Editing Palmyra, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The area that is now Palmyra was settled in the late 17th century by [[Sweden|Swedes]], marking the northernmost border of [[New Sweden]]. A farmhouse built in 1761 by the third generation of settlers still remains as the oldest house in Palmyra.<ref>Bergbauer, Thomas A. [https://archive.today/20130131195418/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courierpostonline/access/1695672061.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+12,+2008&author=THOMAS+A+BERGBAUER&pub=Courier+Post&desc=Society's+cruises+shed+light+on+communities'+past&pqatl=google "Society's cruises shed light on communities' past"], ''[[Courier-Post]]'', October 12, 2008. Accessed June 27, 2012. "The Toy Morgan House in Palmyra: The house is perhaps Palmyra's most revered historical treasure. Elias Toy, replacing an older house his grandfather built, built the house in 1761."</ref> Farming was the primary use of land in Palmyra and the surrounding area until after the construction of the [[Camden and Amboy Railroad]] in 1834 with a station in the area, after which railroad workers built homes on lots they purchased along the railroad right of way. The community was originally known as Texas, but a local landowner, Isaiah Toy, a descendant of the original Swedish settlers and a stockholder in the Camden and Amboy Railroad, who wanted to have a post office established in the community, convinced the railroad to change the name of the station in 1849 to [[Palmyra]], which came from his love of ancient history.<ref>Staff. [http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/discover/palmyra/article_a23fa9d6-4d78-5782-a338-3e48ad877d1a.html "Palmyra"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816035420/http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/discover/palmyra/article_a23fa9d6-4d78-5782-a338-3e48ad877d1a.html |date=2013-08-16 }}, ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', March 12, 2012. Accessed June 27, 2012.</ref> Palmyra was the name of an ancient trading center located in central [[Syria]].<ref name=Heritage/><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=25 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 16, 2015.</ref> The post office was established in 1851. Palmyra, along with [[Bordentown, New Jersey|Bordentown]], [[Burlington, New Jersey|Burlington]], [[Moorestown, New Jersey|Moorestown Township]], and [[Mount Holly, New Jersey|Mount Holly Township]], established its high school in the late 1890s, making it one of the oldest high schools in Burlington County and in New Jersey.<ref>Siokalo, Zoriana E.; Solmssen, Clarissa; and Trimarco, Vito. ''Before Penn : Swedish Colonists in the land of the Lenape'', (Philadelphia, PA: American Swedish Historical Museum. 1988).</ref>

The community was laid out in 1850, when Joseph Souder's land was broken up into building lots to pay his debts, with the street names matching those of [[Center City, Philadelphia]]—Market, Arch, Race, and Vine (from south to north), and Front Street and numbered streets from the [[Delaware River]].<ref>Smith, Eileen. [https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courierpostonline/access/1752067401.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+19%2C+2006&author=Eileen+Smith+DID+YOU+KNOW%3F&pub=Courier+Post&desc=A+quaint+river+community&pqatl=google "A quaint river community"]{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[Courier-Post]]'', October 19, 2006. Accessed June 27, 2012. "1850: Joseph Souder's land is divided into lots to pay his debts and the first streets are laid out."</ref> What is now Palmyra was part of Chester Township (now [[Maple Shade Township, New Jersey|Maple Shade Township]]), which was created in 1694 and was one of the original 104 townships in New Jersey incorporated in 1798.<ref name=Heritage>[http://www.delrivgreenway.org/heritagetrail/Borough-of-Palmyra.html Borough of Palmyra], Delaware River Heritage Trail. Accessed June 27, 2012.</ref> Palmyra became a part of [[Cinnaminson Township, New Jersey|Cinnaminson Township]] when that township was set off from Chester in 1860. Palmyra Township was set off from Cinnaminson in 1894, and Palmyra was incorporated as a borough in 1923.<ref name=Story/>