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Cumberland County History and Information

Cumberland County was created on 1683 and was formed from Salem County. The County was named for William Augustus, Earl of Cumberland. The County Seat is Bridgeton. The Colonial Legislature, at a session held January 30, 1748, passed an Act erecting the east side of Salem County into a new county to be called Cumberland. It was so named by Governor Jonathan Belcher in honor of his patron, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, brother of the king and the victor over "Bonnie Prince Charles", (Stuart) the Young Pretender to the throne of England whose hopes were quenched at the bloody Battle of Culloden Moor.

The Act establishing the new county divided it into six townships: Greenwich, Hopewell, Stow Creek, Deerfield, Fairfield, and Maurice River. The Legislature ordered the Freeholders to meet first at Cohansey Bridge, which is now Bridgeton, to arrange for the taking of a poll to determine the location of the county seat. The first court was held at Greenwich. In December of the same year, 1748, Cohansey Bridge (now Bridgeton) was chosen as the seat of county government. The selection was compromise, Greenwich, Fairfield and Deerfield contending for the honor, the convenience and the practical advantage from a business standpoint. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Cumberland County are Gloucester County (north), Atlantic County (northeast), Cape May County (southeast), Kent County, Delaware (west), Salem County (northwest).

Cumberland County Cities Include Bridgeton, Millville, Vineland. Townships Include Commercial, Deerfield, Downe, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hopewell, Lawrence, Maurice River, Stow Creek, Upper Deerfield. Boroughs Include Shiloh. Communities Include Cedarville, Delmont, Dorchester, Fairton, Fortescue, Laurel Lake, Mauricetown, Port Elizabeth, Port Norris, Rosenhayn, Seabrook Farms.

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County History

Early Settlement in Cumberland County

The area that now is Cumberland County, at the time of the first European settlements in the 17th century, was inhabited by a small number of Lenni Lenape Indians who migrated from place to place. Their names remain in the Manumuskin and Menantico Creeks, and their artifacts have been excavated locally for centuries. No conflict is recorded between Indians and Europeans here. By 1700 almost all had left the area.

By the fourth decade of the 17th century Swedes had moved along the banks of the Delaware Bay and the Delaware River -- a few of them on the east side. Family names such as Hendrickson, Errickson and Peterson still survive from these Swedish settlers. At least one log cabin built by these people in Lower Hopewell Township remains and may be seen on the grounds of the Gibbon House Museum in Greenwich.

The Swedes were conquered by the Dutch in 1654. No Dutch buildings survive, although family names such as Vanaman, Conover and Polhamus, of Dutch derivation still exist in Cumberland County.

Meaningful permanent settlement in what is now called Cumberland County dates from 1675 when John Fenwick purchased his tenth of West New Jersey from Lord John Berkeley. Fenwick established the town of Salem that same year, and in his will dated 1683, called for a second town to be built on the Cohansey Creek. Quakers came from Salem first, but were soon followed by Calvinists from New England and Long Island, naming the village Greenwich for the Connecticut community.

Immediately then, there were Quakers and the New Englanders who were Presbyterians and Baptists. By 1720 the Baptists had subdivided into a Seventh Day group as well as those who continued to observe the First Day as their Sabbath. Great religious diversity among such small numbers, and absolute religious tolerance were ever the rule. Baptists tended to buy lands in Hopewell Township, while the Presbyterians came first to Fairfield and then moved out to purchase new lands in Greenwich and Deerfield Townships. Quakers remained in Greenwich for the most part. Log Meeting Houses, which were later replaced by more substantial buildings were built by the Quakers in Greenwich, by the Baptists in two locations in Hopewell, and by the Presbyterians in Greenwich, Fairfield and Deerfield.

Early Settlers in Cumberland County

Who the first white settlers were in the limits of Cumberland County is not known. It has been said that some of the Swedes, who made a settlement farther up the Delaware in 1638, established themselves on the banks of Maurice River previous to any other white settlers in the county, but no evidence has been found to sustain this opinion, although it is not improbable that such was the case. Gabriel Thomas, a Friend, in a book published in London in 1698, speaks of Prince Maurice River, "where the Swedes used to kill the geese in great numbers for their feathers only, leaving their carcasses behind them." How long a time previous to the publication of the book is not known, but it implies that there were some Swedish settlers there previous to its publication. Whether the first settlers or not, the descendants of many of the Swedes are quite numerous to the present time.

About the time John Purple bought the land where Port Elizabeth stands, around 1720, settlers are known to have come, and from that time continued to come, so that about 1743 two acres of land were purchased, most probably from John Hoffman, a short distance above Spring Garden Ferry, and a Swedish church erected for the use of the brethren, and dedicated to the worship of God by Abraham Reincke, Owen Rice, Matthew Rentz, and Pastor Lawrence T. Nyber, on December 18, 1746. The church was used as such previous to its dedication, the first sermon being preached in it on June 27 1745, and Jeremiah, infant son of Lars and Susan Peterson, was baptized immediately after that. The following are the names of persons who resided in Maurice River and were attached to the brethren: Samuel Cobb and wife, Catherine, Paul Camp, Nicholas Hopman and wife, John Hopman and wife, Peter Hopman and wife, Frederic Hopman and wife, Joseph Jones, Abrham Jones and wife, Eric Kyn and wife, ----- Lommus, Peter Mosslander, Margaret -----, a widow, Stephen Mullicas and wife, Eric Mullicas and wife, Lucas Peterson and wife, Aaron Peterson, Thomas Peterson, Gabriel Powell, ----- Purple, Shiloh, an Indian, Samuel Van Immen and wife, David Van Immen, Peter Van Immen and Gabriel Van Immen.

Cumberland County is Born

The Colonial Legislature, at a session held January 30, 1748, passed an Act erecting the east side of Salem County into a new county to be called Cumberland. It was so named by Governor Jonathan Belcher in honor of his patron, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, brother of the king and the victor over "Bonnie Prince Charles", (Stuart) the Young Pretender to the throne of England whose hopes were quenched at the bloody Battle of Culloden Moor.

In 1752, Cumberland County's first court house, (Cumberland has had four) was built in the center of what is now West Broad Street, east of the line of Franklin Street. During the next 15 years, Cumberland County developed rapidly and, at the same time, dissatisfaction over Colonial rule was increasing, a feeling that brought about eventual separation from the British Crown. In 1772, Cumberland first elected two representatives to the Colonial Legislature. Theretofore, Salem and Cumberland had been jointly represented. Downe Township was established. It was given the maiden name of Governor William Franklin's wife, Elizabeth Downes, whose name was misspelled in the printed legislation and has been misspelled ever since.

Cumberland County in the Revolution

Patriot sentiment predominated though it was by no means unanimous in Cumberland County. Clear lines began to be drawn after the Boston Tea Party of December 1773. By December of the following year (1774) Greenwich was ready for its own "Tea Party" (its own reaction to British tea). The boxes stored in the town for later shipment to Philadelphia, were seized and burned on Market Square. This was the only act of violence against British authority in New Jersey prior to the Revolution.Potters Tavern in Bridgeton

Philip Vickers Fithian, Greenwich resident, College of New Jersey graduate, and would-be Presbyterian minister, kept a journal from 1766 to 1776, which narrated those stormy days. He witnessed a similar tea burning in the town of Annapolis, Maryland, though he never admitted being one of the Greenwich tea burners.

During the winter of 1775-1776, after hostilities had begun in Massachusetts, the "Plain Dealer", a hand written news sheet appeared in Potter's Tavern, Bridgeton (pictured at right), submitted by the young lawyers of the county seat. Among the articles of local news and gossip were several stories, serious and comic, which dealt with the choices Americans had to make of loyalty to Britain, adherence to the Patriot cause, or neutrality.

Greenwich Tea Burning: 1774

Liberty was not cradled in Philadelphia alone. The spirit was also alive in the inhabitants of Cumberland County when they destroyed a cargo of tea in 1774.

Tea Party DrawingForty miles from Philadelphia, was (and still is) the little town of Greenwich, the principal settlement of Cumberland County. It was founded in 1675 by John Fenwick and is older than Philadelphia, not founded until 1682. The hand of time has hardly touched Greenwich. It is much the same today as it was three hundred years ago, when the British flag flew high over it. Today you will still find there a wide street, which they still call "Ye Greate Street." It was laid out in 1684 and its course has never been changed.

The Cohansey creek is a navigable stream of some size running through the county of Cumberland, and emptying into the Delaware Bay. In the Autumn of 1774 the quiet inhabitants along the banks of the creek were startled by the appearance of a British brig, called the "Greyhound", which, sailing about four miles up the stream stopped at the village of Greenwich, being the first landing from its mouth. She was laden with a cargo of tea, sent out by the East India Tea Company, under the impression, doubtless, that the conservative feelings and principles of the people of New Jersey would induce them to submit quietly to a small tax. The result showed that the temper of the people was little understood by the East India Tea Company.

Having found an English sympathizer, a Tory, as they were called, one Dan Bowen, the Greyhound's crew secretly stored the cargo of tea in the cellar of his house. However, this unusual procedure was noted by the citizens who immediately appointed a temporary committee of five to look after the matter until a county committee might be appointed.

A general committee of thirty-five was later appointed, with representatives from Greenwich, Deerfield, Jericho, Shiloh, Bridgeton, Fairfield and perhaps other places.

News of the Boston Tea Party had already reached Greenwich and the defiant example was regarded by many of the local settlers as worthy of their own contempt for the British. Fate now presented them with a ready-made opportunity to duplicate the act.

On the evening of Thursday, December 22, 1774, a company of about forty young Whigs, disguised as Indians, entered the cellar of Bowen's house, took possession of the whole cargo, conveyed the tea chests from the cellar into an adjoining field, and piling them together, burnt them in one general conflagration.

Thus, the patriots of Cumberland County living in Greenwich expressed their discontent by reacting to oppressive governmental measures. They had clearly taken a stand for independence and democracy.

Greenwich had been granted the distinction of being one of the five tea-party towns in America, the others being Charleston, Annapolis, Princeton, and Boston. In 1908 this monument was erected in the old market place on Ye Greate Street to commemorate the burning of a cargo of British tea December 22, 1774.

The Plain Dealer

The Plain Dealer, the first newspaper established in New Jersey expressly for the purpose of supporting the sometimes faltering drive for American liberty, is one of the literary-political landmarks of the American Revolutionary period. The distinguished historian, John T. Cunningham, said that the fact that the Plain Dealer appeared every Tuesday morning probably made it New Jersey's first regular "Newspaper."

Potter's Tavern, where the Plain Dealer was published is one of New Jersey's most significant historical shrines.

The editor of the Plain Dealer was Ebenezer Elmer, age 23, a native of Fairfield, a tea burner and a young physician who later distinguished himself as a soldier, a statesman and a public benefactor. He was the last survivor of Washington's officers of the Jersey Continental Line. He was also the last original member of the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati and at his death was the president of that mutual aid organization formed by the officers of Washington's army when his troops were disbanded.

Containing clear and persuasive argument in favor of Liberty from British domination, the Plain Dealer successfully served to crystallize sentiment in Cumberland County in favor of armed resistance. This accomplished, the editor and the contributors went off to war.

The tavern bore the name of its licensed keeper, Mine Host Matthew Potter. He was a brother of David Potter, who was later a Colonel in the Militia. Matthew's place of entertainment was a gathering spot for the local firebrands. The fact that he gave a home to the Plain Dealer placed him in personal danger in the Revolutionary period. The silhouette on the cover of this booklet is the only likeness of Ebenezer Elmer so far identified.

The original manuscript of the Plain Dealer was in the hands of Bridgeton owners who held it by inheritance. In the 1930's it found its way into the streams of trade finally coming to rest in the Rare Book Collection of Rutgers, The State University.

Cumberland County Liberty Bell

* The bell, in the key of F, was made in Bridgewater, England before 1776.
* This bell has been used in many ways in Bridgeton and once in Philadelphia.
* Called people together for important news and meetings when hanging in the Court House that was built in 1760-61.
* Rang for liberty when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
* Used as a warning signal during the War of 1812.
* Was a fireman's bell.
* Was a school bell for the West Jersey Academy and later at the old Bridgeton High School.
* Rang for the 200th Anniversary of the founding of Cumberland County in 1948.
* Was on exhibit in Philadelphia during the 150th Anniversary of Independence. While there, it rang for the closing time.

Cumberland County Courthouse History

The Cumberland County Courthouse stands at the corner of Broad and Fayette Streets in Bridgeton, the county seat. This structure and those which precede it have stood on this spot - or just a stone's throw away - for more than 200 years. From the time the first frame building was constructed in 1752 until the present date, the Court House has represented the hub of the county. The agencies which it houses have carried on their prescribed duties, expanding in direct ratio to the growing state and nation of which it is a part. It has seen its sons march away, first to secure liberty, then to preserve it. Its very activities have reflected the effects on its people of boom times and depressions.

The title of the Court House quite properly designates the building as a hall of justice, yet it has embraced with its walls and nearby such a multitude of departmental service functions quite apart from the operation of the courts, that it must also be regarded as the seat of the Cumberland County government.

Cumberland County History and Information

Records at the County Courthouse

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County Census Records

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County Maps & Atlases

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County Military Records

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County Tax Records

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County Genealogical Addresses

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County Church & Cemeteries

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