Introduction

Watson Street is in East Camden, having been acquired by the City of Camden in 1899 when the Town of Stockton became part of the City. The street was originally known as Chestnut Street and was renamed in 1906 along with many other streets in East Camden and Cramer Hill. Watson Street runs from South 20th Street, intersecting with Rand and Boyd Streets before coming to its end at Morse Street. Since 1951 it has been the western edge of the Peter J. McGuire Gardens public housing project.

From the early 1900s through the early 1950s, Watson Street between South 29th and Boyd Streets was the western edge of a city landfill. The 1906 Sanborn Map of Camden does not show any structures on Watson Street between Boyd and Morse, however a row of 16 homes were built soon afterwards, on the east side, and a twin dwelling on the west side at 2117–2119.

Nine of the rowhouses on the west side of Watson Street between Rand and Boyd Street were badly damaged in a fire on February 24, 1948. In 1951 the homes on the west side of Watson Street between Boyd and Morse Street were acquired by the Housing Authority of the City of Camden, which built the Peter J. McGuire Gardens public housing project on the site. Around 1970 the Housing Authority erected a high rise apartment building on the west side of Watson Street for senior citizens, which was named Kennedy Tower. In the late 1990s McGuire Gardens homes were razed and rebuilt. This project was completed in the early 2000s, with a few new homes on Watson Street. In the early 2000s all of the homes on Watson Street between Boyd and Morse Streets were demolished and the block was erased in order to make room for the new Thomas J. Dudley Elementary School.

2100 Block of Watson Street

George M. Townsend, 2102 Watson Street — George M. Townsend — 2102 Watson Street.

2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants

City directory records, 1906–1959.

2100 Watson Street

2100 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1906	No listing in directory
1906	None
1930	Robert Payton & Family
1947	Fred G. Van Horn

2102 Watson Street

2102 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1917	George M. Townsend & Family
1917	George M. & Helen Townsend
1917	Dorothy Townsend
1930	Harry Ford & Family
1930	Harry & Ella Ford
1947	James Winegartner

2104 Watson Street

2104 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1930	Daniel Rocco & Family
1930	Daniel & Mary Rocco
1930	Anthony Rocco
1930	Daniel Rocco Jr.
1930	Joseph Rocco
1930	Peter Rocco
1947	Mrs. Edna Alexander

2106 Watson Street

2106 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	No listing in directory
1947	No Return

2108 Watson Street

2108 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Mrs. Catherine Ellicks

2110 Watson Street

2110 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1931	No listing in directory
1947–1948	George Evans & Family

2112 Watson Street

2112 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1918	Edward Yates & Family
1918	Edward & Myrtle Yates
1947	Mrs. Myrtle A. Whittaker

2114 Watson Street

2114 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Elwood Wilds
1956–1959	Warren P. Miller & Family

2116 Watson Street

2116 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Philip Mertz

2117 Watson Street

2117 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1933	Anna Walters
1947	Charles J. Walter

2118 Watson Street

2118 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Earl W. Crim

2119 Watson Street

2119 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1932	Ernest Heimbach
1943–1949	George H. Warner Sr. & Family
1943–1949	George & Margaret Warner
1943–1949	George Warner Jr.
1943–1949	Margaret Warner
1943–1949	Lillian Warner
1951	Stuart Dahm

2120 Watson Street

2120 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Mrs. Mae O'Brien

2121 Watson Street

2121 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1970s	John F. Kennedy Tower (public housing)

2122 Watson Street

2122 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Hugh Wood

2124 Watson Street

2124 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Arthur C. Mellon

2126 Watson Street

2126 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1924	Elwood 'Edward' Menzies
1947	Charles F. Eller

2128 Watson Street

2128 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1914	William Thompson
1947	Cyril E. Van Horn

2130 Watson Street

2130 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Nicola Caroulla

2132 Watson Street

2132 Watson Street — 2100 Block of Watson Street — Occupants
Year ↕	Name ↕
1947	Mrs. Gertrude Ashworth
1951	Hubert Dockery & Family

Related: Mother and 3 Die In Blaze; Home Ruined — 2110 Watson Street (George Evans), 1948.

Related: Father and Son in Uniform Meet at Canal Zone Town — 2119 Watson Street (George H. Warner Sr.), 1943.

Related: Unfinished Bibles Are Saved in Fire — 2119 Watson Street (Stuart Dahm), 1951.

Related: Camden at a Glance — 2128 Watson Street (William Thompson), 1914.

Related: E. Camden Man Seeks Wife, 3 Children — 2132 Watson Street (Hubert Dockery), 1951.

Mother and 3 Die In Blaze; Home Ruined

Trenton Evening Times – February 25, 1948

Mother and 3 Die In Blaze, continued — CAMDEN, N. J. —AP— A mother and her three small children perished today in a fire which swept nine of a row of 16 homes. The victims were identified as Mrs. Dorothy Evans, and her children, Joan, 3, George, 2, and Tommy, 1. Two firemen were seriously burned. The body of the mother was pulled from the ruins of her home about an hour after flames broke out about 1:30 a. m. Twenty-five minutes later the bodies of the three children were found.

Firemen said they believed the occupants of the other homes in the row of two-story brick and frame homes—about 45 persons all told—had fled shortly after discovery of the fire.

Alexander Lustinia, who occupied 2008 Watson Street in the row—next to the Evans—said he awoke to hear an infant screaming.

Dressing hastily, he ran to the rear door of the Evans home where he met another neighbor, Bud Truxton. Flames and billowing smoke kept them from going inside.

The two firemen, Raymond Bamford and Willard Duffin, were burned as a backdraft from one of the blazing structures wrapped them in flames. They were taken to West Jersey Hospital with first and second degree burns over most of their bodies.

Firemen said the blaze broke out in the Evans home—apparently from an oil stove explosion.

Father and Son in Uniform Meet at Canal Zone Town

Camden Courier-Post – February 10, 1943

Father and Son in Uniform, caption detail — George Warner, Sr. (right), and his son, George, had a family reunion late last December when they met at Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone after a long wait, during which the father transferred from the Army to the Navy, seeking the meeting. Their home is at 2119 Watson street.

Camden Parent Shifts from Army to Navy in Move to See Offspring; Panama Reunion Is Coincidence of War

Desire of an East Camden father to be in the same branch of the armed service with his son yesterday disclosed a saga of World War II unique in South Jersey.

The story had its origin in 1919 when George Warner, then 14, and imbued with the spirit of marching men he saw returning from the First World War enlisted in the U. S. Cavalry.

Following a full “hitch,” Warner returned to civil life, got married and started rearing a family. His tales of the services enthralled his son, George, Jr., as war clouds gathered and aimed toward the United States.

Young George, then 15, enlisted in the Naval Reserves here and was called for active duty on Jan. 1, 1941. Then came the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Meanwhile, the father again offered his services to Uncle Sam and was enrolled in the Regular Army Reserves. He was called to service one month after his son left.

On reentering the Army, the father expressed a desire to be transferred to the Navy, as he wanted to see the boy and felt that was the only way it could be accomplished. Government authorities acceded to the expressed wish and “Dad” Werner [sic] was transferred to the Navy in September, 1942, and now holds the rank of machinist’s mate first class, equivalent to a first class petty officer.

Getting into the Navy was no …

Important Note!

Watson Street