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The area now known as
Oaklyn, New Jersey was once dense forest land which was
inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape Indians, until 1681 when a
group of Quakers from Wickloe, Ireland sailed up the
Delaware River and settled on Newton Creek. the leader
of these Quakers, William Bates, purchased 250 acres on
the south side of Newton Creek from the local Indians.
This became known as the Newton Colony.
The Colony began to grow rapidly and the land was
cleared for farming. Eventually two highways were laid
out. One, from the Delaware River to Egg Harbor,
followed an old Indian trail, which is today the Black
Horse Pike. The other was known as the Long-a-coming
trail, which extended from Atlantic City to Berlin and
then from Berlin to Camden. This trail is now known as
the White Horse Pike.
After the American Revolution, a group of Virginia
sportsmen built a racetrack on the east side of the
White Horse Pike. President Grant had visited this track
as a young man before it closed in 1846.
A Samuel Bettle bought the land which was formerly the
racetrack and eventually, the land was deeded to Haddon
Township.
As the years passed, the farms along Newton Creek were
divided into lots and the development called "Oakland
the Beautiful." The name was changed to Oaklyn in 1894
to avoid confusion with another Oakland in Northern New
Jersey. Finally, in 1905, Oaklyn broke away from Haddon
Township and became a borough governed by a mayor and
six councilmen.
For more information about
our history or to become a member of the Oaklyn
Historical Society, contact Chuck Lehman at (856)
858-9691 or via email at
pnets44@verizon.net. |
