Captain Joseph Buck, a veteran Revolutionary War officer and commandant of the Cumberland County Militia, reviewed his troops on these riverbanks in the early 1790s. As time went on, he envisioned a new city of manor homes, lumber mills, and industry amid the wilderness. In 1796, Buck and his partners Eli Elmer and Robert Smith purchased 24,000 acres along the Maurice River, where Buck founded Millville and designed its streets. Although he died before his plans for the city became reality, his rugged spirit and far-reaching vision gave Millville a resilient foundation that endures today.