History of Camden, New Jersey, USA

1854 - Camden
Camden, a city, port of delivery, and seat of justice of Camden county, New Jersey, is situated on a plain on the left bank of the Delaware river, immediately opposite to Philadelphia, with which it is connected by means of 5 steam ferries. By railroad it is 32 miles S. S. W. from Trenton ; 87 miles S. W. from New York, and 9 miles N. from Woodbury. The Absecom railroad, extending from this place to Absecom Beach, is now (1853) nearly completed. The city is regularly laid out with streets intersecting each other at right angles, and contains many fine dwellings, especially in the north ward. The public buildings are a court house, recently erected, a bank, 2 extensive railroad depots, and 10 churches, viz. 2 Episcopal, 2 Presbyterian, 2 Baptist, 2 Methodist, and 2 Friends. The court house, in which are apartments occupied as a jail, is a roughcast edifice with iron columns. In Camden there are 2 literary associations and a mutual insurance company ; also 3 saw mills, 2 iron foundries. ... Read MORE...

1860 - TERRIFIC TORNADO AT CAMDEN. DESTRUCTION OF A LARGE BUILDING. THREE MEN KILLED AND SEVERAL SLIGHTLY INJURED.
One of the most terrible tornadoes that have visited this part of the country for years, occurred yesterday afternoon, about quarter-past three o'clock, near Camden, New Jersey, completely destroying the large chemical works of Messrs. Potts and Klett, killing three men and injuring several others.

The building is situated on Cooper's creek, on the Haddonfield road, about one mile north of Camden, had just been completed, and was pronounced by experienced architects to be perfectly safe. It was two hundred feet long, thirty-six feet wide, and two stories high. It was built of brick, the walls being twenty two inches thick, had pilasters both outside and inside to add additional strength and was covered with slate, and had a little gallery running around its roof - in fact, everything had been done to render it one of the most durable, as well as one of the most complete establishments in the country.
At the time the tornado occurred, Messrs. Potts and Klett, and the book keeper,... Read MORE...

1884 - A SHOCK OF EARTHQUAKE Felt Over a Large Region – A Vibratory Motion from Washington to Maine
...The shock in Camden, N. J., lasted about ten seconds and created considerable alarm. Every large building in the city was rocked, and bells were rung in every section. At Berkley and Third streets the residents of the houses thought they were falling, and rushed into the streets screaming for their lives...
The Landmark
Statesville, North Carolina
August 15, 1884

1885 - August 3 - A tornado hit Philadelphia and Camden along its eight mile path.

WeatherForYou.com

1895 - Camden
Camden, a city and port of entry, capital of Camden co., N.J., on the Delaware River, opposite Philadelphia, to which it is connected by five lines of steam ferry-boats. It stands upon nearly level ground, its river-front extending from Cooper's Creek on the north to Newton Creek on the south, the latter separating it from Gloucester City. Cooper's Creek is £ beyond the city limits. Cam; den is a terminus of the Camden & Amboy, Camden & Burlington County, Camden & Atlantic, Philadelphia & Atlantic City, West Jersey, and Camden, Gloucester & Mt. Ephraim Railroads. It has 31 churches, a city hall, county buildings, a hospital, a children's home, a colored orphanage, a dispensary, 2 national banks, a trust and savings fund, and 4 daily and 3 weekly newspapers. Its streets are laid out at right angles, and there are lines of street railway. Camden is the seat of varied manufacture', having seven iron-foundries (among them some of the largest class), 22 boot- and shoe-factories, 6... Read MORE...

1904 - 3 DEAD, 9 INJURED BY EXPLOSION. FIREWORKS PLANT AT CAMDEN, N.J., BLOWN TO ATOMS. COMPANY OFFICIALS ARRESTED.
Camden, N.J., May 24. - Three persons were killed and 10 others were injured, two of them probably fatally, by an explosion in the factory of the Independent Fireworks Company, on the outskirts of this city.

The dead are:
SIMON PERADAZZO, aged 18 years.
JOSEPH LOGOLLA, aged 16 years.
ANDRAE ORVILLA, aged 17 years.

Those believed to be fatally injured are MICHAEL SCALONA, aged 52 years, and LENARDO PINTO, aged 45 years, both of this city.

Robert T. Weser, of Philadelphia, president of the company, and Joseph Scalona, vice-president, were arrested and held in $1500 bail to await the action of the coroner. Warrants have been issued for certain other officers of the concern.

The plant consists of a two-story brick store house and four frame sheds, one of which is used for mixing the explosive composition placed in the fireworks. The explosion occurred in this department. The cause of the accident is yet to be positively determined. The theory of the workmen is that Michael... Read MORE...

1907 - BAD ACCIDENT NEAR CAMDEN. THREE ARE KILLED AND SEVENTEEN INJURED. DUE LARGELY TO A FOG. WRECKAGE ON FIRE, BUT THE LOCAL FIREMEN RENDER EFFICIENT AID.
(By Associated Press.)
Camden, N. J., Dec. 27. - Three persons were killed and seventeen injured in a collision on the elevated tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad just outside the station here today, with a Pemberton accommodation train ran into the rear of an Atlantic City express. A heavy fog was the principal cause of the accident.

The dead are:
C. H. BROWN, Moorestown.
J. L. GARBARINI, Mt. Holly.
T. K. WEBSTER, Merchantville.

The injured are:
ROBERT CLARKE, Merchantville, contused chest and legs and ears cut.
CARL PIGGETT, Merchantville, slightly hurt.
HOWARD STREET, Merchantville, bruised.
J. K. MENDENHALL, Hines Port, N. J., badly hurt.
W. H. ABBEY, Mount Holly, slightly injured.
WM. MASON, Mount Holly, badly hurt.
SAMUEL DOBBINS, Mount Holly, slightly injured.
A. H. MULFORD, Merchantville, badly injured.
BERNARD STEWARD, Merchantville, badly injured.
HARRY D. SNYDER, Merchantville, chest hurt.
WM. DIX, Merchantville, hand cut.
H. J. COOPER, Mount Holly,... Read MORE...

1912 - ROOFS LIFTED BY CYCLONE STORM. Philadelphia and Camden swept by Tornado - Two Fatally Hurt.
Philadelphia, April 2. - Two women were fatally injured, scores of houses were unroofed and more than twenty-five were completely demolished by a wind storm of cyclonic velocity which passed over that portion of Camden known as Cooper's Point, and swept down the Delaware river to the center of the city, doing thousands of dollars worth of property damage.

Tonight Camden is in utter darkness, all the electric lights having been turned off, and the streets in the northern section of that city are piled high with debris and telegraph poles.

Mrs. Annie Cleary of Camden and Miss Annie Behrend of Philadelphia, who were riding in a street car in Camden, were caught beneath a building which was demolished by the storm and both were so badly crushed that the physicians at the hospital say that neither can recover.

In the section of Camden where the storm was most severe, entire blocks of dwellings were unroofed and the occupants crowded in abject terror, not knowing which way to turn... Read MORE...

1916
Camden, a city and port of delivery, capital of Camden co., N.J., on the Delaware River, opposite Philadelphia, with which it is connected by several lines of steam ferry. It stands upon nearly level ground, its river-front extending from Cooper's Creek on the N. to Newton Creek on the S., the latter separating it from Gloucester City. Cooper's Creek is navigable beyond the city limits. Camden is a terminus of the Atlantic City, the West Jersey and Seashore and the Pennsylvania (Amboy division) Rs. It is the seat of varied manufactures, having several iron-foundries (among them some of the largest class), boot- and shoe-factories, carriage- and wagon-works, chemical-works, lumber- mills, textile establishments, and manufactures of paints, dyes, fertilizers, machinery, sheet-metal goods, steel pens, shawls, oil-cloths, stoves, etc. It has ship-building yards, dry-docks, and marine railways. Near the city limits is the Camden abattoir. The West Jersey Orphanage is located here. Pop. in... Read MORE...

1917 - March 7 - 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step," recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden NJ

historyorb.com
March 7, 1917

1933 - June 6 - 1st drive-in theater opens (Camden NJ)
The first drive-in movie theater opens in Pennsauken Tonwship, near Camden, New Jersey.
historyorb.com
June 6, 1933

1940 - CAMDEN FIRE LOSS SET AT TWO MILLION. SEARCH CONTINUES FOR NINE PERSONS REPORTED MISSING AFTER FIREMEN CONQUER FLAMES THAT CAUSE DEATH OF TWO - 54 HOUSES DESTROYED, RENDERING 1,000 WITHOUT HOMES -
200 HURT - CAUSE OF BURNING OIL AND CHEMICALS IN FACTORY NOT DETERMINED - PHILADELPHIA AND CHESTER FIREMEN AID.

Camden, N.J., July 31 - (UP) - Firemen, grotesquely clad in asbestos suits, began the grim search today through the rubble and still smouldering debris of the Camden fire for the bodies of nine men and women known missing and believed to have perished in the $2,000,000 blaze.

Two men were dead, a foreman and an employe of the R. M. HOLLINGSHEAD and Company, the world's largest automotive chemical plant here where a series of explosions started the fire that swept the building, leaped to 54 homes in the immediate area and left all a mass of ruins.
One thousand were homeless and 200 injured or burned while fleeing from the factory amid a shower of blazing oil and chemicals.

The known victims were RAYMOND HARTER, 38, of Collingswood, an employe who succumbed at Cooper Hospital of first, second and third degree burns; and WILLIAM MERRIGAN, 48, Camden hoseman who... Read MORE...

1959 - July 21 - 1st nuclear powered merchant ship, NS Savannah, christened, Camden NJ

historyorb.com

Here's a list of some of the best places to go and things to do in Camden:
Adventure Aquarium:

Explore the wonders of marine life at the Adventure Aquarium, located along the Delaware River waterfront. It's home to a diverse range of aquatic species, including sharks, penguins, and sea turtles. The interactive exhibits make it a great destination for families.

BB&T Pavilion:

If you're a music enthusiast, catch a concert at the BB&T Pavilion. This outdoor amphitheater hosts a variety of live performances, from chart-topping artists to popular bands. The scenic views of the Philadelphia skyline add to the overall experience.

Wiggins Park and Marina:

Enjoy a leisurely stroll or a picnic at Wiggins Park, a beautiful green space along the waterfront. The park often hosts events and festivals, making it a lively spot. The marina provides a picturesque backdrop with boats docked along the river.

Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial:

Step aboard the USS New Jersey, a retired battleship turned museum. Explore the decks, learn about the... Read MORE...