Camden Streets - Point Street

POINT STREET was laid out in 1804 between William Cooper’s house and ferry in what is know known as North Camden and Cooper Street. It was long known as Cooper’s Point Road, and the present name is a derivative of that appellation. This road followed along the river bank and furnished an outlet for the sawmills, planning mills, and shipyards in the area. At many points this road was under water at several points during high tide. It was not developed until the river bank had been filled in or bulkheaded.

The Cooper mansion on ground bounded by State Street, Point Street, York Street, and Front Street was built in 1855 by Joseph W. Cooper.

The Kensington & New Jersey Ferry Co., Inc. operated its first boat The Shackamaxon on July 28, 1866 from the head of Point Street in Camden to Shackamaxon Street in Philadelphia. In May of 1880 this company was purchased by the Camden & Atlantic Railroad Company and boats were run from the railroad company’s new slips at the foot of Wood Street. The ferryboat The Shackamaxon was subsequently taken to New York to ply between that city and Ellis Island. She was badly damaged in a storm on June 6, 1893.

During World War I, the 300 block of Point Street gave up two of its sons, as Private James Murtha was killed in action, while Private Philip C. Wendell died of pneumonia while serving at Camp Meade MD.

Point Street in modern times runs from Cooper Street to Erie, west of Front Street. It passes underneath the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which is why there are no 400 and 500 blocks. What would be the 700 block lay under the railroad tracks that formerly ran up Main Street. The 1940 Directory shows only five business on Point Street:

324	Alf Goldenburg Real Estate
600	Johnny Moore's Tavern
901	Armind Damiani's Restaurant
941	Mrs. Magdaline Rittenhouse Candy Store
Northeast Corner Point & Erie Streets	John H. Mathis Shipyard

The Mathis Shipyard and its successors were major employers in the neighborhood for many years, and Mathis-built yachts were the boats of choice for presidents and millionaires. Johnny Moore's Tavern was a fixture well into the 1970s, while the restaurant at 901 was still serving food as late as 2004. The John F. Rittenhouse opened his store at 941 Point Street in the 1920s, and his widow carried the business on after his death. When she retired her son by a previous marriage, William "Woo-Woo" Rowan took over the store, which remained open into the 1970s. Woo-Woo's was a favorite haunt especially of children in the area, being the neighborhood source for candy, ice cream, and other treats.

Do you have a Point Street memory or picture. Let me know by e-mail so it can be included here.

Phil Cohen

900 Block of Point Street
	901 Point Street May 2004 This building was used as a tavern as early as 1887 through 1919, when Prohibition was enacted. "901 Point was Brownies Luncheonette, he sold it about 1987. I helped him move to Bellmawr, where he passed away shortly after that. Delbert Brown was his name." - Floyd Miller Jr. Click on Image to Enlarge
	903 Point Street Private Albert Charles Thompson
	901 to 909 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	901 to 919 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	901 to 941 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	Outside 919 Point Street 1977 Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Floyd L Miller Jr.
	917 to 919 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	North & Point Streets May 2004 North Street starts at the Delaware Avenue, crosses Point Street, and ends at Front Street. Click on Image to Enlarge
	North & Point Streets May 2004 Looking West on North Street Click on Image to Enlarge
	941 Point Street John F. Rittenhouse & Family 1920s - late 1960s Photo is of John F. Rittenhouse in his store at 941 Point Street. His wife, Madeline "Nell" Rittenhouse, is at far right. Photo dates from roughly the late 1920s
	941 Point Street John F. Rittenhouse & Family 1930s After John F. Rittenhouse passed away, his wife, Madeline "Nell" Rittenhouse, carried the business forward. The photo is of step-son William "Woo-Woo" Rowan, and dates from the 1930s. Note the "Mrs. J.F. Rittenhouse" on the canvas awning, and the Mathis Shipyard building in the background, on Erie Street.
	941 Point Street William "Woo-Woo" Rowan and his wife Pauline 1960 Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. John Myers
	941 Point Street Carol Alberta Rowan Carol Rowan met John Myers, from Cramer Hill, in 1959. The wed in 1971. Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. John Myers
	941 Point Street William "WooWoo" Rowan May 1961 "Meet Woo-Woo. This is how most people saw him as they entered the store." - John Myers Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. John Myers
	941 Point Street William "WooWoo" Rowan May 1961
	939 to 941 Point Street 1978 "....before I lived in that house it was Woo-Woo's Candy Store. It was a front for the gambling room in the back room." - Floyd Miller Jr. Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Floyd L Miller Jr.
	933 to 941 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	939 Point Street Magdalene Rittenhouse 1960s Click on Image to Enlarge
	941 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	943 Point Street A hotel and tavern operated at this address from the 1870s though the early 1930s.
	910 to 914 Point Street About 1983 As Seen from 941 Point Street Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Floyd L Miller Jr.
	910 to 914 Point Street About 1983 As Seen from 941 Point Street Click on Image to Enlarge Photograph Courtesy of Floyd L Miller Jr.
	914 Point Street May 2004 Looking West on North Street Click on Image to Enlarge
	910 to 914 Point Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge

Intersection of Front Street and State Street

Camden Courier-Post - July 8, 1950

Boy Sees Accident, Asks Traffic Light
by WILBUR MORSE JR.

Petitions for highway safety measures or improvements usually come from adult individuals or organizations.

But there Is an 11-yearold North Camden boy whose horror at seeing a car drag a 4-yearold neighbor 40 feet. near an unlighted intersection, today spurred a one-man safety campaign that carried a bigger wallop than the table thumping of many of his elders.

Into the Courier-Post editorial rooms came William McQuade, 11, of 47 York Street; his dark brow furrowed with a serious frown.

"I want to see the editor of the Mail Bag" said William with the assurance that a sincere crusade brings.

'Tragic Scene'

When queried as to the aim of his visit, William pulled out of the pocket of his denim trousers a wrinkled and many times folded piece of ruled paper.

In pencil he had written:

'The tragic scene I saw July 6. makes me believe that some traffic improvements should be made on Front and State Street and Front and York Street, so that many people or kids will not be in danger from cars."

"At 4:00 PM when work is out, cars speed up to Front and State Street. I personally think that some zones and traffic lights should be put up there on State and York Street. Would you find room for this letter, please?"

William McQuade wasn't speaking just for himself, he explained, after an editor had read his letter and praised his purposefulness.

"There are a lot of us kids who are in danger from the cars that speed along Front street, as work lets out at the two shipyards and the leather plant in the neighborhood."

"They all seem to be trying to get home first."

"I'll never forget the sight of that accident Thursday when the cars were streaming from the yards."

Young McQuade, a seventh grader at the Cooper school was referring to the misfortune that befell his neighbor, Dennis Taggart, 4, of 935 Point Street, who was struck by a car while playing near the Intersection of Front and State.

Could Be Avoided

"If there had been a light to slow the cars down at that corner, that accident never would have happened," William insisted.

Dennis, his skull fractured, is still in a critical condition at Cooper Hospital.

With his nephew Marvin McQuade, 8, of 707 North Sixth Street. son of his older half-brother, William brought his plea for safety measures to the Courier, because, he said: "Your paper always is trying to help people".

William, Marvin and another playmate, pretty, blonde Catherine Wilczynski, 10, of 929 Point Street, who also had seen Dennis injured, later stood at the comer of Front and State and pointed to the comers where they believed stop signs or traffic lights should be erected.

"It wouldn't cost much to put up a light here, where it's so badly needed," urged William.

"Why. I bet it wouldn't cost as much as the hospital bills and doctor bills for Dennis Taggart. And he's just one boy who's been hurt. There have been others."

"We kids rate a break."

300 Block of Point Street
	312 to 338 Point Street
	318 Point Street Albert Waite 1936 Camden Courier-Post February 28, 1936
	320 Point Street Private Philip C. Wendell
	320 Point Street Hentz Family February 1928
	322 Point Street Private James Murtha
	300 Block Of Point Street September 2004 Photos Courtesy of CRAIG CAMPBELL
	300 Block Of Point Street September 2004 Photos Courtesy of CRAIG CAMPBELL
	300 Block Of Point Street September 2004 Photos Courtesy of CRAIG CAMPBELL

Intersection of Point Street & York Street
	Southwest Corner of York & Point May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	Looking West from Point & York Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	Looking North from Point & York Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	Looking East from Point & York Street May 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge

200 Block of Point Street
	214 Point Street 1910-1914 Howard L. Currie firefighter
	226 Point Street 1887-1893 Charles Berry firefighter

800 Block of Point Street

Intersection of Point Street & Wood Street

Block of Point Street Girls - 2005

Frances Rittenhouse, Carol Rowan Myers & Gertrude Rittenhouse	Carol Rowan Myers & Gertrude Rittenhouse