The ruins of the small town of Boonetown, New Jersey lies beneath what now is the Boonton Reservoir, aka: Jersey City Water Works. Originally founded in 1747 the small town was thriving with Homes, a School, Church, Shops and an Inn as well as the Ironworks that made supplies for the Colonists in the Revolutionary War.
The town existed well into the early years of the 19th century. An exodus to present day "Boonton" began at the time, when the Morris Canal and new Ironworks were being constructed.
After the Canal was complete in 1830, most residents from Boonetown left and the town was fading into history with the exception of a few Farms, an Orphanage and the Morris County Poorhouse that ultimately faded away as well in the 1890's. At this time the development of a Reservoir began, flooding the entire town and completed in 1903.
Today a myth has been passed down from generation, when there is an extreme drought in the Reservoir, it is said that the steeple of the once church from the old Boonetown can be seen poking through the Reservoir's dried bed.
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