Timbuctoo New Jersey

Timbuctoo was established by formerly enslaved and free Black people in the decades before the Civil War. Its residents built homes, established institutions, owned land, defended their community, and created opportunities for succeeding generations during an era when slavery remained legal in New Jersey and throughout much of the United States. Today, Timbuctoo is recognized as an important site of African American history in New Jersey. Today, Timbuctoo is recognized as an important site of African American history in New Jersey. Explore the people, places, documents, and events that tell this extraordinary story:

Timbuctoo History
Learn about Timbuctoo's founding, early landowners, families, institutions, and development as a free Black community.

Timbuctoo Historic Site

Explore what remains of historic Timbuctoo today, including its cemetery, historic landscape, archaeology, and important places and events.

Timbuctoo Cemetery
Discover Timbuctoo's most tangible surviving historic resource and the people whose lives are documented there.

Research & Publications
Read original research, scholarly articles, historical documents, newspaper accounts, genealogical research, and publications about Timbuctoo.

Archaeology
Learn what archaeological investigations have revealed about everyday life in this nineteenth-century African American community.

Education
Explore curriculum, classroom resources, primary sources, and other materials developed to bring Timbuctoo's history into schools.

Preserving and Interpreting Timbuctoo

The Timbuctoo Historical Society was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Westampton Township. The Society owns the historic Timbuctoo Cemetery and leads ongoing preservation, research, interpretation, and educational activities relating to the community. Our work has included cemetery preservation and archaeology, interpretive signage, original historical and genealogical research, scholarly publications, educational programming, curriculum development in collaboration with local schools, digitization of historical sources, and public lectures and presentations. Timbuctoo has also received important state and national recognition, including inclusion on the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail and the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

200 Years of Timbuctoo | 1826–2026

In 2026, we commemorate the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo's founding.

The bicentennial provides an opportunity not only to celebrate two centuries of African American history, but also to preserve the places, documents, memories, and family histories that connect Timbuctoo's nineteenth-century founders with the community today.

We celebrated this milestone on September 19, 2026 with an exhibit opening and reception at the Burlington County Historical Society. The celebration will continue with the publication of New Jersey's Timbuctoo: A Free Black Community Before the Civil War, slated for release by the History Press on January 5, 2027. Stay tuned for details on the book launch!