Today when we talk about Cedar Bridge, we mean the tavern building recently reopened by Ocean County after years of archaeological research and restoration as a museum depicting life in the Pine Barrens. But during most of the 19th century, Cedar Bridge was a village. While the tavern was a stop on the stage line linking Philadelphia and Burlington County with the shore, there were other occupations.

A branch of the Wading River had been dammed where a sawmill operated, turning logs into lumber to be used to build…