Lawnside is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Lawnside was developed in 1840 and incorporated in 1926 as the first independent, self-governing Black municipality north of the Mason–Dixon line. As of the 2020 United States census, approximately 75% of the borough's 2,955 population still identified as Black or African American, although this percentage has declined over the past two census periods. The population in 2020 had increased by 10 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 2,945,
History
thumb|left|Lawnside school
thumb|left|A tavern in Lawnside
Lawnside has been home to African Americans since the late 18th century. Methodist gatherings were established by 1797, and in 1811, Bishop Richard Allen of Philadelphia founded the local African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), which eventually became the Mount Pisgah AME Church today. AME churches were premised on abolition and civil rights, primarily serving former slaves and their descendants. Additionally, freedmen often sought safety and support by concentrating near Quaker allies, which in the case of Lawnside was the Haddonfield Quaker Society of Friends, with support from the Gloucester County Abolition Society and Vigilant Association of Philadelphia. Indeed, the home of Peter Mott, now a nationally recognized refuge of the underground railroad, was saved by the Lawnside Historical Society from demolition in 1992 specifically to preserve this important legacy of the town.
The early village was later known as "Snow Hill" after the Civil War and eventually "Lawnton." After a train station was constructed by Reading along the Atlantic City Railroad in 1907, the town became known as Lawnside, either from the presence of a spacious lawn at the station or as a shortened description of the stop's exit on the "Lawnton side" of the tracks.
In 1919, John Lawson, a prominent Philadelphian and recipient of the Medal of Honor for his service during the Civil War, was laid to rest at Mount Peace Cemetery in Lawnside. The exact reasons behind this location remain uncertain, with possibilities including family connections to Lawnside or the restrictions on burying black veterans in certain Pennsylvania cemeteries at the time.
On March 24, 1926, Governor of New Jersey A. Harry Moore signed into law New Jersey General Assembly Bill 561, dissolving Centre Township, of which Lawnside was a part, and incorporating the Borough of Lawnside, which also included portions of the borough of Barrington. One month later, on April 20, 1926, an "Official Special Election" was held making Lawnside the first independent, self-governing African American community north of the Mason–Dixon line.
Despite historic discrimination from banks against African Americans, the incorporation of the town as a Black community allowed residents to achieve home ownership with minimal bureaucratic obstacles. This was also facilitated by local mortgage lenders like the Home Mutual Investment Company, established in 1909, and the Lawnside Mutual Building and Loan Association in 1915.
During the 1960s, Lawnside's young people, influenced by the Civil rights and Black power movements, led sit-ins, protest marches and media campaigns against the discrimination they faced at the regional Haddon Heights High School, which resulted in changes in school administration, increased representation in student life, the introduction of Black studies courses, and the formation of the Afro-American Cultural Society. On April 9, 1968, Lawnside civic leaders became the first governmental entity in the United States to declare the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. to be a holiday, just days after King's assassination.