Riverton

By Joseph M. Laufer

Riverton has a reputation as one of the better-preserved Victorian-era communities in the region. Magnificent tree-lined streets and well-kept homes, with a river vista, provide an idyllic setting for this community. Its town center is decorated with Victorian street lights and a gazebo has been constructed on the corner of Broad and Main Streets. Less than a square mile in area, Riverton has under 3,000 residents.

As with the other river communities, Riverton was a part of Chester Township until 1860, when it became a part of Cinnaminson Township. In 1893 it was incorporated as Riverton Borough when Palmyra was split off from it. Its colonial origins are from Quaker settlements, when the social and commercial center of the community was Chestertown ( Moorestown). The area, much like its neighbor, Palmyra, was basically a farm community. In 1834, the Camden and Amboy Railroad opened with a stop at Riverton.

In 1851 ten Philadelphia businessmen – all but one of them Quakers - purchased land from Joseph Lippincot and hired Samuel Sloan to design summer homes for themselves and their families as a refuge from the urban heat of Philadelphia. Their names were Caleb and James Clothier, Daniel Miller, William and Dillwyn Parrish, Robert and William C. Biddle, Rodman Wharton , J. Miller McKim, Chalkley Gillingham, and Professor Charles D. Cleveland. The presence of the steamboat service on the Delaware River provided these founders with an easy commute to their mercantile and manufacturing firms.

Riverton was a deed restricted community. Permanent structures on the waterfront were prohibited. Deeds had a liquor clause, prohibiting the sale or manufacture of liquors on any property in the village. According to architectural historian Henry Russell Hitchcock, Riverton was the first totally planned residential subdivision in America.

The visual centerpiece of the town is the 1858 Riverton Iron Pier, home of the Riverton Yacht Club. This is actually the last remaining steamboat landing on the Delaware River. Its role was key to the development of this showcase community.

In 1865, the Riverton Yacht Club was given permission to build on the Riverton pier with the stipulation that it should “maintain a waiting room for steam-boat passengers”

Three of the more popular steamers on the Philadelphia-Burlington run, The Columbia, the John A. Warner and the Twilight, would all stop at Riverton. A bell at the Iron Pier would be rung two times when the steamers arrived. Records show that the Yacht Club/Iron Pier was the scene of much activity in the 1860s, 70s and 80s. Clay pigeon shooting contests were held at the end of the pier; musicians played on the balcony of the club house (built in 1881) during annual Regattas.

The Yacht Club is credited with establishing one of Riverton’s most popular traditions: the annual 4 th of July Parade. A feature of the early parades was the presentation of a silk flag to each child in the town.

In 1868 the Henry A Dreer Co. Nursery was established in Riverton. They hybridized and developed many varieties of flowers, grasses and vegetables. People came from all over the world to study horticulture at their Riverton nurseries and attend elaborate flower shows. The nursery operated until 1944. The Dreer Nursery has a dubious distinction in horticultural history. In 1916, the first Japanese Beetles in this country were traced to an Iris plant which was imported from Japan and brought to the Riverton firm.

The first Post Office was established at Riverton in 1871. The application indicated that the population was 500 in the summer months – when Riverton was still considered a vacation community.

Mary Van Meter Grice (1858-1936), a prominent Riverton resident, made significant contributions to children’s education at the local and state levels. She was one of the founding members of “The Porch Club” (1890), a women’s club which was involved in many social and educational issues. In 1897, Grice was elected the first female member of the Riverton School Board. She also became the first president of the New Jersey State Congress of Mothers, which eventually became the PTA. The original Porch Club is located at 4 th and Howard Streets in Riverton. The first public Kindergarten in Burlington County was established in Riverton in 1898.

One of the town treasures is a Tiffany stained glass window in the 1882 Christ Episcopal Church. The rose window facing Main St. was made by Louis C. Tiffany and donated in the memory of Louis Godey by his son and daughter. Godey (1804-1878) was the publisher of America’s first women’s magazine and summered here for many years.

The Riverton Country Club was founded by Ezra Lippincott in 1889. Riverton’s Memorial Park opened in 1931. Today, a drive through town or a stroll along Riverton’s Bank Avenue promenade helps one appreciate why ten Philadelphia businessmen were drawn here 155 years ago.

10/22/06

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