Founded in 1850, but with roots dating to before the American Revolution, Manchester Township is a community of many faces. Springing from the sawmills and bog iron operations that once dotted the Pine Barrens, the village of Manchester began life as a railroad town founded by William Torrey. By the early 20th century, the village had become the borough of Lakehurst, while the surrounding community broke off into Manchester Township, a sleepy region made up of distinct areas like Whiting, Ridgeway, and Pine Lake. As Lakehurst evolved into a vacation retreat for the wealthy (thanks to the luxurious Pine Tree Inn), Manchester welcomed the naval base that would become the site of the infamous Hindenburg disaster. By the 1950s, the community began to shift again, and it eventually became one of New Jersey's great retirement destinations.

In the mid-1600s, a group of Swedes from Delaware and Pennsylvania sailed up the Raccoon Creek and began a settlement on prime farmland in southern New Jersey. Initially known as Raccoon, the town at the center of Woolwich Township was renamed Swedesborough in 1765. Transportation links to Swedesboro by creek, highway, and railroad made the town an attractive location for mills, shops, and farms. Today many residents are descended from the areaas original Swedish settlers. Swedesboro and Woolwich Township presents a diverse collection of photographs from the 1800s to the 1970s, illustrating daily life for residents of the community.

Plum Township, which later reorganized as Plum Borough, was founded on December 18, 1788, and westward pioneers soon chose to settle in the region. William McJunkin, an Irish emigrant and one of the earliest settlers, came to Plum Borough and in 1790 was granted a tract of land he came to call "Greenfield." In the 19th century, Plum Borough was an agricultural gold mine for the brave settlers who wished to emigrate from their East Coast homesteads. During the 20th century, Plum Borough emerged from being an agricultural suburb of the Steel City to become a vibrant residential community with a wondrously bright future.