 The name came from the long, wooden bridge that spanned the Rancocas Creek.In 1778, the township was the site of a skirmish in which American rebels fired upon Hessian soldiers after they were halted by the dismantling of this bridge.The settlement became known as Haines' Port when Barclay Haines bought property in the area and established a wharf near his home on the Rancocas Creek  in 1848.