Camden

Identifier
NJS-PLC-00050
Place Type
City, Town, or Village
Alternate Name
Cooper's Ferry
Description
Camden City is the seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located on the Delaware River across from Philadelphia. The campus of Rutgers University–Camden is located downtown near the waterfront.

In the colonial era, the waterfront area of present-day Camden was known as Cooper's Ferry and included several ferry landings operated by the Cooper family. Cooper's Ferry served as South Jersey's main entry point where slave ships docked. Hundreds of captive Africans—those who had survived the Middle Passage—were brought on shore and sold here.

Originally, Cooper's Ferry and the surrounding community were officially considered part of Newton township in Gloucester County. Many slavery-era documents for the area list "Cooper's Ferry" and/or "Newton township, Gloucester County" as the location. The name Camden first became associated with the waterfront area of Newton township in the 1770s. In 1828, Camden City was incorporated as a distinct municipality, but it was still in Gloucester County. Then, in 1844, a large portion of Gloucester County broke off to form the new Camden County, and Camden City became its county seat.
Locality
Camden
County (Modern)
Camden County
State or Province
New Jersey
Country
United States of America
Latitude
39.94564710692171
Longitude
-75.12108865599512
References

"Enslaved Africans Once Sold Here," Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=145252.

John P. Snyder, The Story of New Jersey’s Civil Boundaries, 1606–1968 (Trenton, Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969; New Jersey Geological Survey, 2004), https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf. Page 104.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden,_New_Jersey
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
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