McKee City is an unincorporated community within the Mays Landing

Mays Landing, New Jersey

Mays Landing is a census-designated place located within Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 2,321. It is the county seat of Atlantic County...

 section of Hamilton Township

Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey

Hamilton Township is a township in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 26,503...

, Atlantic County

Atlantic County, New Jersey

-National protected areas:* Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge * Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The community was named after Colonel John McKee (1821–1902), a Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 veteran. Although its name includes the word "city", McKee City is not an actual city — it is currently a crossroads of commerce that has replaced tenant farmer

Tenant farmer

A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...

s with retail stores and residential neighborhoods. McKee City was founded by Colonel McKee in 1884. It was originally a farming community, along with a sawmill, a schoolhouse, a general store, a community hall, and several farms near the former Pennsylvania-Reading Railroad (currently the site of the Black Horse Pike

Black Horse Pike

The Black Horse Pike is a designation used for a number of different roadways that had been part of a historic route connecting the Camden area to the area of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Roadways now bearing the Black Horse Pike designation include portions of New Jersey Route 168, New Jersey Route...

). Later, McKee City was the home of the Atlantic City Race Course

Atlantic City Race Course

The Atlantic City Race Course , formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, is a thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off the Black Horse Pike next to the Hamilton Mall...

, which still operates today, along with several other commercial businesses, including the Hamilton Mall

Hamilton Mall

The Hamilton Mall is a major shopping destination in Mays Landing, in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 1987, the two-story enclosed mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Macy's and Sears .The mall is adjacent to the Black Horse Pike and U.S...

, which opened in 1987.