Shamong (Images of America)

Shamong Township, incorporated in 1852, was originally a part of Evesham Township. It is one of many communities that make up the Pinelands National Reserve. Shamong is a Native American word meaning “place of the horn” or “place of many deer.” From 1758 until 1802, 3,284 acres of the township were home to the first and only Native American reservation in New Jersey. Prominent citizens of old Shamong included John B. Gardner, former mayor of Atlantic City, Civil War veteran, and United States congressman. James Still, the famed “black doctor of the Pines,” was born in Shamong in 1812, and his younger brother, William Still, is celebrated as the father of the Underground Railroad. The photographs in Shamong provide a visual reminder of the past and celebrate the history of this community, which remains a vibrant rural and residential area.