New Archives Center

The Borough of Haddonfield issued a proclamation last week declaring November 9, 2017 as “Historical Society of Haddonfield Archives Center Day” in support of the Society’s capital campaign for a new archives building.

Borough Clerk Deanna Bennett presented the proclamation on Thursday at our press conference announcing a major gift from the Haddonfield Library Company. You can read the full proclamation from the Borough below, and read more about the Haddonfield Library Company’s gift here.

The Historical Society of Haddonfield launched the final phase of its capital campaign for a new archives building with an announcement that the 214-year-old private Haddonfield Library Company has given $100,000 for the new building.

To date, the Historical Society has raised more than $605,400 toward the new building, leaving it more than two-thirds of the way toward its fundraising goal of $900,000. The Society already has a significant restricted endowment that allows the Society to employ a professional archivist and covers other expenses of the archives center as well.

“We are so grateful for this show of support from the Haddonfield Library Company,” said Carol W. Smith, President of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. “This gift brings together two venerable old institutions to jointly preserve the collective memory of our community.”

“The Historical Society’s planned new building will significantly improve preservation and access for the archival collections in its care, including the Library Company’s own records dating back more than 200 years,” said John Reisner, president of the Haddonfield Library Company. “We are delighted to be able to support this important project.”

The Historical Society of Haddonfield was founded in 1914 and is committed to collecting and preserving the unique artifacts, documents, photographs, and other collection materials that help tell the history of Haddonfield and its environs in South Jersey.

The Haddonfield Library Company was founded in 1803 as a private subscription library. Though it transferred its books in 1909 to the newly formed public library, the Haddonfield Library Company remains a separate incorporated entity that aims “to extend the benefit of learning and to promote a spirit of literacy.”

The Historical Society of Haddonfield has been awarded two grants totaling $31,400 to plan and undertake a capital campaign for its new Archives Center, which was recently approved by Haddonfield’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to be built on the site of an existing garage on the Society’s property.

The New Jersey Cultural Trust awarded the Society $26,400 through its Institutional and Financial Stabilization grant program, which rotates annually between funding arts, history, and cultural institutions in the state. The Historical Society is the only recipient in Camden County this year.

The Haddonfield Foundation awarded an additional $5,000 to the Society’s effort to undertake the capital campaign.

“Together, these generous grants will allow us to take the next steps to making the Archives Center a reality and securing the community support we need to construct the building,” said Carol W. Smith, President of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. “These awards will allow us to work with experts experienced in planning and managing a capital campaign of this scale.”

The Society’s proposed Archives Center is expected to cost approximately $850,000. The new two-story building was designed by Haddonfield resident Eduardo Guzman of DCM Architecture and Engineering, and reinterprets an earlier barn that had stood on the site. The new Archives Center will provide much-needed space for the Society’s archival holdings, which include correspondence, photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, maps, pamphlets, ephemera, books, and more.