Bird's Eye View 1886 style

Below is a small excerpt from the amazingly detailed historic panoramic map of the City of Woodbury created by O.H. Bailey and Co. in 1886. One can clearly see how navigable and important Woodbury Creek was in those days and how many businesses used the watery thoroughfare to their advantage. I would personally love to see some kind of ferry service to Philadelphia restored, but not sure to what extent the creek has changed over the many years to allow such travel.

click image for larger version

Other points of interest on the map are the original covered bridge on Broad Street over the creek and the trellis bridge on Hunter over the railroad tracks. Note Newton Avenue, a prominent Victorian street parallel and between Hunter and Cooper streets, was not yet created. The view is towards the East. What else do you see? Feel free to comment!

The full version of the map is freely available from the inimitable Library of Congress HERE.

View in Woodbury from 1844

"The annexed view was taken on the N. bank of the creek, near the residence of Mrs. Harriet Armstrong ; on the left is the terminating point of the railroad from camden. The large building, near the centre of the view, is the Friends meeting-house. The cupola of the courthouse is seen in the distance. There are in Woodbury the county buildings, all brick, excepting the prison, which is of stone ; 1 Friends meeting-house, 1 Presbyterian church, (a large handsome brick structure,) a Methodist church, also of brick, 1 newspaper printing-office, 12 mercantile stores, 2 classical schools, an academy, 2 public libraries, several benevolent societies, 110 dwellings, and about 1,000 inhabitants. Several small vessels sail from here to Philadelphia with the produce of the country. The village is neatly built, and has many fine dwellings. In its vicinity are many fine orchards of apples and plums. Woodbury was first settled in 1684, by Richard Wood, a native of Perry (? - Bury), in Lancashire, England. He had come over with the first settlers of Philadelphia. Leaving his family in that city, he ascended the (Woodbury) creek in a canoe, and, with the aid of the Indians, erected a rude dwelling. The whole process of building, and removing his family, was accomplished in the short space of one week. A brother shortly after arrived, and settling higher up the stream, named the locality Woodbury." (Barber & Howe, 1844)

Barber, J. W., & Howe, H. (1844). Historical collections of the state of new jersey. (p. 512). Pub. for the authors, by S. Tuttle.