About

In 1623, Captain Cornelius Mey with 24 Dutch settlers landed at Gloucester Point and built Fort Nassau. The Dutch settlers built a fort and trading post here to trade for furs with the Armewamexes Native Americans. The major reason for the location of Fort Nassau in Gloucester City was not military but because the fort could command the river and stop traders from accessing the Schuykill River. Fort Nassau existed for 25 years (1626-1651), so the Dutch settlers built and destroyed the fort. The exact location will never be known but its approximate location is at the intersection of Charles & Water Streets. The significance of the first, Dutch fortified settlement on the Delaware transcends the problem of its location.

– David C. Munn – The First Settlement on the Delaware River, a History of Gloucester City, 1976


Gloucester City is located in Camden County, New Jersey and is 2.8 squares miles in area. The City is home to over 11,400 residents and is located in the 1st Congressional District and is part of the 5th Legislative District of New Jersey.

Gloucester City was first settled in 1623 by the Dutch and was original named Fort Nassau.

The City is centrally located next to the Walt Whitman Bridge which permits Interstate 76 through the northern end, also Route 130 extends through the eastern side and the western edge travels along the Delaware River Waterfront. The southern end of the City has access to several highways such as Route 295, Route 47 and Route 45 via two circles interchanges in neighboring Brooklawn. The municipality borders Brooklawn, Bellmawr, Camden, Haddon Township and Mount Ephraim in addition to bordering Gloucester County.

To read more of this local history to go the Gloucester City Library website Click Here