Merchantville.com

During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Victorian commuter suburbs sprouted throughout the northeastern United States as the advent of railroad and streetcar lines opened up locations for residences distinctly removed from the urban workplace. Increasingly congested and alienating cities spurred families and individuals to migrate to the wholesome countryside where each man could acquire his own small plot of land.

Merchantville, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia and to a lesser extent, Camden, is a prototypical result of the nineteenth century suburban phenomenon. As such, it is the subject of this architectural history and planning thesis in historic preservation. I have selected Merchantville, a 395.8-acre borough in southern New Jersey, as an important suburb to study for several reasons. Merchantville, NJ: The Development, Architecture and Preservation of a Victorian Commuter Suburb.