The Old Salem County Courthouse is a courthouse located in Salem, Salem County, New Jersey. [1] [2]
Built in 1735, this building is the oldest active courthouse in New Jersey and is the second oldest courthouse still in continuous use in the United States. [3] [4] It was expanded in 1818 and 1908. [5]
It is a contributing property of the Market Street Historic District.
It was built in 1735 using locally manufactured bricks and was enlarged in 1817 and 1908. It served as the courthouse for Salem County until 1969 when a larger and more modern facility was built for the county. Today it serves as the courthouse for the Salem City Municipal Court. [6] [7] [8]
In 1774, the courthouse was the site of a county petition to King George III to address various colonial grievances and for authorizing county relief to the citizens of Boston to assist them from the King's sanctions from the Boston Tea Party incident. Judge William Hancock of the King's Court of Common Pleas presided at the courthouse. [9] He was later unintentionally killed by British soldiers in the American Revolution during the massacre of Hancock House (New Jersey) committed by the British against local Revolutionary militia during the Salem Raid in 1778. The courthouse was afterwards the scene of the "treason trials" of 1778, wherein suspected Loyalists were put on trial for having allegedly aided the British during the Salem Raid. [3] Four men were convicted and sentenced to death for treason; however, they were pardoned by Governor William Livingston and exiled from New Jersey.
The courthouse is also the site of the legend of Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson proving the edibility of the tomato. Before 1820, Americans often assumed tomatoes were poisonous. In 1820, Colonel Johnson, according to legend, stood upon the courthouse steps and ate tomatoes in front of a large amazed crowd assembled to watch him do so. [10]
A new courthouse designed by Edwards & Green was built in 1967–1968 in the modern Colonial style. [11] [12] [13] It is part of the 15th vicinage. [14]
The building is considered inadequate to handle the needs of the court, with court officials citing security concerns, inadequate accessibility for persons with disabilities, and insufficient space. [15] The court also makes use of Fenwick Building (built in 1891 and renovated 1989 [16] ) across the street. [17] In September 2017, the court appointed an arbitrator to address the courthouse issue after the court ordered it to do so. [18] However, the board of commissioners of the county are against any major courthouse project; on the November 2017 ballot, the commissioners voted 6-1 to place a non-binding referendum: "Are you in favor of construction of a new Salem County Courthouse at county taxpayer expense?" [19] A majority of voters said no to the proposal. [20]
Salem County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and it has the eastern terminus of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, connecting to New Castle, Delaware. Its county seat is Salem. The county is part of the Delaware Valley area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated to be 64,837, retaining its position as the state's least populous county, representing a 1.9% decrease from the 66,083 counted at the 2010 U.S. Census, in turn increasing by 1,798 (+2.8%) from the 64,285 counted in the 2000 Census. The most populous place in Salem County is Pennsville Township, with 13,409 residents at the time of the 2010 Census. Lower Alloways Creek Township covers 72.46 square miles (187.7 km2), the largest total area of any municipality.
Mannington Township is a township in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 1,806, reflecting an increase of 247 (+15.8%) from the 1,559 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 134 (-7.9%) from the 1,693 counted in the 1990 Census.
Salem is a city in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 5,146, reflecting a decrease of 711 (−12.1%) from the 5,857 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 1,026 (−14.9%) from the 6,883 counted in the 1990 Census, an overall drop of more than 25% over the two decades. It is the county seat of Salem County, the state's most rural county. The name "Salem", in both the city and county, is derived from the Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace".
The Hancock House is a historic structure in the Hancock's Bridge section of Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. It was the site of the 1778 Hancock's Bridge massacre. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Courts of New Jersey include:
Sussex County Courthouse is located at the corner of High and Spring Streets in Newton, the county seat of Sussex County, New Jersey. It is part 10th vicinage of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Market Street Historic District is located in Salem, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1975.
Judge William Hancock may refer to William Hancock Sr., or his son William Hancock Jr.
The Hudson County Administration Building is home to the seat of government of Hudson County, New Jersey, US. It is located at 595 Newark Avenue in the Journal Square section of Jersey City in the abutting Five Corners and Hilltop neighborhoods The building houses government administrative offices, the hall of records, and courts for the county and state. Opened in 1957 and expanded in 1966, the International Style structure is considered obsolete and under consideration for replacement, while being demolished once a new courthouse is built.
Civic Square is the government district in downtown New Brunswick, the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey. Numerous county governmental buildings are located there along with other city and federal public buildings such as New Brunswick City Hall, the New Brunswick Main Post Office, and the New Brunswick Free Public Library. South of New Brunswick Station, it is bounded by the city's theater district, which includes the Mason Gross School of the Arts, the State Theatre, the Crossroads Theatre, George Street Playhouse and the Livingston Avenue Historic District which includes the Henry Guest House and the Willow Grove Cemetery.
Robert Gibbon Johnson, also known as Colonel Johnson, was an American gentleman farmer, historian, horticulturalist, judge, soldier and statesman who lived in Salem, New Jersey. He is especially renowned for the apocryphal story that he publicly ate a basket of tomatoes at the Old Salem County Courthouse in 1820 to demonstrate that they were not poisonous, as was supposedly commonly thought at the time. He was a keen antiquarian and wrote a history of Salem – An Historical Account of the First Settlement of Salem, in West Jersey – which was published by Orrin Rogers in 1839.
The Burlington County Courthouse is located in Mount Holly, the county seat of Burlington County, New Jersey, U.S., which itself is coterminous with the 3rd vicinage. The historic courthouse continues to handle judicial proceedings.
The Cumberland County Courthouse is the historic traditional courthouse for Cumberland County, New Jersey, located in the county seat of Bridgeton in the 15th vicinage.
The Atlantic County Courthouse is the historical courthouse for Atlantic County, New Jersey located in the county seat of Mays Landing, itself a part of Hamilton Township, U.S. It now houses the Office of County Clerk. The Atlantic County Sheriff's Office and older county jails are behind the building.
The Warren County Courthouse is in Belvidere, the county seat of Warren County, New Jersey, U.S. It is part of the 13th vicinage.
The courthouses of Mercer County are located in Trenton, the county seat, and capital of New Jersey, United States. They are home 7th vicinage of the New Jersey Superior Court as well as numerous county offices.
The Camden County Hall of Justice is the county courthouse for Camden County, New Jersey, located in the county seat, the City of Camden. It in the 4th vicinage for the New Jersey Superior Court.
Coordinates: 39°34′20″N75°28′00″W / 39.57214°N 75.46666°W
Municipalities and communities of Salem County, New Jersey, United States | ||
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