Community of Fortescue

DESCRIPTION:
Rural Fortescue, on the southern shore of Cumberland County, is the largest of five hamlets that comprise Downe Township. Fishing and recreational boating are the mainstays of this isolated community, which has only one road in and out of town and no sewer system. With limited potential for economic development, the close-knit community embraces its historical ties to the creeks, channels, and inlets of the Delaware Bay. Super Storm Sandy damage to Downe Township resources was estimated at $30 million, but because Cumberland County was not one of the nine New Jersey counties designated for federal money, recovery has been very slow. There is potential here for heritage and ecotourism, and any recovery funds should be used to rebuild the village in a historically sensitive manner.

CONTACT:
Preservation New Jersey
info@preservationnj.org
(609) 392-6409