Township administrative offices are located at 237 South Pavilion Avenue, Riverside, NJ 08075.
phone: 856-461-1460
Neighborhoods
What is now known as Riverside was incorporated as the town of Progress by Samuel Bechtold, a real estate promoter, in 1851. In the spring of 1852, Bechtold began constructing the Pavilion Hotel. A year later he laid out an area known as Spring Garden Park, and advertised both the hotel and park widely in the Philadelphia newspapers. The hotel was a popular destination for summer excursions, reaching a peak in the late 1860s, but quickly declined in popularity later in the century, after the opening of railroad lines from Philadelphia to the Jersey shore. It had been vacant for some time prior to its purchase in 1892 by Theophilus Zurbrugg, owner of the Philadelphia Watch Case Company.
The Philadelphia Watch Case Company had been founded in that city in 1884, expanding rapidly after 1888 when the firm commenced the manufacture of gold-filled cases. Continued expansion called for new quarters and provided the motive for purchase and expansion of the Pavilion Hotel building. Zurbrugg maintained firm control over the company. In 1898 he founded the Riverside Metal Company, which supplied the alloys needed in the manufacture of gold-filled and plated watch cases. In addition, the company ran "The Homestead," a boarding house for female employees patterned after the Lowell system in Massachusetts.
Nearby Towns: Bensalem Twp • Beverly City • Bristol Twp • Cinnaminson Twp • Delanco Twp • Delran Twp • Edgewater Park Twp • Lower Moreland Twp • Maple Shade Twp • Merchantville Boro • Moorestown Twp • Palmyra Boro • Riverton Boro • Willingboro Twp •