Founded in the 1680s, this little
river port preserves the character
of an 18th century village. The Tea
Burning Monument, (Ye Greate
Street), was erected in 1908 to commemorate
Cumberland County's
early patriotic fervor. Following the
December 1773 destruction of tea in
Boston Harbor, a merchant decided
to try sending his cargo up the Delaware
River for overland delivery to
Philadelphia. When the brig Greyhound
discharged its cargo at Greenwich, the tea was hidden in the cellar of
a house in front of the market grounds. On Thursday, November 22, 1774,
some 40 men disguised as Indians removed the tea chests, piled them in
an adjoining field and burned the whole. Among the tea burners were two
future governors of New Jersey, Richard Howell and Joseph Bloomfield.
Nearby is Cumberland County Historical Society's Gibbon House
Museum [960 Ye Greate Street; Open April through December, Tuesday through
Saturday noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 5 p.m.; (856) 455-4055]. The 1730
dwelling, its barn and an adjacent doctor's office exhibit furnishings and
tools of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Potter's Tavern [51 West Broad Street, Bridgeton 08302; Limited hours; (856)
455-4055] This small, pre-1767 clapboard building was a popular meeting
place just before the Revolution, due to its proximity to the Cumberland
County Courthouse. Tavern keeper Matthew Potter risked being charged
with treason for allowing the young lawyers who frequented his place to
post The Plain Dealer, a "wall sheet," or early newspaper. Their sheet appeared
weekly between Christmas Day 1775 and March 1776. Among
those who wrote articles were the same two future governors of New Jersey,
Bloomfield and Howell, who had been active in the Greenwich tea burning.
"e building has been restored and furnished as an 18th century tavern.
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