By its own admission, Hammonton has always been a small town with big-city aspirations. Founded by New England farmers in 1866, Italian immigrants later settled in the town, and the two groups found they had much in common. Both cultures embraced the importance of family values, a trait that is still honored to this day. Consequently, the community boasts big-town characteristics while amicably maintaining a genuine small-town ambiance. Hammonton's convenient southern New Jersey location, midway between Atlantic City and Philadelphia, earned it the nickname "the Hub of South Jersey," where 20,000 cars a day pass through its quaint downtown.