Category: Government

The selection of a site in Camden opened up another controversy: It was believed that the location of the Court House would have a large influence in ferry usage.

Diamond Cottage Park may well have been the first real city park in Camden from the 1880s until the early 1920s, when the park was paved over to make room for the Delaware River (Ben Franklin) Bridge.

New Camden Cemetery opened in 1887, as Old Camden Cemetery, between Mount Ephraim and Haddon Avenues north of Mount Vernon Street, was approaching capacity. The City of Camden owns and is responsible for maintaining both cemeteries.

George Genge School was the first school of Camden City. It was razed for construction of the current City Hall.

Camden’s new automobile police patrol and ambulance were put in service on July 14, 1910. One of the first drivers was Albert S. York, who eventually rose to the rank of Sergeant on the Camden Police Department.

The first Camden Catholic High School was built in Camden in 1896, and was known as the Lyceum. A new school was contracted for in 1923, and the cornerstone was laid at North 7th and Federal Streets in October 18, 1923. The school, which included the former Lyceum and the original St. Mary’s Elementary School, contained an auditorium, library, and 18 classrooms.

The Library Committee of City Council, on February 24th, adopted a resolution presented by Councilman Charles H. Ellis, formally accepting Andrew Carnegie’s offer of $100,000 for a public library in Camden. On April 28, 1903 the Free Library Trustees recommended the purchase of the Dialogue property, at Broadway and Line Street, 80 x 1600 feet, for the new Carnegie Library. The sum asked was $15,0900 and on November 4, 1903 the property was obtained for that sum.

My father worked for the Electrical Bureau in Camden for 30 years, from approximately 1973 to when he retired in 2004. He has since passed and I have been maintaining his website on his behalf, until which time it makes sense not to. Here are a gallery of his photos which he has either collected or taken.

The Twelfth Ward Republican Club, aka East End Republican Club, has a long and interesting history. Prior to the 1899 merger with Camden, the town of Stockton, which comprised of what is now known as Cramer Hill and East Camden, had a very active political scene.

The incinerator attracted the attention of the press at least twice in the past century. The first time was in late 1941, when City Commissioner Henry Magin suffered a fatal heart attack while inspecting the facility.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program for unemployed men, focused on natural resource conservation from 1933 to 1942.

The SIXTH WARD REPUBLICAN CLUB was active in Camden through at least 1947. Camden politics were a peculiar affair in the 1920s.