312 Cooper Street is the oldest house remaining in the Cooper Street Historic District and has evolved with the street over the centuries.

The house was built prior to 1810 as the summer home for a wealthy local merchant when the land around Cooper Street was still predominantly undeveloped or agricultural. Its use remained residential until around the Civil War period. It was then, very briefly, the initial meeting place for Camden residents who organized the Camden Home for Friendless Children, a local charity organization that helped upwards of forty children who had lost their fathers during the war. 312 Cooper Street was later a girl’s seminary school, and then the meeting place of the Camden Republican Club from 1889 to 1917.

The Camden Republican Club was a fraternal organization founded after the war by local citizens and veterans, including residents of Cooper Street, to discuss local politics and socialize over games of pool and poker. Amongst the organization's most prominent members was General William Sewell, who commanded men at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg during the Civil War. He was severely wounded in both battles but survived. He was granted the Medal of Honor for his valorous service, making him the only officer of a NJ regiment to be awarded such an honor. He later served two non-consecutive terms as a US Senator from New Jersey, from 1881 to 1887 and 1895 to 1901.