This hamlet took its name from the grist and saw mills built along Shimers Brook. The first mill lot was acquired in 1722 from Solomon Davis and Thomas Stephenson. By the Revolutionary War, two grist mills existed, and Captains Abram Shimer and James Bonnell were stationed at a fort built to protect them. The hamlet grew to include a school, blacksmith shop, store, a Grange, and river ferries. The Hon. Jacob Hornbeck and Isaac Bonnell, who lived here, both served as New Jersey state legislators. Millville Road was created to provide direct access to the mills from farms on Clove Road.