Chapter #2: Fun Facts About Camden County

Fun Facts About Camden County

Famous Firsts in Camden County

Drive-In Movie Theaters

On June 6, 1933, the first drive-in theater in the United States opened on Crescent Boulevard in Camden on a 10-acre plot. Moviegoers paid 25 cents apiece and 25 cents per car, but no group was charged more than $1. About 600 people attended the Camden Theater on opening night.

First known as “Park-in Theater” the term “drive-in” didn’t take hold until several years later. The Camden theater, like most drive-ins, showed mostly low-budget B-movies. It closed three years later.

Canned Soup

The first condensed soup in America was cooked and canned at Campbell’s Soup Company in Camden County, in 1897.

The company flourished in the city of Camden during the next century. Although the company relocated its processing facilities, the corporate headquarters is still located in the city.

Ship Building

The Esterbrook Pen Company and New York Shipbuilding Corporation established themselves in Camden before World War I. By then a popular saying was, “on Camden’s supplies, the world relies.”

Attractions to Visit in Camden County:

There are endless opportunities for fun in Camden County that have attracted people from all over New Jersey and surrounding areas. From history and museums to the aquarium and riding waterslides, Camden County has it all!

• Adventure Aquarium in Camden: Features around 8,000 animals living in semi-aquatic, freshwater, and marine habitats.

• Battleship New Jersey in Camden: The most decorated war ship in United States history.

• Diggerland USA in Berlin: The only construction-themed adventure park in the United States.

• Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden: An outdoor amphitheater that hosts many concerts and music festivals throughout the year.

• Peter Mott House in Lawnside: A mid-19th century house where freedom-fighter owners were instrumental in helping enslaved people headed North to freedom in the days of the Underground Railroad.

• Walt Whitman House in Camden: The last residence of renowned American poet Walt Whitman.

• Indian King Tavern Museum in Haddonfield: A colonial American tavern which was the site where the New Jersey Legislature adopted its Great Seal in 1777. It was named the first State Historic Site in 1903.