Tag: Camden NJ

Wikipedia says: Camden is a city in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828. Camden has been the county seat of Camden County since the county’s formation on March 13, 1844. The city derives its name from Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. Camden is made up of over 20 neighborhoods, and is part of the South Jersey region of the state.

The city has a long history, which traces back to local indigenous Lenape, who are believed to have inhabited this area 13–15,000 years prior to the first European settlers. Quakers eventually settled in the area at the end of the 17th century and the start of the 18th century, drawn by promises of religious freedom, fairer taxation, and more representation in government. The area was not popular for settlement until the Camden and Amboy Railroad came through in the second quarter of the 1800s. In Camden, there is also a location that is tied to the Underground Railroad, which was the first stop on the Philadelphia to New York route and operated through the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church. Established in 1832, this church stands as the oldest African American institution in the city.