This map appears to have been created sometime between 1899 and 1920. Evidently, it was crafted after the merger of Stockton Township and the City of Camden, as the territory labeled as the “City of Camden” had formerly belonged to Stockton prior to the merger in 1899. J. Howard Kirkbride, a resident and real estate entrepreneur in the Stockton/East Camden region west of 36th Street, was responsible for laying out many of the building lots depicted on these maps after establishing his local business in 1893.
Of particular note on the map are the street names that endured, those that underwent changes, and, in the case of numbered streets, there are instances where the mapmaker made errors!
What is referred to as “Cove Road” corresponds to North 36th Street, while both “Merriel Avenue” and “Elm” on the map correspond to Camden Avenue.” Williams Street” aligns with today’s Rudderow Avenue.
Regarding the numbered streets in the area north of Chestnut Avenue (referred to on the map as Lea’s Extension and Second Rosedale Extension), it is necessary to add one digit to each of the numbered streets to obtain their accurate designations. For instance, 36th Street on the map corresponds to 37th Street today, and so forth. A cross street that traverses the “Second Rosedale Extension” area, designated as “Ogborn Avenue,” corresponds to Madison Avenue.
On the contrary, in the case of the numbered streets in the area south of Chestnut Avenue, 39th Street then remains 39th Street today. However, what is labeled as “42nd Street” may actually correspond to modern-day 41st Street. It’s quite a puzzle!
Several buildings, noted by yellow rectangles, that were there when the map was drawn, remain today or were standing until very recent times.
At the corner of “Cove Road”- our 36th Street- and Federal Street a building is labeled “Toll,” this was the toll house that stood on Federal Street when it was a toll road. The building stands today.
Across 36th Street, the yellow rectangle indicates the site of an tavern, known from 1917 until it was razed in 2003 as the Rosedale Tavern (sometimes people referred to it as the Rosedale Inn ).
At 39th Street at Federal, there is a grouping of three buildings in an area designated “Joseph Rich.” One of these buildings, the one furthest from Federal Street and west of 39th, remains in use today, a residence that has been occupied for well over 100 years.
On our 36th Street, at the railroad tracks, in the “Daniel Rich Estate,” a building is marked as the office of a coal yard. This building, still standing today, was used by companies in the coal and fuel oil business into the 1990s.
It is also interesting to note that Highland Avenue had been named as such already, but Myrtle Avenue is not named on the map.
Also of interest is what is not on the map, what had not been conceived of or built at the time. There is no overpass over Route 130… in fact, there is no Route 130! Crescent Boulevard, at one time State Highway 25 and in our time US Route 130, was a long way off when this map was drawn, in the time when the idea of most people owning an automobile was a fantasy! The National Guard building and the New Jersey Department of Transportation facility came much later.
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