Zion Church
Zion Church, on the corner of Berkley and William Street, was a branch of the Evangelical Association of North America. The building at Berkley and William Street had been sold to William C. Davis and was being used as part of his bakery by 1906. It was destroyed by fire in 1912.
History of Zion Church
George Reeser Prowell — History of Camden County, New Jersey, 1886
Zion Church, on the corner of Berkley and William Street, is a branch of the Evangelical Association of North America. The Camden congregation originated in 1854, when the Rev. Andrew Ziegenfus, a minister of the Evangelical Association of Southwark Mission, Philadelphia, came to Camden to officiate at the first meeting of this denomination held in this city, at the house of Mrs. Louise Mousche, and for a number of years services were held in her house, and in the little church on Line Street, above Fourth. During these years a number of ministers served the congregation, among whom were the Rev. Adam Hinkle, Christian Meyers, Mr. Shimer, R. Deyshur, Henry Stetzel, Daniel Yengst, Henry Early, Nicholas Gabal, A.S. Steltz, Joseph Steltzer and C. Philibar.
Under the ministration of the last two pastors the present church was built during the year 1878. It is a one-story brick building, forty by sixty-five feet, with a large auditorium and a gallery. The dedicatory services were performed by Bishop Reuben Dubs, of Cleveland, O. The pastors who have since served the congregation were C. Philibar, Antony Straub, C.B. Fliehr, A.S. Steltz, G. Redman, O. Arnold and George Hauser. The Sunday school, which was organized when the religious meetings were inaugurated, had greatly increased in membership when this church was dedicated, having sixty regular attendants, with Henry Daman as superintendent. At present (1886) there are about one hundred pupils and teachers, and Solomon Fliehr is the superintendent. The church membership is sixty-five communicants. This congregation is one of the missions of the Atlantic Conference, which is an exclusively German Conference, having its work in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and in several sea-board cities. The Evangelical Association has at this present time twenty-four Conferences, which are located in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, as also a prosperous mission in Japan.
Flames Wrecked Big Davis Bakery
Camden Post-Telegram —
Loss of $75,000 Was Sustained in Early Sunday Morning Blaze.
Praise Is Heaped on Local Firemen
Giving unstinted praise to the firemen for the great work they performed yesterday morning in fighting the flames which partially destroyed his extensive bakery at William and Berkley streets, William C. Davis to-day placed his loss at $75,000. It is almost fully covered by insurance. In additional [sic] to the damage to his building, which was partially gutted, Mr. Davis loses 33 wagons, 10 car loads of flour and a great quantity of canned goods. All his horses were saved, being quartered at a distance from the bakery. With Contractor Welsh Mr. Davis today started work on rebuilding plans. A great part of the loss was sustained through the destruction of the new and modern oven system which Mr. Davis recently installed.
The burned building is L-shaped, fronting on both Berkley and Fifth street, and when it is considered that it is flanked close on either side by dwellings, the splendid work done by the firemen in preventing a spread of the flames can be appreciated.
Mr. Davis attributes the fire to spontaneous combustion in the building on the William street corner, which was formerly a Lutheran church. Adam Urbin, the watchman, had just made his rounds and was in the cellar fixing his fires, when he heard the crackling of flames overhead. When the [sic] reached the upper floors the fire had gotten a good start, and by the time the firemen arrived the blaze had assumed mammoth proportions. A second and a third alarms were sent in immediately and in a remarkable short time the department was down to business in earnest.
Every resident for a radius of a block was sure it was utterly impossible to confine the flames to the bakery. Equally sure were they that their homes were doomed and all got busy packing their valuables and whatever articles of furniture could be handily moved. This precaution happily proved unnecessary, for the only building damaged aside from the bakery itself was the Davis store immediately adjoining. This property is occupied by William Seagraves. It was partially burned, the tenant suffering considerable loss from fire and water. By 2.30 the fire was under control, and at 4 o’clock was entirely out.
Through the kindness of several competitors in the bakery business, Mr. Davis was able to care for his extensive trade to-day, and for the aid thus rendered publicly thanks the H. Raymond Staley Company, Friehoffer Company, Kolb Company, Quality Company and Freitag. In addition to supplying products they loaned horses and wagons.
Mr. Davis, who reached his bakery soon after the firemen arrived, was injured on the nose by bumping into a ladder on the truck. Two firemen were also slightly hurt, George Boone and Roy Smith sustaining bruises by being struck by hose nozzles.
An idea of how the bakery neighbors feel about the work of the firemen is had in the following communication:
“To the Editor of the Post-Telegram: ‘Personally I want to thank the firemen of Camden for having a home for my family to-day. Living next door to the Davis bakery, which was burned early yesterday morning, and being on the scene from the time of the arrival of the first piece of fire apparatus until the last spark or fire was put out, I am in position to speak of the work done by our fire laddies.
‘Every one of them seemed to know just what to do, and when to do it, and although the residence part of the bakery immediately adjoining me was partly destroyed by fire and water and smoke finished what the fire did not, there was not even a drop of water in my home. It was the most masterful handling of a big fire that I have witnessed in forty years of newspaper work.
‘What I have written here will be attested by George Leathwhite, retired plumber; George Pine, living at the corner of Berkley and Henry; John Barnett, the well-known tin roofer, and others, who were also on the ground and helping the residents to look after their homes and property almost the entire time that the fire was burning, which was from 12.15 until nearly 4 o’clock.
‘Anybody who says a word against our firemen hereafter will have to fight yours truly, “Daniel M. Stevens, ‘508 Berkley street.’”