History of Camden, New Jersey
William and Benjamin Cooper, whose descendants established Cooper Hospital and Coopers Ferry, were also among the early settlers, as were the Kaighns, Gills, Stokes, Collings, Coles, Ellises, Zanes, Burroughs, Kays, Morgans, and Matlacks, among many others.
William Royden operated the ferry as early as 1688, followed by William Copper and Cooper's son after 1693. On the Delaware River, Daniel provided the earliest means of communication and transportation between the two colonies. Nearly a century ago, the surrounding community was known as Coopers Ferry. During the Revolutionary War (1777-1778), when the British occupied Philadelphia, it became a hub of activity. British troops frequently crossed the river, disembarking at the Benjamin Cooper House ferry landing (Point and Erie Streets) to forage for sustenance in the surrounding countryside.
As a result of their opposition to war and refusal to bear arms for either party, many Quakers were persecuted and imprisoned. Famous figures such as General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, the youthful Marquis de Lafayette, who earned a command for his attack on British forces near present-day Gloucester City in November 1777, and the Polish count Casimir Pulaski fought in the region.
Although Jacob Cooper, the great-grandson of William Cooper, purchased land for subdivision in what is now known as Camden in 1764, few residences were built there until well after the Revolutionary War. By the end of that period, there were only three residences between Third Street and the Cooper River, and they all belonged to members of the Cooper family. Charles Pratt, Earl of Camden, an English nobleman who supported the American cause in Parliament, was the namesake of the new settlement.
Between Front and Fifth Streets, additional lots were marked out north and south of Arch Street in 1803. Edward Sharp, imagining a bridge and ferry system between Camden and Philadelphia, enlarged the enclosure from the south side of Federal Street to just beyond what is now Mickle Boulevard, from the river to Fifth Street, and named it Camden Village in 1820.
However, the City did not begin to develop significantly until 1834. The arrival of the Camden and Amboy Railroad contributed to its mid-century population expansion of 9,500. A canal was cut through Windmill Island in the middle of the Delaware River in 1838, making ferry travel simpler in all weather. Camden became an attractive location to live due to the shortened commute time and the increasing number of businesses and services.
In the years following Camden County's separation from Gloucester County in 1844, the county's population grew to more than 25,000. Between Market and Federal Streets, a new county courthouse designed by renowned architect Samuel Sloan was erected in 1853. The Camden and Atlantic Railroad (later the Pennsylvania Railroad) commenced service between Camden and Haddonfield in the same year. The next year, it was nearly extended to Atlantic City.
Later, during the American Civil War, numerous residents of Camden supported and fought for the Union. The Zouaves were the first volunteer company to enlist for service in state regiments. Antietam, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness Campaign were battles where they participated. They marched with Sherman, fought in the Shenandoah Valley, and served under valiant commanders like General William Joyce Sewell. The Gettysburg Battlefield and the Soldiers Monument at Haddon Avenue and Mickle Boulevard near Cooper Hospital honor the deceased.
The postwar period brought the poet Walt Whitman to Camden, where he lived on Stevens Street with his brother George and later at 330 Mickle Street, which is now a National Historic Landmark maintained by the State of New Jersey. Whitman composed the final or "deathbed edition" of Leaves of Grass at his Mickle Street residence.
Whitman wrote portions of Specimen Days, a lengthy essay on nature in diary form, while recuperating at Laurel Springs during the summer. The poet's remains are interred in a mausoleum he designed in Camden's Harleigh Cemetery, a late-Victorian park-lawn cemetery.
Camden's emergence as an industrial and commercial powerhouse began at the close of the nineteenth century. Eldridge Johnson's machine factory was succeeded by the Victor Talking Machine Company, which ceased operations in the city in 1988.
Joseph Campbell and Abram Anderson founded a canning enterprise in 1869, which eventually became known as The Campbell Soup enterprise. The company flourished in Camden during the following century. Although the processing facilities were relocated, the company's headquarters remain in the city.
Before World War I, the Esterbrook Pen and New York Ship Building enterprises had established themselves in Camden. The phrase "the world depends on Camden's supplies" was prevalent at the time. Immigrants pursuing economic opportunity contributed to the growth of the city's population, providing a welcome source of abundant and inexpensive labor for the numerous new industries. Countless products, including cigars, sausages, patent medicines, leather goods, iron products, ships, linoleum, carriage bodies, gas mantles, and terra cotta items, were manufactured in the county.
President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Delaware River Bridge in 1926, which was later renamed for Benjamin Franklin. It enabled commuters to reside in Camden's suburbs and work in Philadelphia. The Walt Whitman Bridge was opened 31 years later to connect Philadelphia and Gloucester City. The Betsy Ross Bridge, which connects Philadelphia and Pennsauken, opened to traffic in 1976.
These routes and the introduction of high-speed rail between Camden and Philadelphia contributed to the county's population surpassing the half-million mark. This, along with the county's extensive economic and industrial base, several centers for higher education, three major hospitals, and outstanding interstate road connections, bodes well for the county's future. Learn about the geography of Camden.