Bulson Street
By Phil Cohen
Bulson Street runs east from Broadway to South 11th Street along the railroad tracks that run from Camden to the rest of South Jersey. A farmer named Gilbert Bulson owned a large parcel of land in the area in the 19th century, and the street apparently was named after him. City Directories as far back as 1878 list Bulson Street as running from the Delaware River between Isay Street, possibly present day Chelton Avenue, and Florence Street.
At one time the railroad tracks were at street level, then a bridge was built over the tracks. In modern times this has been known as “the hump.” The old Camden Beer brewery stood at South 6th and Bulson for many years. There were other businesses and homes on the south side of Bulson Street for many years, although today they only exist in the 900 and 1000 blocks. Around 2010 a new street, Ware Street, was laid out on the north side of the tracks between Master and South 10th Streets, and homes have been built that back onto Bulson Street in the 800 and 900 blocks, with a “new” Bulson Street being provided; that being said, there are two Bulson Streets in the 900 block, one on each side of the railroad tracks.
600 Block of Bulson Street
Private First Class Worthington Winfield Betts — 682 Bulson Street
600 Block of Bulson Street
Address and occupant records from city directories, 1915–1980.
678 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1915 | Nathan Wine |
| 1910s–1930s | Karl Eberhard & Family — Karl & Anna Eberhard, Howard H. Eberhard, Lena Eberhard, Wilhelmina Eberhard, Henrietta Eberhard, Karl Eberhard, Richard Eberhard |
| 1947 | James Smith |
680 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Vacant |
682 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1940 | Joseph S. Betts & Family — Joseph S. & Miriam Betts, Joseph E. Betts, Worthington Winfield Betts, Miriam Betts |
| 1947 | Vacant |
684 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Olaf A. Anderson |
686 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Walter Russell |
700 Block of Bulson Street
700 Block of Bulson Street
Address and occupant records from city directories, 1947–1980.
724 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947–1980 | Barry Bronze Bearing Company |
728 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Frank C. Cheeseman |
Intersection of Bulson Street & South 8th Street
Looking west from South 8th Street north of the railroad tracks at Bulson Street — on the far right, rear of Kossuth Street — John Yates photo
800 Block of Bulson Street
Babies Born in April Get B. & L. Stock Shares — The first payment on one share of stock in the Kearsarge Building and Loan Association has been offered to parents of the following children born in the Fourteenth ward during the month of April: Norman Turner, 824 Bulson Street; Kathryn Jeanette Mahoney, 709 Morgan Street; Anna Mae Hollowell, 550 Grant Avenue; Janice Fem Crossett, 551 Woodland Avenue; Thomas Joseph Dorsey, Jr., 2929 Constitution Road; June Lonkert, 1515 Collings Road; Donald Embley Corson, 2512 Morgan Boulevard; Eileen Francis Patton, 1212 Yorkship Square; Philip Edward Gruber, Jr., 1232 America Road; Jean Marie Fanslow, 1659 Alabama Road; John Campbell, 539 Lester Terrace; William Richard Hook, 1577 Alabama Road; Carole Marie Davis, 2788 Yorkship Square; and Earl Purnell Lewin, 1228 America Road.
Save Man, 80, With 2 Others In Home Fire
Camden Courier-Post —
An 80-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife were aided to safety and their 18-month-old grandchild was rescued Thursday when fire wrecked two dwellings at 828 and 830 Bulson st.
They are Norman Smith, his wife, Frances, and the child, Charles Gantt, all occupants of 830 Bulson st., where firemen said the flames started in a stove in the front room on the first floor.
District Chief Edgar Ellender, who fought the fire with Engines 3 and 10 and Truck 2, said the fire apparently started while Smith was using a box of matches in an attempt to start a fire in the stove because of the chilly weather.
Saved by Neighbors
Smith and his wife, surrounded by flames, were led to safety by two neighbors, Rose Harrington, 13, and her sister, Dorothy, 19, of 824 Bulson st.
The baby was carried out of the house by a third Harrington sister, Mary, 20.
While the rescue was being affected [sic], a box alarm was turned in by Miss Jo Lillian Potts, of Chelton Terrace Apartments, Bulson st. near 8th, who saw the flames from her rear door.
Seven Left Homeless
The Smiths, the infant, and the baby’s mother Frances, who was at work at the time of the fire, were left homeless, as were William Baldwin, of 828 Bulson st., and his two sons, William and Charles, who were absent from their home when the fire broke out.
All were given shelter by neighbors.
Heroines and Ruins
Camden Courier-Post —
Courier-Post Photo
Heroines and Ruins of fire Thursday which wrecked the dwellings at 828 and 830 Bulson st. Dorothy Harrington, 18 (left), and her sister Mary, 20, led the occupants of the 830 address, Norman Smith, 80, his wife, Frances, and their 18-month grandchild, to safety when they were trapped in the flames. A third sister, Rose, 13, also aided in the rescue.
Dr. Marcus K. Mines — attended patients at 828 Bulson Street
800 Block of Bulson Street
Address and occupant records from city directories, 1924–1980.
824 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1933 | Norman Turner |
| 1947–1956 | Joseph Harrington & Family — Joseph & Dorothy Harrington, Rose Harrington, Dorothy Harrington, Mary Harrington |
828 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1921–1956 | William H. Baldwin & Family — William H. & Bertha Baldwin, William Baldwin, Lydia Baldwin, Clara Baldwin, Charles Baldwin |
830 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1924–1956 | Norman Smith & Family — Norman & Frances Smith, Charles Gantt |
900 Block of Bulson Street
Arrested as a result of a tale told by 13 year-old Dorothy Smith, of Mt Ephraim avenue and Newton Creek, Emil Nagle, of 922 Bulson street, the father of seven children, was released yesterday by Recorder Stackhouse yesterday because of the lack of evidence. — Philadelphia Inquirer, February 9, 1915
CAMDEN’S ELOPEMENT ROMANCE.
A short time ago James Brown, a man of 65 years, living at Tenth and Bulson streets, married Miss Mary Foster, a girl of 15 years, living at Mount Ephraim. Brown promised to deed property, valued at $10,000, to the girl. After they were married and she had discovered that the property was not his to dispose of, she took $100 and fled, it is said, with her first lover, Elwood Farrell, of South Camden. — Philadelphia Inquirer, July 18, 1891
Private Walter J. Koscianski & Technician Fifth Class Stephen V. Koscianski — 966 Bulson Street
900 Block of Bulson Street
Address and occupant records from city directories, 1878–1980.
922 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1915 | Emil Nagle |
928 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1919–1929 | Father Joseph Halaburda |
| 1924 | Anna Susra |
| 1947 | Benjamin Lagacki |
| 1980 | Josephine Lagocki |
936 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | James W. Clickstine |
962 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Minnie Cheeseman |
964 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Helen Wrotniewski |
966 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1878–1891 | James Brown — grocer |
| 1924–1947 | Walter Koscianski & Family — Walter & Antonia Koscianski, Walter J. Koscianski, Stephen V. Koscianski, Anthony Koscianski, Tillie Koscianski |
Intersection of Bulson Street & South 9th Street
Looking south on South 9th Street to the intersection at Bulson Street — 1950s — John Yates photo
1000 Block of Bulson Street
1008 Bulson Street — 1942 and May 2009
1000 Block of Bulson Street
Address and occupant records from city directories, 1914–1980.
1000 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1914 | Joseph D. Channell & Family — foreman — Joseph D. & Mary A. Channell |
1008 Bulson Street
| Year ↕ | Name ↕ |
|---|---|
| 1947 | John H. Hart |
Hospital Cases
Camden Courier-Post —
West Jersey
George Rice, 63, of 1143 North Fawn street, Philadelphia, contusion of abdomen. Joe Brancho, 12, of 334 Sycamore street, fracture of arm. Jennie Falknoll, 31, of 601 North Third street, fishbone in throat. Harry Goff, 40, of 1229 Sheridan street, cut of arm. Edward Chase, 8, of 106 Jasper street, cut of scalp. Carmen J. Ante, 18, of 410 Spruce street, crushing contusion of toe. Ruth Whiteman, 43, of 218 York street, cut of lip. Clifton Fublman, 40, of 1017 Bulson street, cut of arm. Dave Pronchick, 27, of 317 Jasper street, cut of chin.
Cooper
Alexander Locantore, 65, of 576 Walnut street, fractured ribs. Howard Kenny, 46, of 514 Mickle street, infection of hand. Charles Neff, 59, of 39 North Thirty-third street, sprained wrist. Florence Cicchini, 20, of 2253 North Forty-first street, sprained ankle. Anna Fitch, 50, of 744 Cherry street, swallowed a fish bone. Jennie Fargnoli, 31, of 601 North Third street, swallowed a fish bone. William Geitz, 36, Mantua, injury to eye. Mary Healey, 32, of 408 Haddon avenue, eye injury. Maybelle Vanderslice, 8, of 506 Beideman avenue, scalp injury. Paul Mastraianni, 24, of 413 Benson street, cut of hand. Robert Yarnell, 2, of 2022 Broadway, cut of hand. May Davis, 25, of 1146 Clover street, cut of mouth.
400 Housing Units To Be Added Near Present Projects
Camden Courier-Post —
Four hundred low-rent dwellings, half the number allocated to the city by the U. S. Public Housing Administration, will be constructed this year on land near the four presently owned projects, Joseph J. McComb, chairman of the Camden Housing Authority, announced Sunday night.
Several factors entered into the decision of housing authority to construct the homes on available land, McComb said. First, he declared, the city will receive revenue in lieu of taxes from unimproved ground yielding little or no taxes, based on 10 percent of shelter rentals, less utilities.
The four projects now operated by the authority are: Westfield Acres, Thirty-first street and Westfield avenue, 514 units, cost $3,250,000, opened 1938; Clement T. Branch Village, Ninth street and Ferry avenue, 279 units, cost $1,416,000, opened 1941; William Stanley Ablett Village, River road and State street, 306 units, cost $1,722,000, open in 1943, and Chelton Terrace, Bulson and Phillips streets, 200 units, cost $800,000, open 1944.
No Added Utilities Needed
McComb also explained that at present, the city receives only three and one-half percent in lieu of taxes from Westfield Acres, Branch Village and Ablett Village. The return from Chelton Terrace is equivalent to full taxes. Only the new projects, allocated under the Housing Act of 1949, will yield the 10 percent return, McComb pointed out.
No new schools will be needed and no new police, fire, health, electricity or gas utilities will be required to service the homes for low-income families, McComb declared.
“The city of Camden will not be compelled or obligated to spend money for additional municipal utilities because they are already provided in the respective four sections of the city where these homes will be built,” McComb said.
To Make Test Borings
The housing authority last week gave the new program the green light when it voted to enter into a contract with William T. Harker & Associates, Inc., Camden, to make test borings, soundings and to do other work on the sites connected with the preliminary survey to be financed by part of a $50,000 advance loan from the PHA for architectural and engineering services.
Under a PHA regulation, construction of the 800 dwellings will be spaced over a two-year period with the additional 400 units being earmarked for next year.
Several weeks ago McComb, following an inspection tour, announced sufficient land would be available as sites for the dwellings. He reemphasized that assurance Sunday but added that if it is found additional ground is needed, no inflated or speculative prices will be paid for it, whether acquired through purchase or condemnation proceedings specified by law.
Over In Camden
Philadelphia Inquirer —
City Assessor Charles Pedigree was last evening re-elected to represent the Twelfth ward in the Republican City Executive Committee.
With one-half of the capital stock of $50,000 said to be paid in, the D’Olier Engineering Company filed incorporation articles yesterday.
Barking dogs frightened off burglars who attempted to rob the saloon of James Croker, at Fourth and Jasper streets, early yesterday morning.
It is reported that Governor Voorhees will today appoint former Judge Richard T. Miller a member of the State Fish and Game Commission, to succeed Henry S. Budd, of Burlington, who recently resigned.
John L. Lattimore, of 1120 Locust street, an employe of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company, broke his leg yesterday by jumping from a car in the Bulson street yard. He was admitted to Cooper Hospital.
Attorney John L. Semple has been retained by the Italian societies of Camden to endeavor to secure a reprieve for Murderer Francisco Abbatto, until his appeal for clemency can be heard by the Board of Pardons. Abbatto is under sentence to be executed on May 10. Yesterday cards for the execution were sent out by the Sheriff.
The funeral of Howland Croft, the worsted goods manufacturer, was largely attended yesterday afternoon. Services were held at his late residence, at 204 Cooper street, and fully five thousand persons viewed the remains. Camden Lodge of Elks conducted services at the grave in Harleigh Cemetery.
Over in Camden
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The will of Isaac V. Brown, of Berlin, was admitted to probate yesterday by Surrogate West.
A big crowd of Camden Elks will go to Trenton to-day to participate in the annual clam bake of Trenton Lodge, B. P. O. Elks.
Recorder Nowrey held Samuel Suders in $500 bail yesterday, charged with larceny as bailee of $5 from John J. Jordan.
Frank Melton, 28 years old, of 1048 Ferry avenue, was overcome by heat yesterday while at work in Farr & Bailey’s oil cloth works. He was taken to the Cooper Hospital.
While fishing at the head of Third street yesterday Fred George Gregory, 6 years old, of 212 Byron street, fell in the Delaware River and was drowned.
The body of an unknown man, about 38 years old, and weighing 170 pounds, was found yesterday in the Delaware River at the foot of Bulson street. The body was taken to the Morgue where it awaits identification.
4 Holdup Suspects Are Denied Bail
Camden Courier-Post —
Three Brothers and Companion Identified by Victim, Detectives Report
Four suspects, three of them brothers, arrested in connection with an alleged holdup and robbery, were held without bail yesterday by Police Judge Lewis Liberman.
They are charged with holding up and robbing James R. Wilson, 25, of 591 Carman street, of $14.57 early Thursday. They pleaded not guilty.
The four, police said, were identified by Wilson Thursday night, after the arrest of Harry Huntley, 24, of 409 Webster street, and Steven Brzozowski, 17, one of the brothers, of 554 Chelton avenue.
Huntley and Brzozowski were arrested by District Detectives Joseph Leonhardt and Clarence Phifer on Chelton avenue near Broadway.
The other two brothers were arrested by Acting Sergeant Nathan Wine and Patrolman Richard Scarduzio on a tip a few hours after Wilson reported the holdup and robbery. They are Bronislaw, 20, and Joseph, 19.
John Brzozowski, 57, father of the brothers, arrested in connection with the case, was given the alternative of paying a $25 fine or spending 30 days in jail, by Judge Liberman.
Detective Clifford Carr said that when he went to the Brzozowski home in connection with the case, the elder Brzozowski reviled him. Brzozowski later appeared at police headquarters and Carr arrested him on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Wilson told police he was in his automobile at Jefferson and Arlington streets when the four stopped him.
Two of them, he said, forced him into the back seat, while two others followed in another car. He said he did not know whether they were armed, but said they held him by the wrists while taking his money.
Twice the machines stopped while the men conferred, Wilson said. Then they drove off Broadway into Bulson street in the direction of the river. Wilson said he escaped when the car he was in slowed down to avoid striking a milk wagon.
Reading Supplies Burned.
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Their Camden Storehouse Destroyed and Three Men Injured.
A relic of the Centennial Exposition was wiped out of existence by flames yesterday. It was a large wooden building that in 1876 served as an annex to Horticultural Hall. Later it was sold to the old Atlantic City Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and was removed to Camden and used as their depot at the foot of Bulson street. After the road was purchased by the Reading Company the old depot was used as a storehouse for supplies.
Two car loads of supplies for the Reading’s South Jersey lines had just been received in the building and it contained the books and accounts of the supply department.
The fire started shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, and in spite of a general alarm which brought all the Camden engines to the scene, the building and its contents were entirely destroyed. The loss is at least $10,000 with but little insurance.
H. A. Wallington, the store-keeper, was badly burned about the arms while trying to save some of the account books.
William Deno, foreman of Engine Company No. 3, was overcome by the heat, and was removed to the engine house. His condition is rather serious.
Edward Weston, a hook-and-ladder man, had his leg injured while working at the fire.