A Short History of Winslow Township
Winslow Township encompasses an area of 57-58 square miles in the extreme southestern end of Camden County. The history of Winslow Township begin on March 8, 1845 when the Township of Winslow was incorporated. The township was taken from old Gloucester Township in order for this lower section to have a representative in the Board of Freeholders and to allow the residents of the area to have control over the expenditures of funds that were raised in the area. The first tracts of land that were taken up in this new municipality were mostly cedar swamps and the first settlers were involved in the cutting and transportation of cedar logs to Philadelphia. The background of Winslow Township includes the history of many of the small communities within its borders. These small communities are Tansboro, Sicklerville, Cedar Brook, Elm, Albion, Bate’s Mill, Blue Anchor, and Winslow Village.
The oldest settlement in the township was Blue Anchor, which was located at a point wherealong an old Indian trail to the seacoast and where other trails from Absecom and Tuckahoe comnverged. At the same point was the Blue Anchor Inn that was built prior to 1740 by John Hider. The inn has sinced burned down and no longer exists, although the name of the area along Rte 73 still carries the name Blue Anchor.
The largest village at the time of the township’s incorporation was Winslow Village. Winslow Village was the site of the Winslow Glass Works, built by William Coffin in 1831. William named the village of Winslow after his youngest son, Edward Winslow Coffin. In 1833, William Coffin took on a partner, Andrew Hay. In 1851, Andrew Hay became the sole proprietor of the glass works and expanded the business in the area to include a saw mill and a grist mill, in order to diversify the industries there. Coffin and Hay are also credited with helping to establish the Methodist Church in Winslow Village in 1840 by donating the ground. By 1865 the glass works employed 400 people, but in 1892 a fire destroyed the factory.
Tansboro was a community that was established on the location of a tannery that was owned by C. Tice and J.Venibe. It is reported that there was also a glass works located near there and was started with an investment of $7,000 in capital.
Braddock, Florence, Williamstown Junction, Cedar Brook, and Albion were hamlets that were located along the Reading Railroad line, while Sicklerville grew from its location along the Williamstown Branch of the Williamstown-Delaware River Railroad Line. In the very early days, the area we now know as Sicklerville was known by two names, Waretown and Sicklertown. The fact that John Sickler, an early homesteader in the area, built the station along the branch line helped solidify the name Sicklertown (later changed to Sicklerville) on the rail maps.
Ancora was mostly known for the Camden County tuberculosis sanitarium that was located in the area. It was soon to be moved to more modern quarters at Asyla. One of the prominent families of the area, The Albertsons, had their homestead on Spring Garden Road and is now a private residence. It was reported that the first township meeting was held at Joshua Albertson’s home.
Because timber was the main inductry of the area, John Inskip erected a saw mill on the Great Egg Harbor River and a public ford was added around 1762. The local Indians would stop and camp overnight whenever they traveled between the Indian villages of Shamong and Tuckahoe.
Many businesses sprang up in the area and the population grew due to the laying of track into Winslow Junction by the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, then later by the Vineland Railway Company (1871) and the Philadelphia-Atlantic City Railroad (1877). Some other businesses that were located in Winslow Township, but no longer exist, are the Bailey Factory (makers of dye sticks; no longer operational), another glass factory in Wilton was leased by J.L.Mason (no longer in existence), and Winslow Junction (stil a working frieght yrad) to name a few.
Winslow Township has grown considerably since its incorporation; from 1540 in 1845, 3379 in 1920, to over 34,000 in 2000.
Source: reprinted with permission from Winslow Genealogical & Historical Society
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