Thomas Richards Jr. and his brother Samuel founded Atco in 1866, about four decades after their father began the Jackson Glass Works in what is now the Louden section of Waterford.

Gone today, the works once spanned 3,000 acres and would eventually employ 150 people, according to Family Empire in Jersey Iron by Arthur D. Pierce.

As Thomas Jr. and Samuel took on management roles and “as demand for glass continued to increase during the middle years of the 19th century, Jackson Works continued to prosper,” Pierce wrote.

The firm won a contract to provide 15,000 panes of glass for the Crystal Palace at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York, according to a December 1985 article in the Bulletin of the Gloucester County Historical Society.

The 1850s were boom times for the family and Waterford. The glass works and the community benefited from the arrival of the new Camden and Atlantic Railroad, on whose board the brothers sat. Thomas Jr. built a mansion on what is now Atco Avenue.

After their father’s death in 1860, Thomas Jr. and Samuel carved from the estate 60 acres for a town they advertised as a health resort amid the pines. They called it Atco.

“The geologist for the State of New Jersey has pronounced Atco as absolutely free from malaria of all sorts,” according to a developer’s prospectus reprinted in Waterford’s tricentennial program. The unidentified geologist is quoted: “I heartily recommend Atco to all who desire a bracing climate, invigorating water supply and what may be better than all, good, pure air to sleep in; physicians have recommended patients to live in this place.”

The community grew, exceeding 300 people in 20 years. Residents organized a library, followed by churches and schools.

While the Richards brothers enjoyed considerable wealth and success, they were not beyond the grasp of economics. They “carried on the (glass) works until the exhausted timber supply made further operation unprofitable. They were destroyed by fire in May 1877,” according to The History of Camden County, New Jersey by George R. Prowell.

Atco Today

The little town of Atco is an old town that holds a lot of piney history. Atco is located between Berlin and Chislehurst as you drive east on the White Horse Pike.  This picture looks down Atco Avenue headed towards The White Horse Pike. (US Rte 30)

Another view in town of some other old buildings on Raritan Avenue which crosses Atco Ave in the middle of town. It’s another long straight road that turns into dirt and heads out into Wharton State Forest. The building on the corner was once a theater and next to it is MidTown Liquor Store that has been there forever.

Click for a MAP
Check out the map and then click it for a satellite view and you’ll see where you are.

No Where!!

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
1694: Waterford Township is founded.

1760: First Roman Catholic service in Camden County takes place at Shane’s Castle on Chew Road.

1827: Jackson Glass Works is founded in the Louden section.

1877: Jackson Glass Works is destroyed by fire.

About 1900: Louden School opens on Jackson Road.

1917: Atco School opens on West Front Street.

1927: The Waterford School opens on the White Horse Pike.

1948: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church is established as a parish on the White Horse Pike.

1955: Assumption School opens on Cooper Road.

About 1960: Atco Raceway begins hosting drag racing.

1966: Waterford Township Library opens in a former municipal building on Atco Avenue.

1979: New municipal building opens on Auburn Avenue.

1980: Former Atco School building is demolished to make way for a park.

1981: Waterford Township Committeeman John McCully is removed from office after being absent from public meetings for six months.

1984: Waterford Township Committeeman John P. Rauscher is removed from office for failing to attend public meetings for eight weeks without a medical excuse.

1985: Waterford Bridge, which carries Old White Horse Pike over railroad tracks, opens after being closed for repairs for three years.

LANDMARKS IN WATERFORD
1. Atco Raceway. The Jackson Road track has hosted racing since 1960. The facility also includes Sandstone Speedway, the South Jersey Quarter Midget Association’s home oval, and a motocross track.

2. Richards mansion. The 4,500-square-foot home on Atco Avenue was built in the 1850s by Thomas Richards Jr., owner of a local glass works. Its driveway leads down to what is now NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line.

3. Wharton State Forest. A big chunk of the forest sits in Waterford. The Wharton woods is the largest single tract of land in the state park system.

QUOTABLE
“I heartily recommend Atco to all who desire a bracing climate, invigorating water supply and what may be better than all, good, pure air to sleep in; physicians have recommended patients to live in this place.” Unidentified geologist, in a prospectus reprinted in Waterford’s tricentennial program

DID YOU KNOW?
At one time, Waterford included all the land between the Cooper River and Pennsauken Creek, from the Delaware River to the current Atlantic County boundary. Boundaries have changed and other towns have been carved from Waterford since its founding in 1694