By Phaedra Trethan/Courier-Post/October 31 2016

CAMDEN - The Camden City Historical Commission helped local activists move one step closer to preserving a home where Martin Luther King Jr. once stayed.

At its meeting Thursday night, the group officially designated the house at 753 Walnut St. a historic property. The home, in dire need of repairs, was recently transferred from its owner, Jeanette Lilly Hunt, to Cooper's Ferry Partnership, a city nonprofit that will act as custodian in order to raise funds and make repairs on the home.

In September, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, a friend and contemporary of King's, added his voice to a growing chorus of supporters urging preservation of the property. Among others, Camden Mayor Dana Redd and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-NJ, have also called for the home to be preserved.

Activists including Haddon Heights resident Patrick Duff, Colandus "Kelly" Francis of the Camden County NAACP and Father Michael Doyle of Sacred Heart Parish, began the push for preservation.

The state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Office of Historic Preservation, is currently reviewing the home's history and documentation before granting its own designation. Once that is secured, the state would then apply to add the home to the National Register of Historic Places, and thus secure federal protection and possibly funding.

For more on the historic designation, please visit: http://www.courierpostonline.com/