Simmons Court

Simmons Court is another one of Camden's “lost streets.” At some point prior to 1863, Henry Simmons, who is described in that year's Camden City Directories as “colored” and whose occupation was given as “seaman,” acquired a parcel of land consisting of the three lots that would have comprised 240, 242, and 244 Division Street. He appears to have been the son of Samuel and Hester Simmons, and was born in Delaware around 1837. Given his age it is quite possible that his father developed Simmons Court. A Samuel R. Simmons who was a member of the Newton Meeting of Quakers passed away in 1861, and Hester Simmons, widow, is mentioned as living on Simmons Court from 1865 through 1870.

Six frame houses were erected on Simmons Court, one of which was still standing and occupied when the Census was taken in 1880. Simmons Court is mentioned in the 1863 Camden City Directory, and there are listings for residents on Simmons Court as late as 1877. There are no listings in the 1878 Directory or any thereafter. According to the 1880 Census, there was one household on Simmons Court in the 1880 Census, that of Henry Simmons. The 1883 City Directory does not refer to Simmons Court, but does show Henry Simmons living at 244 Division Street. Henry Simmons, last a resident of 232 Spruce Street, died on June 9, 1887 at the age of 50. He was buried at Johnson's Cemetery in what was then the town of Stockton, present-day East Camden.

The 1885 Sanborn Map set for Camden does not have a map for the block of Division Street where Simmons Court had once stood. The 1891 edition however, does, and shows no structures on the parcel of land that made up 240, 242, and 244 Division Street. It can be safely assumed that the last house on Simmons Court fell to fire or was razed in the mid-1880s.