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Feds reject $686K request to complete historic Benjamin Cooper Tavern project. Site will be open for U.S. 250th birthday.

Work on turning the Camden tavern into a Revolutionary War museum will continue, project manager says.

Work is underway at the Benjamin Cooper Tavern in North Camden, which is being transformed into a museum devoted to a museum focused on South Jersey's Revolutionary War history.
Work is underway at the Benjamin Cooper Tavern in North Camden, which is being transformed into a museum devoted to a museum focused on South Jersey's Revolutionary War history.Read moreProvided

The National Park Service has turned down the Camden County Historical Society’s request for $686,000 to help transform Camden’s Benjamin Cooper Tavern into the American Revolution Museum of South Jersey.

But the first floor of the three-story home will open to the public as museum space before the July 4, 2026, celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, project manager Jack O’Byrne said Tuesday.

About $3.1 million already has been raised through a separate federal grant, as well as money from the state, county, and city, he said.

Damaged in a 2013 fire, the tavern has been vacant for years. It was the backdrop for skirmishes led by Continental Army generals “Mad Anthony” Wayne and Casimir Pulaski against British and Hessian troops in 1777 and in 1778.

“Since work began in June the contractors have been stabilizing all the floors and started the exterior restoration. We’re on track to open the first floor. But we may not be able to open the second floor in time for the Semiquincentennial,” said O’Byrne.

O’Byrne, who also serves as executive director of the Camden County Historical Society, said he received a letter after Labor Day from Megan J. Brown of the NPS.

In it, she wrote that the society’s $686,000 request was among 66 received from applicants nationwide, of which only 19 were selected.

In 2021 estimates for completing this project were $2.8 million. But construction and other costs have risen to the point where it will likely take an additional $1 million (including the $686,000) to finish the work.

The historical society’s board has created a Friends of the Benjamin Cooper Tavern advisory group to begin reaching out to nonprofits, foundations, and individuals.

“With the help of our local community partners, the Camden County Historical Society is saving Camden’s most historic building — a national treasure,” said board chair Chris Perks.

Noting that fundraising and other efforts to create the museum have been underway for two years, Perks said “we need to raise the last $1 million in order to completely open the new museum by July 4, 2026. The opening will be a source of pride for the entire region.”

“It’s Camden’s most historic building on Camden’s most historic site,” O’Byrne said.