Roberts Court

Roberts Court was the location of a block of four homes, accessed through an alley that ran eastward from 616 Roberts Street and the rear border of 601 Line Street. It was named by and for Joseph E. Roberts, a successful builder and real estate developer, who was responsible for creating the street and building houses on and near it.

Joseph E. Roberts was a successful dry goods merchant from Salem County. The 1870 Census shows him living in Upper Penn’s Neck Township in Salem County. He moved to Camden shortly afterwards. The Roberts family first appear in Camden City Directories in 1872. Apparently under the direction of Joseph E. Roberts, with Jacob and brother Frank also being involved, the family engaged in real estate and homebuilding in Camden. By 1872 a street, known to this day as Roberts Street, which had not existed when the 1870 Camden City Directory, had been laid out. By 1874 the Roberts family owned 58 houses in what was then Camden’s Fourth Ward. Joseph E. Roberts built over 250 houses on his own, then went into partnership with E.N. Cohn. By 1886 they had built an additional 450 homes.

Roberts Court first appeared in City Directories in 1876, and by 1878 all four homes on Roberts Court were occupied. They were all still occupied when the 1947 Camden City Directory was compiled. None of the families listed in the 1947 Directory are listed in the 1956 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory, and there are no listings in the 1969 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory. Roberts Court is long gone; the only mystery is when, and whether it fell through demolition or by fire.