Benjamin Cooper Tavern Heritage Tourism Assessment Complete
During the Spring 2021 we completed the heritage tourism potential of the Benjamin Cooper House—the oldest house in Camden, built in 1734 by the grandson of William Cooper, the founder of what is now Camden. The British imprisoned Benjamin Cooper in Haddonfield while they occupied his tavern in 1777-78 to protect their foraging operations and for the later evacuation of 21,000 troops from Philadelphia en route to the Battle of Monmouth and New York City. For this report, collected a variety of stories to be told to visitors and working with the Camden County Historical Society to create a management structure that will assure that the site is sustainable beyond the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution coming up in 2026. See the Assessment of Heritage Tourism Potential for the Benjamin Cooper Tavern here.
The property will be used as a new museum for the important stories about battles in South Jersey that have been overshadowed by the events in Greater Philadelphia and North Jersey during the American Revolution. Some of these lesser-known engagements include the Battle of Gloucester, the Battle of Quinton’s Bridge in Salem County, the Battle of Red Bank in Gloucester County, the privateers of Little Egg Harbor and Cape May, and the Battles at Cooper’s Ferry in Camden. Above the 1934 HABS drawing of the Benjamin Cooper Tavern.
We are hopeful that additional funding can be obtained to restore this building and turn it into the American Revolution Museum of South Jersey in the coming three years.