Winslow

Winslow Township is Camden County’s largest municipality at 58 square miles (150 km2). The township got its name from the son of a 19th-century glass factory owner, William Coffin Sr., who bought large tracts of timber in Camden County about six miles west of Hammonton and with his son-in-law in 1929. Thomas Jefferson Perce and William Coffin Jr., built the Winslow Glass Works (his second one in 12 years) in the midst of a thick pine forest. The community was named for Senior Coffin’s youngest son, Edward Winslow Coffin.

Winslow Township was incorporated in 1845 from the Township of Gloucester. The township’s very first meeting was held at Josiah Albertson’s Blue Anchor Inn which was located on what is now Route 73 in the vicinity of St Lucy’s Church. During its early years Winslow was known for its thriving glass business which developed as a result of the townships abundant resources of timber, clay, and sand, though by the start of the 20th century the glass industry died throughout Winslow. During the early 20th century, Winslow’s population continued to grow until it peaked at a small 11,000 residents by the 1970s. During this time period the majority of Winslow residents were farmers. In 1965, Winslow township started to see an increase in population as the Atlantic City Expressway was completed with an interchange in Winslow at Williamstown Road. The proximity of the interchange drew developers towards the Sicklerville section of the township, where Levitt & Sons would build thousands of homes throughout the 1970s. Between 1970 and 1980 Winslow’s population nearly doubled to 20,000 residents.

As of 2006, 80% of the township currently sits in the Pinelands National Reserve, thus restricting future land development. Despite the restriction of development on the reserve, agricultural areas still persist in Winslow.

The township is also served by two area codes, 856 and 609. When area code 609 was split in 1999, the southern/eastern end in the township (primarily with the Hammonton mailing address, Cedar Brook, and a small section of Sickerville) were left in the 609 code, while the other sections closer to Berlin and Williamstown received 856 as their area code.