June 3 “First Sunday” Display to Highlight 200th Anniversary of First Baptist Church of Haddonfield

For the Historical Society’s next “First Sunday” pop-up display on June 3, we will be working in cooperation with the First Baptist Church of Haddonfield to celebrate its 200th anniversary.

The Historical Society will be pulling out a variety of archival materials that relate to the church, including printed ephemera, historic images, a nineteenth-century ledger kept by a congregant, and various other manuscript materials. The church’s 200th anniversary committee will be sharing items from the congregation’s own historical collection, including a diary kept by its first minister, Rev. John Sisty (1783-1863).

We hope you’ll join us at Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield, on Sunday June 3 anytime between 12:30 pm and 3 pm. The Baptist Cemetery just across the street will also open its chapel from 2-3 pm that day.

Like other “First Sundays,” the Society will be offering our usual tours of Greenfield Hall, and the Archives Center and Research Library will be open for researchers next door in the Samuel Mickle House.

If you miss the Baptist Church display on Sunday June 3, it will continue in Greenfield Hall during the Historical Society’s public hours on Monday June 4 and Wednesday June 6.

Tickets On Sale Now for June 2 Colonial Haddonfield Walking Tour

The Historical Society is pleased to announce tickets are on sale now for a new Colonial Haddonfield walking tour to be held Saturday June 2 from 10 am to 12 noon — just before the Indian King’s annual “Skirmish on the Highway.”

Tickets are only $25 per person, and space is limited to no more than 40 participants (in two groups of 20). We expect this one to sell out, so don’t wait!

The walking tour will be led by Joe Haro, who has for many years led architectural walking tours in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, and Co-Borough Historian Kathy Tassini. The tour will depart from Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield, and continue to Haddon Avenue and back.

Participants will also have a chance to view the inside of the Guard House / Timothy Matlack house on Kings Highway, opposite the Indian King Tavern. Light refreshments will be available in the garden at Greenfield Hall after the tour.

All proceeds to benefit the Historical Society. Contact the office at 856-429-7375 or by email at info@haddonfieldhistory.org to get your tickets today.

Garage Sale To Be Held On Saturday May 5

The Historical Society is holding a garage sale on Saturday May 5 between 9 am and 1 pm.

This truly is a GARAGE sale: we are emptying out the detached garage behind Greenfield Hall in anticipation of building our new Archives Center. The new building will replace the garage, so we need to clear it out.

Among the items available for sale on Saturday:

* assorted Christmas ribbons & decorations
* flower vases & assorted floral arranging supplies
* large folding tables, side tables, and chairs
* metal cabinets, file cabinets, and shelving units
* party-size open tubs
* old wooden doors
* assorted lumber & trim pieces
* light fixtures

Plus many non-collection items from the closets of Greenfield Hall, including antique walking canes, eyeglasses, china and dishware, picture frames, and so much more!

May Meeting to Focus on Haddonfield Picture Postcards

The Society’s next general membership meeting on Wednesday May 23 will feature a presentation by Haddonfield resident Deborah Garwood, “Haddonfield Picture Postcards: Commerce, Communication and Community at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.”

Garwood will discuss the history of postcards and how legal changes fueled their explosive popularity in the early twentieth century. She will also be sharing postcards from her own collection and discussing what they have to tell us about our past. Her collection includes postcards of the Elizabeth Haddon House, the Indian King Tavern, and the Methodist parsonage formerly located on Kings Highway. One set of cards help document Haddonfield’s transition from farm center to suburban community, with messages about the Grange (an agricultural organization) and an agricultural course at Rutgers.

We hope you’ll be able to join us on Wednesday May 23 at 7:30 pm at Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield. Members are free, with a suggested donation of $5 for nonmembers.

Next Book Club Meeting Scheduled for May 22

The Historical Society’s Book Club will next meet on Tuesday May 22 to discuss an influential classic: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Published in 1852, Stowe’s book is a fictional tale about a long-suffering enslaved man and the people around him, and focuses on the immorality of slavery. The book was hugely popular in the nineteenth century and helped fuel the abolitionist movement leading up to the Civil War, but it also popularized many negative stereotypes about African Americans.

We’ll meet to discuss the book on Tuesday May 22 at 7 pm at Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield. All are welcome!