Editing Oaklyn, New Jersey (section)

==History==
Before European settlement began, Oaklyn was dense forest land which was inhabited by [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. In 1681, a group of [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]] seeking religious freedom sailed from Ireland to [[Fenwick's Colony]] at [[Salem, New Jersey]], where they spent the winter.<ref name="Clement">Clement, John (1877). ''Sketches of the first emigrant settlers of Newton Township''. pp. 53-54</ref> In 1682, they sailed up the [[Delaware River]] and settled on Newton Creek.<ref name="Clement"/> [[William Bates (Quaker immigrant)|William Bates]], their leader, purchased {{convert|250|acre|km2}} on the south side of Newton Creek from the local Native Americans. The original Quaker settlement, known as Newton Colony, was located in The Manor section of today's Oaklyn.<ref name=CP2011>Tulini, Bob. [http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20061019/SPECIAL20/610190425/Oaklyn-Small-town-reflects-American-image "Oaklyn: Small town reflects American image"], ''[[Courier-Post]]'', October 18, 2006. Accessed November 22, 2011.</ref>

The Colony began to grow rapidly and the land was cleared for farming. Eventually two highways were laid out. One, from the Delaware River to Egg Harbor, followed an old Native American trail, which is today the Black Horse Pike. The other was known as the Long-a-coming trail, which extended from [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]] to Berlin and then from Berlin to [[Camden, New Jersey|Camden]]. This trail is now known as the White Horse Pike.

After the [[American Revolutionary War]], a group of [[Virginia]] sportsmen built a racetrack on the east side of the White Horse Pike. Future president [[Ulysses S. Grant]] visited this track as a young man before it closed in 1846. Samuel Bettle bought the land which was formerly the racetrack and eventually, the land was deeded to [[Haddon Township, New Jersey|Haddon Township]].<ref name=CP2011/>

As the years passed, the farms along Newton Creek were divided into lots and the development called "Oakland the Beautiful", for the many trees in the area. The name was changed to Oaklyn in 1894 to avoid confusion with another [[Oakland, New Jersey|Oakland]] in [[North Jersey]].<ref name=CP2011/><ref>Margulis, Marilyn. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160102185132/http://articles.philly.com/1996-03-03/real_estate/25638799_1_close-knit-community-neighbors-john-bacon "A Close-knit Community With A Sense Of Its History Its Two Creeks Give Oaklyn A Feeling Of Security - And A Place To Fish."], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', March 3, 1996. Accessed September 12, 2015. "In the 1890s, land adjoining the track became the site of a new development known as 'Oakland the beautiful' for its many trees. The development, by then part of Haddon Township, was renamed Oaklyn in 1894 because a town in North Jersey had already claimed the Oakland name."</ref>

Oaklyn was incorporated as a borough by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on March 13, 1905, from portions of [[Haddon Township, New Jersey|Haddon Township]].<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 108. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA209 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''], p. 209. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed September 12, 2015.</ref>