MILLTOWN
Municipal Building
39 Washington Avenue
Milltown, NJ 08850
828-2100
Milltown’s early beginning has been traced back to 1816.
At this time it was known as Bergen’s Mill. Jacob I. Bergen owned a gristmill
here, and the village was made up of one small tavern, five or six houses west
of Lawrence Brook and two or three east of the brook. The total population was
about twenty-five. With the disappearance of the mill about 1843, this place
became known as the village of Milltown and was within the boundaries of North
Brunswick Township.
In 1889 residents of the area voted to be incorporated
into the Borough Commission of Milltown. In 1896 this type of government went
out of existence, and on May 7, 1896, Milltown became an independent borough
with a board of councilmen. In 1902, part of East Brunswick Township was
annexed to Milltown under an Act of the State Legislature.
The Meyer Rubber Company settled in Milltown in 1844 and
operated here until 1896. In 1907, the Michelin Tire Company of France took
over and erected the Michelin Building as it still stands today on Main Street,
at the bridge. They brought many of their employees from France. By 1919, the
company had erected over 200 homes for use by its employees. In 1930, Michelin
closed down and returned to France taking most of the French families with
them. About all that remains are the names of such streets as Lafayette,
Joffre, Foch and Our Lady of Lourdes Church, to recall the days when Milltown
was predominantly French in population. Today Milltown has grown into a
community of homes whose residents make their livelihood from Milltown and the
surrounding metropolitan area.