Esterbrook Leaves Its Historic Camden Factory

In 1964, we moved our New Jersey operations from Camden to Cherry Hill, ending more than a century of manufacturing at the historic Cooper Street site. Camden historical records date the relocation to that year and identify Cherry Hill as Esterbrook's new manufacturing location. The move closed an unusually long chapter in the company's history. Richard Esterbrook had established steel-pen manufacturing in Camden in 1860, with the United States Steel Pen Works operating there from 1861. Over the following decades, the Cooper Street property expanded from a small former waterworks building into a substantial industrial complex, including major additions in 1905 and 1912. At its peak, the Camden operation employed hundreds of people and produced writing instruments for domestic and international markets. By 1964, Esterbrook's product range and the writing-instrument industry had changed considerably. Fountain pens, ballpoints and felt-tip products had joined or replaced many of the steel-pen products once made at Cooper Street. Relocating to Cherry Hill therefore brought the company's long association with its original manufacturing city to a close while operations continued elsewhere in New Jersey.