Cooper's Poynt, Camden

Identifier
NJS-PLC-00403
Place Type
Port
Alternate Name
Cooper's Poynt Ferry
Roberts' Ferry
Upper Ferry
Cooper's Point
Located In
Camden
Description
Cooper's Poynt Ferry is a historical site in Camden where captive Africans were sold after disembarking from slave-trading ships. No physical features of the ferry site remain, but a historical plaque was erected in 2020 to mark the site. The historical marker is located in Cooper's Poynt Park. Two related historical markers also memorialize the nearby Cooper Street Ferry and Federal Street Ferry locations.

The historical marker text reads as follows:

"African slavery in New Jersey began with early European settlement. By 1766, circa 800 captive people had been sold here at the Coopers Point Ferry and two other nearby ferry landings. In Africa, approximately 24 million captured men, women, and children marched to coastal prisons. Only half survived the journey. These 12 million survivors then endured deplorable conditions on the Middle Passage ocean crossings, where an additional 2 million died from disease, malnutrition, dehydration, drowning, suicide and abuse. By 1800, New Jersey's enslaved African population exceeded 12,000. New Jersey was the last Northern state to emancipate, adopting gradual abolition in 1804 and finally ratifying the 13th Amendment on January 23, 1866."

The ferry at Cooper's Poynt was the second river crossing established by the Cooper family to connect the New Jersey waterfront to Philadelphia. Benjamin Cooper (1697-1772) operated this ferry from about 1728 until about 1762. From 1762 to 1764, Benjamin Cooper leased the ferry operation to a Philadelphia man named Roberts. Thus, during that brief period, historical records refer to this location as "Roberts' Ferry." Slave trafficking activities at this location peaked during Roberts's tenure. In 1765, the Cooper family took control of the ferry again, and Benjamin Cooper's son, Samuel Cooper, soon became the primary operator.

During the colonial era, the area surrounding the Cooper family's network of ferries was known as Newton Township, and it was officially part of Gloucester County. The waterfront area across from Philadelphia was generally referred to as Cooper's Ferry, but Cooper's Ferry was not incorporated as a distinct municipality. Thus, slavery records for this location may be found among Newton Township and Gloucester County records. The growth of Cooper's Ferry after the Revolution gave rise to the City of Camden, which was incorporated in 1828. Camden County broke off from Gloucester County in 1844. All of the Cooper family's ferries were located within the boundaries of present-day Camden City in Camden County.
Locality
Camden
County (Modern)
Camden County
County (Historical)
Gloucester County
State or Province
New Jersey
Country
United States of America
Related Place
Cooper Street Ferry, Camden
Federal Street Ferry, Camden (Daniel Cooper's Ferry)
Latitude
39.95402506772911
Longitude
-75.12899902601717
References

"Enslaved Africans Sold Here," Camden County Historical Society, https://cchsnj.org/enslaved-africans-sold-here/.

Garry Wheeler Stone, Coopers Ferry During the American Revolution, Report to the American Battlefield Protection Program, the National Park Service, September 28, 2015, https://www.camdennj.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Coopers-Ferry-during-the-American-Revolution-2015.08.17.pdf.

"Enslaved Africans Once Sold Here," Coopers Point Ferry location, Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=220914.
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
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