The Atlantic County Division of Parks and Recreation has received a $30,000 state heritage grant to pronote the historic importance of the Bethlehem Loading Company site in Estell Manor.
The grant, from the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust, will be used "to improve public interpretation with the creation of wayside signage, narrative materials and self-guided tours of the Bethlehem Loading Company," Atlantic County spokeswoman Linda Gilmore said. The materials are expected to be available in one year.
The nearby Estellville Glassworks Industrial Historical District and the Belcoville Post Office, also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, would also receive improvements, Gilmore said.
The Bethlehem Loading Company site, in Atlantic County Park, contains nearly 100-year old ruins and remnants of World War II shell-production facilities, County Executive Dennis Levinson said in a statement
"This area is unique in that it offers visitors public interpretation of the historic events that occurred here," Levinson said. "It represents an important piece of our local history and a glimpse into the life, work and culture of our ancestors."
