Historical Society Receives $50,000 Grant to Reserve Space for Haddon Township Collections in New Archives Center Building

The Historical Society of Haddonfield has received a $50,000 grant from the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation that will allow it to reserve space in its planned new building for Haddon Township Historical Society archival collections.

With this gift, the Historical Society of Haddonfield has raised more than $690,000 for a new archival center to be built on its property on Kings Highway East in Haddonfield. The Society is now more than three-quarters of the way toward its fundraising goal of $900,000, and expects to break ground later this year. A separate restricted endowment already in place allows the Society to employ a professional archivist and covers other expenses of the archives center as well.

“Haddonfield and Haddon Township share a long history, and we are fortunate to already hold a variety of archival materials related to the history of Haddon Township,” said Carol W. Smith, president of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. “This new grant will allow us, for the first time, to provide preservation and access to Haddon Township Historical Society’s archival collections as well.”

“This planned new facility will be a win-win for both historical societies,” said Sandy White-Grear, Director of Education and Community Outreach for the Haddon Township Historical Society. “We are thrilled to be gaining storage space in a state-of-the-art, ADA-compliant facility that will also be able to provide access for class visits and researchers – and at no cost to taxpayers.”

Renderings of the planned interior of the new Archives Center, with the first floor reading room (top) and moveable storage on the second floor (bottom).

Historical Society Closed Wednesday March 21

The Society is closed today, March 21, due to the storm forecast. Our inclement weather policy follows the schedule of the Haddonfield School District and the School District of Philadelphia (since some staff and volunteers travel farther), and both are closed for the day.

The Candlelight Dinner scheduled for tonight has been postponed until Wednesday April 4. Same time, same place, same speaker.

Candlelight Dinner Postponed to Wednesday April 4

Due to the winter weather forecast for tomorrow evening, the Historical Society has postponed the Candlelight Dinner to Wednesday April 4. Same time, same place, same speakers!

Last Chance for Tickets to Candlelight Dinner on March 21

Time is running out to purchase your tickets to the Historical Society’s annual Candlelight Dinner!

This year’s program on Wednesday March 21 will feature Dr. Robert Rawlins and his performing quartet, presenting “Tunes of the Twenties and All That Jazz: The Stories Behind the Songs.” The dinner and general membership meeting will be held at Tavistock Country Club. Cocktails start at 6pm.

Tickets are $60.00 for Historical Society members and $70.00 for non-members.

Tickets will be on sale through the end of the day Friday 3/16. You can order your tickets online and pay with a credit card via PayPal, or call the office at 856-429-7375 to reserve a spot. See you there!

Buy tickets now

Collection Spotlight: Naomi V. Fithian World War I Scrapbook

We continue with our periodic spotlight of objects, documents, photographs and other items you can find in the collections of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. Thanks again to summer 2017 volunteer Britni Dellinger for helping to compile these features. Next up:

NAOMI V. FITHIAN WORLD WAR I SCRAPBOOK

2005.010, Gift of Marianna Robson Johnson

This scrapbook was created by life-long Haddonfield resident Naomi Vernan Fithian Robson (1896-1969), who was 21 years old and unmarried when the U.S. entered World War I. Naomi’s father was noted illustrator Frank Fithian (1866-1935). Her incredible scrapbook contains photographs, newspaper articles, drawings, ephemera, and other mementos about what was happening in the U.S. and abroad during the war. The scrapbook was donated to the Society in 2005 by Naomi’s daughter, Marianna R. Johnson, and it was displayed as part of the Society’s fall 2017 exhibit about Haddonfield in World War I.