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David Sheppard House

[/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text]As you stand in front of this imposing Federal mansion, with its three-and-a-half story mass, columned portico, and double parapeted chimneys, it is hard to imagine that at the time of its construction in 1791, Bridgeton, then known as Bridgetown, was not much more than a village of only 300 people. Built by David Sheppard, a successful gentleman farmer from Back Neck, now part of Fairfield Township to the south of Bridgeton, the Sheppard House sits just north of the first bridge to cross the Cohansey River on Commerce Street.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”https://explorecumberlandnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DavidSheppardHouse.jpg” image_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][mk_fancy_title margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]

Broad Street Presbyterian Church

[/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text]For much of the 18th century in Bridgetown, which will eventually change its name to Bridgeton, there existed no church for Presbyterians, who were a large and growing segment of the local population. For church services they are forced to either conduct services in the Courthouse or travel to churches in Greenwich, Fairfield or Deerfield several miles away. In 1792, about two acres of land were donated along King’s Highway which was the main road from Bridgeton to Greenwich and ran along the south end of the church construction site. In 1800, this main route was relocated to the north and is today Broad Street (Route 49).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”https://explorecumberlandnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/college6.jpg” image_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][mk_fancy_title margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]

Potter’s Tavern

[/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text]Cohansey Bridge, the village which would become Bridgetown in 1765 and eventually Bridgeton, was a small community of less than 150 residents in the early 1700s. Cohansey Bridge was home to several taverns, which back then were places for more than food and drink. They were the social hotspots of town, the place where residents could learn about the latest local news and where travelers would pass on news from other communities.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”https://explorecumberlandnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PottersTavern.jpg” image_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][mk_fancy_title margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]

Cumberland Bank

[/mk_fancy_title][vc_column_text]The year was 1815, and Bridgetown (now Bridgeton) was booming having recently been named the seat of government for Cumberland County. The town has developed largely on the west side of the Cohansey River, and in 1815 the affluent Reeves brothers erected a cut nail factory, the first major industry in the town. At the time, the only banks south of Trenton were the Farmers Bank in Mount Holly and the National State Bank of Camden. Several prominent citizens joined together to charter a bank in Bridgetown to provide services to the quickly growing community.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][mk_image src=”https://explorecumberlandnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CumberlandBank.jpg” image_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]