Bridgeton, a Cumberland County city steeped in history, was originally inhabited by the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. Some 300 years ago, European settler, Richard Hancock, built a sawmill in the area now known as Bridgeton. Throughout its history, Bridgeton had transformed itself from a city whose economy was based on fishing, hunting, and agriculture to becoming an industrial powerhouse.

Then, in the 1980s, according to cityofbridgeton.com, “The city suffered an economic downturn ... with the loss of its remaining manufacturing sector jobs in glass and textiles.” However, unbeknownst to many of Bridgeton’s citizens, a plethora of world-renowned and highly respected individuals have traveled through, worked, or lived in this once thriving city. Some of them have left an important historical mark on the town.