Industrialist and early settler George May operated a dock along the Great Egg Harbor River in what later became Mays Landing in the Township of Hamilton. The May family, along with families with names such as Pennington, Gaskill, Wheaton, Clark, and others, developed industry and commerce along the river, encouraging settlement and eventually developing a town. The Township of Hamilton was established on February 5, 1813, organized from lands once a part of Great Egg Harbor and Weymouth Townships in Gloucester County. In 1837, the still relatively new township became county seat of Atlantic County, formed the same year.

The years that followed are beautifully detailed in Township of Hamilton. These rare vintage photographs make it possible to visit the township in its early days, to stroll into E.C. Bartha's store, or to get a haircut and even a cigar at Underhill's. The kilns at the brickyards are hot, and production at the many shipyards has picked up again in this exceptional history. The faces of our ancestors and early neighbors appear at places such as Gaskill Park, the Little Red School House, and at many other scenes throughout the Township of Hamilton.