History

Gloucester County is located south of Philadelphia and northwest of Atlantic City. Its county seat is Woodbury. Gloucester County is largely composed of low-lying river and coastal plain. Gloucester County is one of the chief food producing sections of New Jersey. It has a historical background with battlegrounds of the Revolutionary War and Early American architecture preserved in old homes and buildings scattered throughout the county.

Gloucester County was established in 1686, when it separated from Burlington. Portions of Gloucester County were used in 1837 to create Atlantic County, and in 1844 to create Camden County. Woodbury, founded in 1683 by Henry Wood, is the oldest town in the county. National Park, another town in the county, was the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Red Bank (now included in a county park) where Fort Mercer once stood. During the colonial era, Gloucester County's main economic activity was agriculture. In Woodbury (even then the main town) was located the county courthouse, the county jail, a Quaker meeting house (still in existence), and an inn (on the current location of Woodbury Crossings). Because of the county's many creeks leading to the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, smuggling was very common. Today, Gloucester County has a large and diverse population.

For more information about Gloucester County History, please click here