Cherry Hill, NJ

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census. The township ranked as the 14th largest municipality in the state in 2010 after having been ranked 13th in 2000.  Cherry Hill is in the Delaware Valley coastal plain about five miles (8 km) southeast of Philadelphia. Cherry Hill is considered an edge city of Philadelphia.

History

The area now known as Cherry Hill was originally settled by the Lenni-Lenape Native Americans who coexisted peacefully with the first settlers from England, Quaker followers of William Penn who arrived in the late 17th century.  The first settlement was a small cluster of homes named Colestown, in the perimeters of what is now the Colestown Cemetery on the corner of Route 41 (King’s Highway) and Church Road. The municipality was founded on February 25, 1844, in Gloucester County as Delaware Township from half of the area of Waterford Township, and became part of Camden County at its creation some two weeks later on March 13, 1844.  At its territorial peak, Delaware Township was composed of modern-day North Camden, present-day Cherry Hill, Merchantville, and Pennsauken (including Petty’s Island in the Delaware River).

The township grew explosively after World War II, and continued to grow until the 1980s. Today, the municipality’s population is stable with new development generally occurring in pockets of custom luxury homes or through the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of commercial and industrial areas.

Origin of the name

Cherry Hill was a 19th-century farm on Kaighn Avenue/Route 38 which was owned by Abraham Browning. The farm property later became the Cherry Hill Inn (now an AMC-Loews movie theater complex), as well as an RCA office campus (now a shopping center), and today’s Cherry Hill Towers and Cherry Hill Estates housing developments.

Adding to the prevalence of the Cherry Hill name, developer Eugene Mori branded several properties similarly, including the Cherry Hill Inn and Cherry Hill Lodge hotels, Cherry Hill Apartments, and Cherry Hill Estates.  Cherry Hill Shopping Center (now known as Cherry Hill Mall) opened in 1961 opposite the old Cherry Hill Farm site, featuring 75 stores all in a single enclosed space.

In time, the township also sought a new post office, but another New Jersey town already claimed the name Delaware Township. The postal service suggested a name change, and Delaware Township mayors Christian Weber and John Gilmour pursued public write-in campaigns to select possible titles. The name ‘Cherry Hill’ was chosen by the township’s citizens in a non-binding referendum in 1961, and was officially adopted November 7, 1961.

Location of Cherry Hill Township in Camden County.

Coordinates: 39°55′39″N 75°1′24″W / 39.9275°N 75.02333°W / Coordinates: 39°55′39″N 75°1′24″W / 39.9275°N 75.02333°W /