430 South 4th Street
The two Stevens brothers, Robert L. and Edwin A. Stevens, owned a large tract of land south of the railroad, now Mickle Boulevard, which they divided into building lots around 1840. Stevens Street, located on their land, bears their name. Edwin A. Stevens, who lived in Hoboken, NJ, donated the lot where the Stevens School was built in 1866. This lot was bounded by Washington Street to the north, Berkley Street to the south, and Riley Street to the west. This donation was Mr. Stevens’ final act before departing on a voyage to Europe, a trip from which he never returned.
The school, the third school edifice built by the Camden Board of Education, was erected at 430 South 4th Street in 1867 and completed the following year. It was named in memory of the late Mr. Stevens. William B. Mulford was the contractor for the elegant building, which contained 15 rooms, including a General Book Depository (school library), a meeting room for the Board of Education, and classrooms. Mahlon Harden also contributed to the school’s construction.
Upon the opening of the new school, W. L. Sayre was appointed principal of the boys’ department, and Hope Anthony was appointed principal of the girls’ department. Minerva Stackhouse served as the first assistant principal from 1889 until 1900.
A notable student of the E. A. Stevens School was Colonel John Dibble, who was named Surgeon of the Third Army just after Pearl Harbor. Colonel Dibble was killed in a plane crash in the Pacific on February 7, 1943.
Known in later times as the E.A. Stevens Grammar School, the building was still in use as late as 1947. The school closed after the 1953-1954 school year and was soon vandalized. Bids were taken in 1956, and a contract for demolition was awarded in August of that year.
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Edwin A. Stevens School
430 South 4th Street The two Stevens brothers, Robert L. and Edwin A. Stevens, owned a large tract of land south of the railroad, now Mickle Boulevard, which they divided into building lots around 1840. Stevens Street, located on their land, bears their name. Edwin A. Stevens, who lived in Hoboken, NJ, donated the lot…
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Riley Street
Riley Street ran south from 419 Washington Street for one block to Berkley Street. It featured ten two-story brick rowhouses, five on each side, numbered 431 to 440. The lot of the E. A. Stevens School backed against the houses on the east side of Riley Street. Camden City Directories list residents on Riley Street…
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George Genge School
The first school house known to have been erected within the present city limits of Camden appears to have been the one-story, red brick Camden Academy, built at 6th and Market Streets in 1804, on land donated by Jacob Cooper back in 1776. The delay in construction was a result of the economic and political…
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