Borough Issues Proclamation in Support of 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.

Borough Clerk Deanna Bennett (right), with Society President Carol Smith and Haddonfield Library Company President John Reisner

Historical Society Receives $100,000 Gift For New Archives Building

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.”

November 15 Meeting To Feature the Home Front During World War I

Join us Wednesday November 15 at 7:30 pm for our next general membership meeting, featuring a presentation by Peter John Williams about the home front during the World War I years.

As the centennial of World War I continues to be observed, Williams will be chronicling how the turbulent years of 1914-1918 brought people together despite tragedies both at home and abroad. He will also be sharing photographs, posters, and other imagery to paint a picture of how Philadelphia and the surrounding area looked during this era. He will also have copies of his book, Philadelphia: The World War I Years, available for purchase and signing.

For this meeting only, we’ll be gathering in the meeting room at the Lutheran Church of our Savior, 204 Wayne Ave., Haddonfield.

The event is free for members, with a suggested donation of $5 for nonmembers. We also invite you to bring a canned good or non-perishable food item to share with the Lutheran Church’s food bank collection.

For more information about World War I and its impact on Haddonfield and the surrounding area, make sure to plan a visit to the Historical Society’s temporary exhibit: “The First World War — Haddonfield and Abroad.” The temporary exhibit will open with a special “First Sunday” open house Sunday November 5 from 1-4 pm and will be available for viewing during Greenfield Hall’s open hours (generally Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1-4 pm).

Don’t Miss Tonight’s Haunted Mansion!

Tonight, October 30, is the Historical Society’s annual Haunted Mansion at Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield. The event will begin right after the town Halloween parade, approximately at 7 pm and continue to 9 pm.

The cost is $3 for kids and $5 for adults, and tickets will be sold at the door.

For those who haven’t visited the Haunted Mansion before, we aim to make this event appropriate for elementary school aged kids, roughly second to fifth grades. We add seasonal decorations to the first floor of Greenfield Hall and offer lights-out spooky tours. Light refreshments are served in the back garden.

This year, we’ll also be offering spooky story time in the back garden for younger visitors who aren’t sure about taking the inside tour.

This year’s event is sponsored by Lisa Wolschina and Associates from Keller Williams Realty and Jason Barnes from Citizens Bank.

Collection Spotlight: Mt. Peace Cemetery Burial Ledger

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 volunteer Britni Dellinger for helping to compile these features. Next up:

MT. PEACE CEMETERY BURIAL LEDGER

2004.011, Gift of Bryson Armstead

This ledger contains two decades of burial information for Mt. Peace Cemetery on the White Horse Turnpike in Lawnside, NJ. Covering 1937 to 1959, the ledger lists names, residences, burial dates, grave locations, and undertakers. It is part of a small collection of Mt. Peace records that were collected by Bryson Armstead during his work to document the long history and significance of the cemetery. The burial ledger has lost its cover and has water damage, but the information it contains is irreplaceable for family historians and other researchers.

The Historical Society compiled all of the burial data from the ledger and other cemetery records in the collection into a digital database to further improve access to this information.

The ledger is currently on loan to the Lawnside Historical Society for a special exhibit at Camden County Historical Society, opening soon!