The Rise and Fall of Camden, New Jersey - America's most dangerous city - IT'S HISTORY

camden city long served as the heart of south  jersey perhaps even a gateway to the great state   located directly across the delaware river  from philadelphia camden capitalized on its   strategic location for shipping and to an extent  became iconic as the home of the campbell soup   company unfortunately though camden lost its once  premier standing as it struggles with high poverty   crime and environmental degradation  but what was the cause of this downfall   what became of the city that was once at the  height of the industrial economy today we examine   the rise and fall of camden new jersey i'm your  host ryan socash and you're watching it's history today we will discover the rise and fall of camden  a city once inhabited by the more noble types like   walt whitman and although most of us will never  experience the prestige of being a famous poet   we can all become lords in fact for those of you  who didn't realize it a few videos back i became a   lord and i've been living 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established titles is actually running a massive   mother's day sale and if you use the code it's  history you'll get an additional 10 off so go to   establishtitles.com it's history to get your gifts  now my ladies and lords let's head back to camden   the city of camden is the fourth most populated  city in new jersey it's situated on the east   bank of delaware opposite of philadelphia on a  peninsula formed by the delaware river coopers and   newton's creek the site of the present city was  purchased and settled in the later part of the   17th century europeans settled along the delaware  river competing to control the local fur trade   back then the area was owned by nobles serving  under king charles ii eventually the land was   sold off to a group of quakers who were persecuted  in england for their religious beliefs and way of   life william penn who owned a large portion  of the land in west jersey encouraged quaker   settlement in the area this was an attractive  offer because the settlement offered them the   promise of religious freedom equitable taxation  and representative government out of these early   settlers the families of william cooper john kang  and archibald mikley made substantial improvements   and through their descendants retained  ownership of the lands for centuries the land   belonging to these three families would later  be subdivided to form a large piece of camden   william cooper was the earliest settler to affect  improvements upon his land and retain ownership   through his descendants cooper and his family  settled on 300 acres in a wooded area near the   present coopers creek cooper named his estate  pine point but it would be jacob cooper william   cooper's great grandson who took the first step  towards developing a town site having acquired 100   acres of land from his father jacob in 1773 laid  out 40 acres of his region into streets and lots   he named the town after the earl of camden charles  pratt a british friend of the american colonies   camden's northern boundary was an old path which  jacob named cooper street eventually jacob cooper   went on to sell 123 of the 167 lots he sold  the remaining portion of his land to his nephew   the son of his brother daniel then the  next addition to the town of camden was   extended by daniel cooper's brother joshua joshua  laid out plum street currently known as arch   street from the river to 6th street and placed  53 lots on both the north and south side of plum   this southern extension was commonly known  as cooper village eventually joshua cooper   sold 98 acres of land to edward sharp in 1820 who  furthered the expansion after extending several   streets and creating more plots sharp named his  area camden village sharps lots located between   federal street and 150 feet south of bridge avenue  were purchased by several people who took an   active role in community affairs in camden among  the purchasers of these lots were prominent   figures such as samuel laning the first mayor of  camden and ruben ludlam the first city treasurer   as laid out by jacob cooper joshua cooper and  edward sharp these three platts formed the initial   basis for the city of camden camden's population  began to grow therefore a ferry service was put   into place the earliest record of a license  granted for a ferry service was to william   royden in 1688 this ferry presumably located on  cooper street was later abandoned by royden but   continued in 1695 by daniel cooper and remained  in the cooper family for a hundred and fifty years   quickly a fairy empire grew with locations  established by abraham browning randall sparks   daniel cooper joseph wright and joseph kane  it would be the success of these extensive   ferry networks along the eastern shore of the  delaware river that resulted in the growth of   the population which would later classify camden  as a city the earliest structures built within   the bounds of modern camden relate directly to the  ferry industry taverns and hotels were established   at the nearby ferry sites the cooper's point  hotel or archers hotel which stood on state   street near delaware avenue was built by samuel  cooper in 1770 and was the second fairy house   erected at cooper's point sadly it was torn down  in 1896 anyhow back in 1838 a canal had been   cut through windmill island in the middle  of the delaware river making ferry travel   easier under all weather conditions with that  in mind the shortened commuting time combined   with an increasing number of businesses and  services made camden an attractive place to live   further expansion followed the american civil  war when important industries were introduced   the first of its kind in the country a steel  pen company was established in camden in 1860   the campbell soup company headquarters was opened  there in 1869 and started marketing condensed   soups by 1897. there were also other industries  of note including lumber dealers manufacturers of   wooden shingles pork sausage producers and candle  factories but that's still not the end there were   also coachmaker shops that manufactured carriages  and wagons blacksmiths and harness makers were   also prominent industrial expansion urban growth  and new immigration radically transformed the city   and its proximity to philadelphia most certainly  contributed to the early rise of the industry   within that area overall the system of ferries  and stage services which linked camden to all   the important towns of south jersey helped the  town to attract some early business enterprises   in the first half of the 19th century due to the  raise in major companies census takers in 1860   had counted 80 manufacturers operating  within city limits and then came the railroad   significant improvements in transportation systems  set the stage for the industrial revolution   the railroad was the single most important  determinant of industrial growth for camden   in the late 19th century the camden  and atlantic railroad which never had   financial success was considerably effective in  the development of the city organized in 1852   the line originated in camden traveled through  the pine barrens and stopped at atlantic city   heavy passenger traffic ironically brought new  businesses to camden's ferries and helped grow   the population by 9 500 people following the  success of this railroad no fewer than six   other railroad companies were constructed by  the year 1881 linking camden to philadelphia   trenton new york and the atlantic seashore during  the 1880s and 1890s the pennsylvania railroad   consolidated control over much of camden's rail  transportation and exerted its influence over the   political and economic affairs of the city by 1896  the pennsylvania railroad had consolidated most   local lines under the west jersey and seashore  railroad company thereby exerting a dominant force   over the shore and inland traffic so by this time  the railroad essentially owned ferry companies   and riverfront lands in camden it would be the  railroad to determine right-of-way street routing   and the location of factories the pennsylvania  railroad with nothing short of a monopoly over the   internal affairs of camden during the last decade  of the 19th century was primarily responsible for   the development and expansion of the city  of camden the electric trolley system also   radically transformed the city the newly expanded  trolley lines connected the town with neighboring   communities and further stimulated urban and  rural development to the point that vacant   riverfront land and downtown property brought  top prices as sites for factories and row houses   a new population occurred along trolley routes as  developers built new row houses in areas that were   now readily accessible blocks of row housing in  the vicinity provided homes for factory employees   among these was the factory row streetscape an  area that consists of three-story brick houses   camden's population mainly consisted of european  immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century   german british and irish immigrants and  african americans from the south made   up the majority of the city in the mid-19th  century around the turn of the 20th century   italian and eastern european  immigrants had become the majority   of the population that said the most dynamic  growth period occurred between 1870 and 1920   rising the population from 20 000 to 116 000  people the ethnic character of camden changed   radically between these decades by the turn  of the century german british and irish   immigrants dominated well by 1920 italian and  eastern european immigrants were the majority   these groups formed their communities within  camden and a church or synagogue was at the   center of social life and it's safe to say  that all these communities left behind a mark   with the growing population places of worship  began to develop all over the city the polish   community developed in the areas surrounding  saint joseph's catholic church on mechanic and   10th street in 1913 and were said to have revolved  around their church a prominent example of baroque   architecture which includes a five-story bell  tower a visual landmark for the community the   jewish community in the parkside area formed the  congregation sons of israel the first orthodox   synagogue in south jersey the italian neighborhood  grew in the bergen landing area through the church   and numerous social organizations the italian  population went on to have a significant influence   on the political and economic affairs of the city  and as you might imagine within these communities   were people from every walk of life from ditch  diggers to poets the poet walt whitman lived in   camden from 1873 until he died in 1892 following  a traumatic experience of confronting union troops   during the war while based in the nation's capital  whitman sought relief for his poor health by   moving into his brother george's home in camden  in 1873 subsequently moving into a snug home   the only one he ever owned near the waterfront  whitman relished the remaining years of his   life in the city a frequent visitor by ferry to  philadelphia he claimed that such trips reminded   him of the experiences in his youth that informed  his poem crossing the brooklyn ferry after his   death he made his way to harlight cemetery at the  city's edge the tomb of the poet still continues   to attract admirers to this day whitman's  home is maintained as a state historic site   the city was constantly prosperous throughout the  great depression and world war ii yet it never   extended its boundaries but the city still grew in  population and influence into the early 1950s you   see as long as its main business is thrived  camden would survive the ill effects of the   great depression and once again rise to prominence  with the boost world war ii gave to its industries   workers quickly decided to unionize and as a  result to avoid rising labor costs campbell's soup   decentralized its primary production operation  and many believe it was this moment that serves   as a dark omen towards camden's future then around  this time the new york shipbuilding corporation's   employment dropped abruptly from a height of 47  000 workers during the war and shut down entirely   in 1967 and this was a really big deal for  the city you see the new york ship building   corporation was established in 1899 and played  an essential contribution to the nation's defense   during world war ii it was initially intended to  be located in new york but ultimately settled in   camden as you can see the dominoes started to  fall one by one manufacturers began closing   their factories and moving out of the city almost  immediately camden was dramatically affected by   its economic and social position with the loss  of manufacturing jobs came a sharp decline in   population numbers suburbanization also affected  the drop in population civic unrest and crime   became common and middle class residents moved out  by the early 1990s the unemployment rate was more   than twice the state's average and almost half of  camden's inhabitants lived below the poverty line   the row houses built for workers in the  1930s that were architecturally unique   were all abandoned or tore down this was a vision  that no one could have imagined camden dominated   the surrounding area for almost all of its history  offering the broadest range of employment shopping   and entertainment options to its residents and  yet it was rapidly transforming into a seriously   dangerous place naturally as residents left the  city for the surrounding suburbs however camden   ceased to be the primary destination it had been  for generations which is perhaps why camden is at   this point in history known best for its struggles  with urban decay and political corruption they   actually had three mayors jailed for corruption  one as recently as the year 2000 already pulled   to the suburbs by the promise of new housing and  affordable rates camden's middle-class residents   accelerated their departure from the city so  a robust urban renewal program was launched in   the early 1960s and this actually worsened the  housing crisis by demolishing many older homes   occupied by african-american residents over the  years camden has made many attempts to restore its   economic stature but to little avail depressed  property values and continued loss of business   kept camden city for years from rising sufficient  revenues to meet its obligations forcing the state   to provide the funds continuously required to  balance the city's budget annually this led to a   decline in everything including police protection  now bureaucracy is one thing but you won't believe   just how bad life got for the everyday residents  after years of economic and industrial growth the   city of camden faced years of rising crime morgan  quintino press a research and publishing company   based in kansas has ranked camden in the top 10  most dangerous cities in the united states since   1998. they base their rankings on crime statistics  reported by the federal bureau of investigation   in six categories murder rape robbery aggravated  assault burglary and auto theft in a sense these   qualities seem to be at the city's modern dna as  far back as september the 6th 1949 when howard   onru went on a killing spree in his neighborhood  in which he killed 13 people fortunately he was   convicted and subsequently confined to a state  facility he died on october the 19th 2009.   currently camden has the highest crime rate  in the united states in 2012 camden had 2500   violent crimes for every 100 000 people which is  560 percent higher than the national average of   387 violent crimes per 100 000 citizens during the  1970s many protests took place the camden 28 were   a group of anti-vietnam war activists who planned  and executed a raid of the camden draft board   resulting in a high-profile trial against the  activists 17 defendants were acquitted by a jury   even though they had participated in the raid  more protests would follow culminating in 1971   when news broke that a city policeman had beaten  and shot a puerto rican motorist this set off   more than three decades of civil disturbances  ultimately creating a racial riot where sections   of downtown were looted and torched so with that  in mind you might be wondering if there's anything   good about camden well surprisingly the answer is  yes absolutely even though camden may not be the   safest place to visit it does have gems located  around the city city officials worked to convert   the primarily abandoned industrial sites on  its waterfront into a tourist destination   a state aquarium called adventure aquarium serves  as the centerpiece of that early effort in the   1980s and from what i hear you can actually swim  with sharks there the camden waterfront hosts   three other tourist attractions the uss new  jersey the bbnt pavilion and campbell's field   which until recently was home to the camden river  sharks you may recall the uss new jersey from a   previous video this is an iowa class battleship  and was the second ship in the united states navy   to be named after the state of new jersey this  battleship earned more battle stars for combat   action than any other completed iowa class  battleship and it was the only us battleship   providing gunfire support during the vietnam war  the bbnt pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater and   an indoor theater complex it can hold up to 7  000 people offering various concerts broadway   theatrical productions and family entertainment  camden is also home to the urban campus of rutgers   the state university of new jersey which was  founded as the south jersey law school in 1926   and of course there's the cooper medical school  of raun university which opened in 2012. the   middle states commission also accredits a two-year  community college on higher education named camden   county college it is one of the largest most  comprehensive community colleges in new jersey and   the surrounding region camden also houses cooper  university hospital and our lady lourdes medical   center the institutions account for roughly 45  percent of camden's total current employment   cooper university hospital is a teaching hospital  and biomedical research facility whereas our   lady of lourdes medical center is a regional  referral center the hospital is a destination for   cardiovascular care with one of the most extensive  programs in the area this is the only facility   in southern new jersey performing kidney liver  and pancreas transplants so if you're willing   to look beyond the ugly statistics it becomes  apparent that camden is home to hospitals schools   and attractions in 2015 the mayor announced an 830  million dollar plan to continue development on the   waterfront according to camden.nj.us their vision  is quote to transform camden into a city that is   linked to its people by responsive service systems  state-of-the-art technology and accountable   decision-making processes efficiently effectively  and equitably enhancing residents quality of life   attracting private investment stimulating growth  citywide and developing services with a commitment   to excellence which doesn't sound all that bad  to me currently the city has a population of 77   344 people and the effort to grow is prominent  and perhaps with all of its history camden will   once again become one of new jersey's greatest  cities thanks so much for watching it's history   don't forget to hit that subscribe button to  catch our new videos every thursday and saturday   consider becoming a channel member by  clicking the join button and check out   our new jersey history playlist until next  time this is lord ryan socash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

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Id: NceRvvnvN0Q

Length: 22min 57sec (1377 seconds)

Published: Thu May 05 2022