| The 92nd neighborhood |
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There are currently ninety-one identified neighborhoods in Cherry Hill Township. A comment posted on the online petition "supporting the goal of requiring Merchantville Borough Council to take the steps necessary to begin a merger with Cherry Hill NJ to save our community," is from a resident proclaiming, "As to those who say, we would lose our identity, I say consider this: We all recognize specific areas of Cherry Hill such as Erlton, Barclay Farms, Wexford Leas, etc. and that could be the same as Merchantville area of Cherry Hill. I say, "Go for it!" .
Taken at face value a reader might assume that this is a fair comparison - "apples to apples". However, if Erlton, Barclay Farms and Wexford Leas are apples, Merchantville is the proverbial "orange". In fact, the the way history tells it only two "oranges" preceded Merchantville. They were the historic towns of Ellisburg, which once served as the social and governmental hub of the former Delaware Township and Colestown, a small but thriving village established in the late 1600's. Ellisburg is now primarily known as the name of a shopping center and Colestown has, but for a cemetery, all but vanished from the face of Cherry Hill. As for the areas of Erlton, Barclay Farms, Wexford Leas, etc., they were never established towns or self-governing settlements. They experienced no loss of revenue, independence, culture or representation. They are developments that are referred to as neighborhoods. Before 1961, you couldn't find Cherry Hill on a map because it did not exist. The township was first known as Waterford Township then Delaware Township when Camden County was established in 1844. Delaware Township was insulated from the fast growth of late 19th century suburbs that developed along railroad and trolley lines such as Merchantville, Haddon Heights, and Magnolia and vast it's family farms grew throughout the century supplied by Ellisburg, Colestown, Haddonfield, Merchantville and other towns. In the early 20th century suburbs bordering Philadelphia began expanding, blurring the lines between Delaware Township and its neighbors. For example, the Colwick neighborhood developed in the 1920s along the borders with Pennsauken and Maple Shade. Fine brick homes with large lots lined streets named for elite suburbs of the Main Line. This neighborhood contains some of the earliest 'tract housing' in the region. In other neighborhoods like Hinchman, Locustwood, Erlton, Barlow, East Merchantville, Still Park and Wilbur, similar expansion continued throughout the 20th century. Thousands of homes rose from empty fields: Kingston Estates, Brookfield and Downs Farm became known as new places to settle down and raise a family. Exclusivity was the name of the game as luxury communities grew in various forms and excellent schools and swim clubs became obligatory fixtures in these chic 'planned communities.' Then Woodcrest appeared complete with a country club and the popular golf course views. Soon, the township became a regional commercial center that was home to more than 70,000 residents and 4,000 businesses. While Merchantville and other 19th century suburbs continued to thrive, the 20th century creation and development of "specific areas" in the Township of Cherry Hill soon claimed the identity of Colestown and Ellisburg. Will a study or a study of history better answer a resident's questions about the loss of identity, community traditions and representation that may come with consolidation? http://www.cchsnj.com/cc_placenames.pdf http://www.westjerseyhistory.org/books/decou1/mtn13.html http://www.us-roots.org/njcamden/history/part2chapter17.html http://bit.ly/cLUC9L http://bit.ly/9qp3dV Listed here are the ninety-one neighborhoods of Cherry Hill Township. |
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