The earliest inhabitants of this beautiful spot on the Delaware River in Hunterdon County New Jersey were the Lenape. They called this spot Nishisakawick, which translates: "two outlets of a stream near a house". The Lenape had hunted and camped here on this land for thousands of years as recent archaeological evidence shows.

James Alexander was born in Scotland in 1690, and immigrated to America in 1715. He was Surveyor-General of New York and New Jersey. His son, William Alexander, "Lord Stirling" was born in New York City in 1726.

In 1744, James Alexander purchased 10,000 acres in and around Frenchtown NJ. In 1757, William Alexander and two partners planned out the streets and building lots of our village. It is for this reason that Frenchtown was originally called Alexandria and this is where our story begins.

Colonel Thomas Lowrey, nicknamed "Old Quicksilver", was born into a wealthy family in Ireland in 1737. After coming to America in 1755, he made important land deals in Flemington, Frenchtown, and Milford New Jersey.

Lowrey was a member of the Provincial Congress of 1775, a Deputy Commissary during the American Revolution. In 1776, he bought the land that is now Frenchtown from Alexander, Stevens and Parker and so begins our story of this period of Frenchtown's history.

French Town NJ is named for a man who came here from Paris France at the time of the French Revolution. This man, Paul Henri Mallet was born in 1756 in Switzerland to an illustrious banking family with old French roots. Paul's French Huguenot ancestor, Jacque Mallet had fled Rouen France to Geneva to escape religious persecution in 1530.

When the French Revolution broke out, Mallet fled the country and came to Alexandria Township where he purchased a 1,000 acre farm. Mallet spoke French, so everyone assumed he was French. For that reason locals started calling this place Frenchtown. His story is examined in more detail below, as we tell the story of this era of French Town New Jersey history.

Hugh Capner was born in England in immigrated to the United States, settling in Flemington New Jersey. In 1834, when copper was discovered on his land, he sold out to a mining company and became a very rich man of Hunterdon County for his day.

In 1836, with the money from his copper mine sale, he purchased a large tract of land from Mallet-Prevost to lay out a housing development on the North side of Frenchtown NJ. It was his planning influenced another 168 years of Frenchtown New Jersey history.

Slater and Hudnit operated a store in Frenchtown New Jersey, and later went on to build a group of houses on the North end of town.

This housing development was the most important development of it's time in Frenchtown's growth as a community. This era of our history is not finished, but we present a resource list and bibliography on this page, to help you find out more about this era and the men involved.



Frenchtown NJ History Resources and Bibliograpy

"History of Frenchtown"   by: Clarence B. Fargo
Publishing Date: 1933
Publishing Company: Clarence B. Fargo, New York
Hardcover - 218 pages
Reprinted by Higginson Book Co, Salem, MA

This is the classic of Frenchtown NJ history. Although it presents a story that in no way is chronological and is extremely hard to follow, it contains a spirit and overall whimsical portrait of our dear little Hunterdon County New Jersey community that is priceless. Clarence Fargo's sisters still reside here and their neon yellow and green house is a fixture on Harrison Street.


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"Sketches of a River Town, A History of Frenchtown, NJ"   by: Ellen Fletcher
Publishing Date: 1997
Publishing Company: D. H. Moreau Books, Flemington;
Soft cover - 92 pages

This is the latest book to be published on the history of Frenchtown NJ. The unique contribution of Ellen Fletcher to our history is her focus on the "architectural history" of our village, and some outstanding antique and vintage photographs and postcards that document Frenchtown's rich story.


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"History of Hunterdon & Somerset Counties"   by: James P. Snell
Publishing Date: 1881
Publishing Company: Evert & Peck, Philadelphia, PA;
Hardcover - 864 pages

Snell's work is the most comprehensive history written to date about the history of Hunterdon County. In terms of his treatment of Frenchtown NJ history, it seems he either didn't like the town that much or knew little about it. Compared with his story of Lambertville and some other Hunterdon County towns, Frenchtown NJ is severely slighted in his work. This huge old book is still my favorite book however on local history.


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"The First 275 Years of Hunterdon County"   by: Numerous Contributors
Publishing Date: 1989
Publishing Company: Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Flemington, NJ
Softcover - 125 pages

This work is the best modern history of Hunterdon County with some incredible stories from local historians. The entire work is accessible online: Here (see link to go to file)