bad but not great in a small amount of areas. Anywhere besides these listed are really nice with a ton of things to do in nature, fishing, hunting, shooting, or outdoor sports. Having the industrial sections in vineland on delsea drive have helped me drastically with materials for home renovations and projects. Farmland everywhere has been so much better with organic foods from actual people and not a shoprite or acme. No more neighbors with houses ontop of each other and traffic to worry about. I'm actually enjoying life compared to stressing and feeling my blood pressure rise from leaving my house. Its slower, people are respectful and kind, it's more simple than cut throat rude behavior I've noticed almost everywhere else. Financially speaking I sold my last house in Mt laurel- 3bed,1bath, 1300sqft, .2 acres-$6500/taxes for $350k, I purchased here 4bed,2 bath, 1800sqft, 2.5 acres with 2 car garage and a large polebarn for only $250k and taxes are just $5800. Every day things are slightly less expensive than what I'm used to. I shop in Delaware at Costco for bulk tax free groceries and only takes me 35minutes. If I want to go fishing down the shore like ocean city it's only 45 minutes of a nice scenic drive. There's alot of old stuff down here so finding cars or deals on cool stuff is actually feasible for flipping. Overall this area fits my needs and is going to enable me to not have a heart attack at 40 and save up enough to pay off my house in the next few years and invest/retire early so I'm very happy here.
Lots of poor men got the Cumberland. blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO-JEcuHrU4