A look inside the museum. The A-4C Skyhawk (the Blue Angel) is on the left.

Website

Located in Lumberton, NJ, the Air Victory Museum celebrates military aviation technology and the men and women who have worked in the industry and served the country in the armed forces. Its mission is to educate and inspire youth. The museum contains numerous aircraft, engines, uniforms, ordinance, and memorabilia. Aircraft include an A-4C Skyhawk flown with the Blue Angels, an F-4 Phantom, and a 1903 Flyer replica. There is also a wind tunnel built under the supervision of the Wright Brothers. Additionally, there are models of military vehicles and aircraft, and captured German and Japanese technology. The museum also features a library.

Air Victory Museum 

This tour begins with four historic homes before winding its way to a former mill which is now the headquarters of the Medford Historical Society. As the tour moves on to Mount Laurel, visitors get the chance to see several other historic estates constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, a historic African American church, a military aviation museum, and a Quaker Meeting House that predates the American Revolution.  

Note: The Jonathan Haines house should not be confused with the John Haines home on Fostertown Road, erected from 1688 - 1690. This 1760 home on Union Street was built by Jonathan, a descendent of John's. The Haines family built several historic structures in the area. In 1682, Richard Haines gained land patented by the Duke of York (later King James II). By arriving early to Burlington County and gaining ownership of the woodlands and watersheds, The Haines Family exhibited inordinate influence in Burlington County. Richard's son and daughter-in-law, John and Esther, built a farmstead home in 1690 on 200 acres of land John acquired. By 1711, John and Esther had thirteen children and doubled the size of their land. Years later, John, his second son Jonathan, his brothers, and his father-in-law owned 2240 acres of land known as "Friendship Tract." Thus, by the early 1700s, the Haines family established their immense influence in the Medford area. When John died in 1728, he left his son Jonathan the historic farmstead property. Jonathan's second son (and John's grandson), also named Jonathan, constructed in 1760 the house on Union Street, about two and a half miles south of John Haines' landmark plantation on Fostertown Road. The Jonathan Haines home was built in several stages, first in 1760 and then in 1820 when yet another Jonathan constructed a rear addition in 1820. At one time, the property spanned the entire north side of Union Street. The family sold some lots to outsiders, but much of the property was split among the Haines family from generation to generation. The 1760 home remained in the Haines family until 1917.  Meanwhile, Issac Haines, Jonathan's son (John's great-grandson), built Haines 1 Mill, a hydro-powered saw and grist mill that operated from 1778 until 1961. When it converted to electric power in 1961, it stood as the last water-powered mill that had been operating in the State of New Jersey. (The family sold the mill in 1866 to the Kirby Family, and today the mill is listed as Kirby's Mill by the National Register of Historic Places). The mill's success only furthered the influence and wealth of the Haines family throughout the nineteenth century.  Today, the home built in 1760 serves as a lasting reminder of the Haines' family prominence, which started with a land grant provided to Jonathan's great-grandfather Richard and a land grant provided by the Duke of York (later King James II) in the 1680s. The Haines Family began as settlers and farmers but quickly emerged as the most influential family in Medford and the greater Burlington County area. Because they controlled much of the local waterways and woodlands, they left a substantial environmental imprint. In addition to farming and milling, the family influenced local politics, served on church and education boards, and one family member became a respected physician.

The Haines family put an indelible mark on the Medford area through substantial land ownership, home building, farming, watershed control, hydro-powered milling, and several cultural endeavors. Richard Haines received a land grant from the Duke of York (later King James II) in the 1680s, leading to Richard's son, John, building a historic farmstead home in 1690. John's grandson, Jonathan, built the home on Union Street in 1760 and his son, Issac, developed the Haines family mill that served the family until the 1860s, and southern New Jersey until the 1960s. 

Jonathan Haines House

Dr. George Haines was the first registered physician in Medford, helped organize the County Agricultural Society and a local bank, and evidence strongly suggests his house functioned as a stop on Underground Railroad. Haines, a Quaker and abolitionist, was a member of the Haines family who settled the Medford area in the 1680s. The family quickly took ownership of thousands of acres of land and operated a dam and mill in Medford. Dr. Haines built the historic home for his bride in 1826. While his family proved highly influential, the entire country enjoyed recognition for its place as a safe-haven for enslaved persons who were attempting to secure their freedom. At least sixteen sites in Burlington County have ties to the Underground Railroad in addition to the home of Dr. George Haines. While in England, Richard Haines gained a land grant for the Medford area in 1682. The family quickly amassed several thousands of acres of land and controlled much of the woodlands and watershed. Richard's great-great-grandsons, Nehemiah and Issac, developed the Haines Mill (aka Kirby's Mill and the Medford Historical Society) and a corresponding home in the 1770s and 1780s, both of which are landmarks. Nehemiah's son, George, became the township's first physician while his brother, Charles, added to the mill, both physically and operationally. Dr. George Haines worked as a physician, but he also helped establish a local bank and the County Agricultural Society. Moreover, evidence strongly points to his house serving as a hideaway for fugitive slaves. For years, the Haines, a noted Quaker abolitionist, connection to the Underground Railroad mainly lay in oral history, but renovations to the house in 1992 revealed a small secret room underneath the kitchen in the rear of the house. Its only access point was through a shaft leading from a covered opening in the corner of the kitchen floor. (Local oral tradition pointed to the rear of the house as the location where Haines hid fugitive slaves.) Dr. Andrew E. Budd, another physician, bought the house in 1845 from Haines, and it is believed by many that he continued to assist enslaved persons directly.

Constructed in 1826, this was the home of Dr. George Haines was Medford's first registered physician. Part of the influential Haines family, George Haines helped organize the County Agricultural Society and a local bank. In addition, evidence strongly suggests his house functioned as a stop on Underground Railroad. Haines, a Quaker and abolitionist, was a member of the Haines family who settled the Medford area in the 1680s. The family has historical structures throughout the greater Medford area. However, Dr. Haines' house not only exists among the many Haines homes, but of several homes in Burlington County that functioned as safe havens for enslaved persons who were attempting to escape to freedom. 

Dr. George Haines House

From 1908-1940, Sears, Roebuck &amp; Co. offered construction kits for a variety of homes. Between 70,000 and 75,000 mail-order homes were purchased in 447 designs. For a flat price, Sears, Roebuck &amp; Co. furnished all the construction materials for the purchased home. The kits, for instance, consisted of mill work, siding, flooring, pipes, gutters, hardware, painting materials, lumber, and shingles. Labor is not included, but Sears, Roebuck &amp; Co. provided an estimate of how much a home would cost for materials and labor. Despite offering flat prices for popular home designs, customers could modify the designs of their homes or submit blueprints to Sears, Roebuck &amp; Co. to receive pre-cut materials for the home. To purchase a home, customers would receive a Modern Homes catalog. Despite showing home styles that customers were familiar with, customers could customize the home. For instance, a customer could reverse the floor plan or choose brick instead of wooden siding. Modern Homes were so customizable that customers could choose the color of the hardware on cabinets. In addition to customization, customers also had modern conveniences, like central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. Modern Homes by Sears were cheaper because Sears could mass-produce materials, which lowered purchasing costs for customers. Pre-cut materials meant that construction time was 40% faster than alternative methods. The "ballon style" framing of the homes also meant that a team of skilled carpenters were not needed to built the home. This Sears Roebuck home was built in 1911 by Albert and Belle Ballinger at 13 Branch Street in Medford, New Jersey. A home kit similar to the one at 13 Branch Street in Medford, New Jersey, has the following description: <blockquote>An attractive cottage of frame construction and a popular design. The front elevation suggests the bungalow type of architecture. It has a large porch, 8 feet wide, extending across the front of the house which is sheltered by the projection of the upper story and supported with massive built-up square columns. Unique triple window in the attic and fancy leaded art glass windows add much to this pleasing design. </blockquote> Modern Homes by Sears meant that customers could quickly build custom homes with modern conveniences and technologies.

The Ballinger family built this Sears Roebuck House in 1911. From 1908 -1940, Sears, Roebuck & Co. offered Modern Homes where customers could purchase a pre-cut home-building kit from a mail-order catalog. Customers could choose the base kit for a flat price or choose to reverse floor plans or add dormers. Modern conveniences, like electricity and indoor plumbing, were also options. Families no longer needed a team of skilled carpenters with Sears' "balloon style" framing; one carpenter could construct the house in less time than a traditional project. With Modern Homes, people could purchase and fully customize, if wanted, the perfect home for their family. 

A Sears Roebuck House and Historical Marker

Nehemiah Haines, great-great-grandson of Richard Haines, who in 1682 received a land patent in southern New Jersey from the Duke of York (later King James II), built the charming brick home in 1785 for his son Charles. The dwelling is associated with the Haines Mill that Nehemiah's older brother, Issac, opened in 1778. The historic home remained in the Haines family until the Kirby family purchased the mill property in 1877. By arriving early to Burlington County and gaining ownership of the woodlands and watersheds, The Haines Family exhibited inordinate influence in Burlington County. Richard's son, John, married Esther and built a farmstead home in 1690. The couple had thirteen children who, along with generations of other children, constructed more homes in the area, amassed thousands of acres of land. John's great-grandson (Richard's great-great-grandson), Issac, opened in 1778 what is now Kirby's Mill (now operated by Medford Historical Society). The Haines 1 Mill, a hydro-powered saw and grist mill, ground grain for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and provided the army with both flour and gun powder. Issac's younger brother, Nehemia, built the home across the street from the mill for his son Charles in 1785. Twenty-five years later, around 1830, Charles doubled the mill's size from its original single story (with a loft) to a three-story structure. Charles likely added the Blacksmith shop and small barn about the same time. For more than a century, the mill served as Medford's commerce center, with more business transactions taking place than anywhere in the township. There was in operation the sawmill, shingling mill, grist mill, Blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, carding mill, cider mill, and still house. The mill's success only furthered the influence and wealth of the Haines family throughout the nineteenth century.William Kirby bought the Haines mill property in 1877. Because many owners of the Haines/Kirby's Mill lived in the home built by Nehemia, it gained the nickname: "Miller's House." The house today survives both as a lasting reminder of the influential Haines family history in Medford and the prosperity that could be gained by milling in New England. Indeed, both the Haines and Kirby families enjoyed financial success by owning the mill. While no longer part of the Kirby's Mill complex, the home is intrinsically part of Haines and mill history.

Built in 1775, this home stands as one of the many Medford structures built by a member of the Haines family, whose roots in the area date back to the late seventeenth century. Nehemiah Haines constructed the home for his son Charles, very near the Haines Mill (later Kirby's Mill and now home to the Medford Historical Society). The Haines family owned thousands of acres of land and controlled much of the area's watershed. The family also built a dam and operated mills that helped them build wealth and influence. Both for the Haines family and the Kirby Family, who purchased the mill property in 1877, this structure served as a home for those working at the mill. For this reason, the building was known as "Miller's House." 

Miller's House (The Nehemiah Haines House) 

In 1682, Richard Haines gained land patented by the Duke of York (later King James II). By arriving early to Burlington County and gaining ownership of the woodlands and watersheds, The Haines Family exhibited inordinate influence in Burlington County. Richard's son, John, married Esther and built a farmstead home in 1690. The couple had thirteen children who, along with generations of other children, constructed more homes in the area, amassed thousands of acres of land. Issac Haines, John's great-grandson, opened in 1778 what is now Kirby's Mill and the home to the Medford Historical Society. Issac opened Haines 1 Mill, a hydro-powered saw and grist mill, in 1778. The mill ground grain for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and also sold to the army both flour and gun powder. For more than a century, the mill served as Medford's commerce center, with more business transactions taking place than anywhere in the township. There was in operation the sawmill, shingling mill, grist mill, Blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, carding mill, cider mill, and still house. The mill's success only furthered the influence and wealth of the Haines family throughout the nineteenth century. The family sold the mill in 1866 to the Kirby Family. The mill served the town from 1778 until 1961. When it converted to electric power in 1961, it stood as the last water-powered mill that had been operating in the State of New Jersey. Since the 1970s and its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the Medford Historical Society has led an effort to restore and renovate the mill for public viewing.

The Medford Historical Society is housed in the historic Kirby's Mill, which was built in 1778 by Isaac Haines and his partners. Issac was the great-grandson of John Haines, who built the historic farmstead house in 1690, which survives as a historical landmark in Medford. The Haines family had a huge impact on the development of Medford and much of Burlington County. The family sold the mill to William S. Kirby in 1877. It has been restored to its early appearance and efforts are ongoing to make it a functioning mill once again. The Haines family used the mill site to produce flour and gun powder for the Continental army and then turned the mill into the most successful commercial operation in the county, adding to the wealth and influence of the Haines family. It served as New Jersey's last operating hydro-powered mill when it transitioned to electricity in 1961. 

Kirby's Mill - Haines Mill (Modern: Medford Historical Society)

Note: The John Haines House (26 Fostertown Rd) is not the same structure as the Jonathan Haines House (51 Union Street), erected in 1760. The Haines family built several historical structures in the area. Constructed from roughly 1688 to 1690, the John Haines House is one of the oldest houses in the area. Although, the Haines owned the land even longer than that, as the home sits on land patented in 1682 to John's father, Richard Haines, by the Duke of York (later King James II). John built the first part (west side) of the home that stayed in the Haines family for several generations. The family added to the house several times from 1690 to the 1850s. The house, along with a few outbuildings, constitute an old Quaker farm complex. Additionally, the property is a lasting reminder of the family's enormous impact on the area's local history, from milling and farming to community and environmental influence. The house remained in the Haines family for 239 years; they sold it in 1919. By arriving early and gaining ownership of the woodlands and watersheds, The Haines Family exhibited inordinate influence in Burlington County. As a young adult in the 1680s, John Haines (1664 -1728) initially took up residence in a cave (a fairly common practice at the time) he found in the bank of the Rancocas Creek near Lumberton, New Jersey. He lived there with his wife, Esther Borton, daughter of John Borton with whom John had sailed from England. While John and his wife lived in the cave, he cleared part of the 200 acres of land he acquired in 1683, the year before he married. On the cleared land, he constructed the home somewhere between 1688 and 1690. By 1711, John and Esther had thirteen children and doubled the size of their land. Years later, John, his second son Jonathan, his brothers, and his father-in-law owned 2240 acres of land known as "Friendship Tract," hence why some refer to the Haines property as "Friendship Farm."When John died in 1728, he left his eldest son, John, 365 acres of land in Chester County, Pennsylvania (in 1702, he purchased 965 acres of land from the estate of Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Lloyd). Meanwhile, his second son, Jonathan, took over the historic home. In 1720 Jonathan added a two-story brick structure to the home. Jonathan's second son, also named Jonathan, built another historic house on 51 Union Street, located about two-and-a-half miles south of John Haines Home. Jonathan's son, Issac (John's great-grandson) developed Haines 1 Mill, a hydro-powered saw and grist mill that operated from 1778 until 1961. When it converted to electric power in 1961, it stood as the last water-powered mill that had been operating in the State of New Jersey. (The family sold the mill in 1866 to the Kirby Family, and today the mill is listed as Kirby's Mill by the National Register of Historic Places). The mill's success only furthered the influence and wealth of the Haines family throughout the nineteenth century. To see the home today is to see land first granted to Richard Haines by the Duke of York (later King James II) in the 1680s and held by the family shortly before World War I. The Haines Family began as settlers and farmers but evolved into large landowners and business people, ranging from ag-business and the millwork to medicine and various other trades. The family also wielded influence in local politics, education, and Quaker Society. Indeed, Jonathan and Nehemiah Haines served as original members of the Evesham Monthly Meeting in 1782 and served as trustees for the Medford Friends School during the 1880s. Above all else, because they controlled much of the local waterways and woodlands, they left a substantial environmental mark on the area.

In 1682, the Duke of York (later King James II) granted land in New Jersey to Richard Haines where his son, John, built the historic house in roughly 1688 to 1690. The Haines family owned the property until 1911 and during that time established themselves as profoundly influential family. For the first few decades, the family primarily thrived as farmers, but the development of a mill site in the 1778 brought the family even greater prominence. All told the family owned thousands of acres of land, built businesses, served prominent roles in schools and Quaker meetinghouses, and otherwise had a huge impact -- culturally, economically, political, and environmentally -- in Burlington County for centuries. 

John Haines House (Friendship Farm)

Richard and Elzabeth Eayre arrived to New Jersey, in what is now the Lumberton area, in roughly the late 1600s. They established a milling site that served as the genesis of what would grow into Eayrestown, a commercial center that served nearby villages, farms, and even into Philadelphia. The Quaker family handed the property down generation to generation, staying on the land until the early twentieth century. By 1860, Eayrestown had been absorbed into Lumberton and the family eventually purchased several buildings and owned or managed numerous businesses in the town. The home and its land serve as reminders of early New England life and its numerous mills.  Although Richard Eayres exact arrival into southern New Jersey is unknown, a 1709 census of Northhampton (an earlier political designation) shows Eayre, a Quaker, living with his wife Elizabeth and children in a one-room stone house, believed to have been built around 1700. The home, demolished in 1974, stood on property near a river that also included a grist mill and fulling mill. A few years later (roughly 1712), Eayres built a sawmill. The mills he developed proved successful, serving as the first industry of an area that evolved into Eayrestown. The Eayre mills received much of their lumber from Delaware, and the mills served nearby farms, villages, and even Philadelphia; thus, a road network developed connecting Eayrestown to other towns. By the Revolutionary War, Eayrestown stood as a regional commercial center and one of only a handful of towns in Burlington County.The mills' success provided the family with increasing wealth and prosperity. As a result, the family made additions to the first two houses. As well, typical of the era, an inheritance system consisted of dividing property among the children. The Eayres family, like most prominent families, partitioned and passed down from generation to generation, demonstrated by new homes built on the family property. Indeed, the frequency of the division (of varied sizes) of the original Eayres tract renders it nearly impossible to document. Nonetheless, it appears that the most significant portion of the Eayres' property consisted of an eighty-acre partition of land on the southerly side, namely the Eayres Plantation and Mill Site, where Asa Eayres likely built the third house during the 1780s. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Eayres family stood as one of the area's wealthiest families. Lumberton Township incorporated in 1860, a result of merging Eayrestown, Fostertown (settled by William Foster in 1735), and connecting lands. In addition to the mills, and the plantation, the family purchased several buildings and owned numerous Lumberton businesses. The family listed the mills for sale or rent in 1821, likely signaling the end of the family's milling operations. In 1880, family descendants sold the Richard Eayres House, and then they sold the third Earyre house in 1911. Though floods and a fire during the early twentieth century destroyed much of the Earye's property, notably the grist mill and fulling mill, the two Eayres houses and much of its property remains. The surviving property speaks to early New England history, dominated by Quakers, milling, and land-owning families passing down property from generation to generation.

This was the site of an 18th-century mill and plantation that was established by some of the original settlers of what is now Lumberton. The Eayre family arrived around the turn of the eighteenth century, and the remains of the mill they established represent the area's first industry. With the exception of a mere handful of houses of later periods, the Eayres Plantation and Mill stand as the only surviving structures of the former Eayrestown which was the first sustained settlement of the area. The second house constructed by Richard Eayre in 1715 stands as the oldest in the township, as well as all of southern New Jersey. The two homes are exemplary one-room deep, vernacular Georgian residences, typical for western New Jersey Quakers. The Eayre family divided its property with each generation of sons, allowing them to remain on the property for more than two centuries. 

Eayres Plantation and Mill Site

The Jacob's Chapel A.M.E Church property, which includes the Colemantown Meeting House, chapel, and cemetery, survives as one of the last remaining resources that mark the emergence and growth of Colemantown, an antebellum African American settlement established in 1828. The church also functioned as an Underground Railroad escape stop for Southern slaves. The Meeting House, constructed in 1840 and moved to its current location in 1965, served dually as Colemantown's first worship sanctuary and schoolhouse; it is one of New Jersey's oldest standing all-Black schoolhouses. In fact, before roughly 1840, few Black churches worshiped in buildings they built. Instead, they typically met in re-purposed structures. The Colemantown Meeting House survives as the only known survivor of the first Black-congregation-built chapels. After the Civil War, the growing congregation, then led by Jacob Mitchell, an A.M.E minister known for his success in building Black churches, led the effort to build the present Jacob's Chapel in 1866-67. In addition to its significance during the nineteenth century, Jacob's Chapel served as a principal actor during the 1970s and 1980s New Jersey litigations that challenged exclusionary residential zoning laws; landmark cases that influenced laws nationwide. Though sources are scarce, documents show that slave ownership existed within Evesham Township during the first decade of the 1700s and likely earlier. Many of the slaveholders were members of the Society of Friends in America (Quakers), who wrestled with the issue. Though the Society of Friends in England discussed its morality as early as the late 1600s, it wasn't until the 1750s that Philadelphia-area Quaker meetings discussed a plan to manumit slaves and educate Black children. By the 1780s, an abundance of newly freed slaves, along with runaways, formed the foundation of Evesham's Black community, totaling eighty-one by 1797, according to a census conducted by the Burlington County Abolition Society. Black settlements also became possible due to the passage of the New Jersey 1804 Gradual Abolition Act, which led to increasing free Blacks living in New Jersey by the 1820s. In 1822, a group of Quakers formed the Association for the Care of Coloured Orphans (ACCO), which established the shelter to offer a full array of services to Black Americans including living quarters, meals, personal hygiene and medical care, education, and access to apprenticeship programs for teenagers. A few years later, Charles Coleman purchased one and one-half acres from local Quaker farmer Edmund Darnell in 1828, which evolved into Colemantown.The roots of Jacob's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (hereafter, A.M.E.) dates back to the 1760s with the story of a slave named Richard Allen. At the age of twenty, he converted to Christianity and began holding prayer meetings in his master's home, which convinced his master that slavery was morally unjust; Allen gained his freedom. Allen eventually became a minister and planted his first Black church in 1794, located in Philadelphia. Allen, along with other Black ministers, faced difficulties in securing locations to worship. Thus, in 1816, Allen founded the A.M.E denomination, joined by sixteen Black churches in Baltimore and Philadelphia. Records indicated that as early as 1824, Evesham had its first A.M.E congregation with forty-two members. The Evesham A.M.E moved to Colemantown in roughly 1840 and subsequently built (or procured) a meetinghouse. Evesham A.M.E existed as a stop along the Underground Railroad, mainly organized by William Still, son of escaped slaves Charity and Levin Still (before the establishment of the Underground Railroad). Most of the Still family was buried at the church's cemetery. By the time of the Civil War, the congregation grew substantially, requiring its members to erect a new chapel. Led by its new pastor, Jacob Mitchell, who arrived in 1866, construction finished on the chapel in 1867. After its completion, the Evesham/Mount Laurel A.M.E. Church became known as "Jacob's Chapel."More recently, the Jacob's Chapel A.M.E. Church is also directly connected to the landmark Mount Laurel exclusionary zoning lawsuits in 1975 and 1983, decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court in which Jacob's Chapel members were principal plaintiffs. The rulings significantly influenced fair-housing policies nationwide and limited the use of exclusionary zoning as a means of preventing the construction of affordable housing in wealthy communities. Numerous law review articles since the 1980s reference the cases, and the editors of Planning and Environmental Law included Mount Laurel as one of the United States' most significant planning and environmental law cases. Moreover, a 2013 New York Times editorial noted, "The New Jersey Supreme Court's 1983 ruling in the Mount Laurel [II] fair-housing case is rightly regarded as one of the most important civil rights decisions of modern times."The A.M.E, Jacob's Chapel, and Colemantown emerged because African Americans needed to forge their own, supportive communities. To see the chapel today is to look back through the long journey African Americans have taken from a time of slavery through real-estate discrimination issues of the late twentieth century, sometimes literally. Indeed, the current (as of 2021) Pastor of Jacob's Chapel has ancestors connected to the Underground Railroad, of which Jabob's Chapel was a stop before the Civil War.

The Jacob's Chapel property includes the chapel constructed at the conclusion of the Civil War, a historic graveyard, and the congregation's original meeting house and school built in 1840. The property stands as a monument to Colemantown, an African American town created mainly by freed slaves, and the creation of the American Methodist Episcopal denomination that served Philadelphia and Baltimore Black churches.  In addition to serving the Black community, the church existed as part of the Underground Railroad and, during the twentieth century, was a principal player in two landmark real-estate court cases that ostensibly worked to stop exclusive residential zoning laws. After a period of vacancy, Jacob's Chapel has been renovated and again serves the community as a member of the A.M.E.

Jacob's Chapel A.M.E. Church 

Farmer's Hall (sometimes spelled Farmers' Hall) stood as the center of cultural and civic life for much of Mount Laurel's history, serving the town from 1866 to 1969. Indeed, the hall opened six years before the incorporation of the city in 1872. From 1866 to 1904, the Farmer's Protective Club, who built the hall, used it for meetings and events, both one's they hosted and by other civic groups. In 1904, Mt. Laurel took ownership of the building and used it as its town hall until 1969. Farmer's Hall personifies local Quaker Architectural conservatism with its simple Greek Revival design, which is in sharp contrast to the ornate architecture of the 1860s. Thus, the simple design speaks more to the people who built it more than the style or period. David Parnell, one of the Farmer's Protective Club founders (the group that built the hall), donated the land to Mount Laurel. Farmer's Hall was built directly across from <a href="https://www.theclio.com/entry/126789" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Evesham Meeting House </a>(circa 1760) and adjacent to the original Quaker school (now altered). Within ten years, the club consisted of 110 life members. However, the building ultimately served the entire community in various ways, including a meeting place for the Lodge of Good Templars and the Mount Laurel Pursuing and Detection Society (the town's first form of policing). As well, the Progressive Farmers Club sponsored two annual exhibitions at the hall. In 1904, the Farmers Club donated the building to the township to use as the Mount Laurel Town Hall, which it did until 1969 when Mount Laurel municipal offices moved into a new complex of buildings two miles "up the road" toward Moorestown.Construction of a new town hall in 1969 left Farmer's Hall vacant, and in 1972, locals established The Mount Laurel Historical Society to save Farmer's Hall from demolition. Today, the Historical Society of Mount Laurel leases the building from Mount Laurel Township; they have spend decades renovating and restoring the building. In addition to its modern function as the home to the historical society, it stands as a monument to the town's early history when Farmer's Hall served a village with a little more than 1,000 people, mainly Quakers.

Farmer's Hall opened its doors to a Mount Laurel in 1866, six years before the village formally incorporated as a city. The Farmer's Protective Club built and operated the building until 1904 before the town took over and used it as its Town Hall until 1969. But, over the entire span, from 1866 to 1969, it served the town in various ways, from meetings and political events to social occasions. Both the police and post office used the building for a time, too. Its current occupant, the Mount Laurel Historical Society,  organized in 1972 with the goal of saving Farmer's Hall from demolition. The building's architecture speaks to its original Quaker builders, with a simple design that differed from many of the ornate structures emerging in the wake of the Civil War. 

Farmer's Hall

The Evesham Friends Meeting House is a quintessential Quaker meetinghouse with typical eighteenth-century Quaker architecture. Built in 1760, it is the second oldest meeting house in Burlington County (local Quakers continue to use it for services). Today, the meeting house sits in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, a village that was once part of Evesham. There exists some evidence that when the British Army came through town in 1778, General Henry Clinton and his troops used the meeting house as a command center. In 1676, Thomas Eves, an Englishman, purchased a large tract of land, which he sold in 1693 to his daughter Elizabeth Hanke and her husband, William Evans, a Quaker Minister. They helped settle 300 acres of land that would serve as the genesis of Evesham Township; the township incorporated in 1692. William and Elizabeth hosted the area's first Friends meeting in their home in 1694 and then built the first meetinghouse in 1698. Decades later, in 1760, the Monthly Meeting of Evesham organized, and the subsequent construction of the historic structure began. The building consists of a locally quarried stone exterior and an interior abounding in wooden pews and vertically sliding partitions in the center that could divide the space into two rooms, typical of larger Quaker meeting houses during the era. In the tradition of Quaker philosophy, the woodwork and detailing exude simplicity. A split among the Quakers led to an expansion of the meetinghouse in 1798; the Orthodox Friends met in the older eastern end, while the Hicksite Friends held their meetings in the newer western part. In fact, a divider that hung on weights and pulleys separated the two ends when necessary. The Meeting House also has a place in military history. Though Quakers are pacifists and generally did not take sides during the Revolutionary War, the Quaker meeting house sat in the direct path of marching British troops in June 1778. Under General Henry Clinton's command, the British army occupied Philadelphia from September 26, 1777, until June 18, 1778, when they decided to march towards New York City. By June 19, and during a heavy rainstorm, they camped in Evesham. (A few days later, they met George Washington's troops, who left Valley Forge, and fought them at the Battle of Monmouth, the longest continuous battle of the war.) Though sources are not clear as to if they used the meeting house, they did camp on the property, and given the rain and general habits of the military of the day, it seems likely they used the building (at least the officers). Its tiny existence as an actor within the Revolutionary War story aside, the home today stands not only as a part of Evesham's (and Mount Laurel's) history but of the Quakers' influence in what is now New Jersey's Philidelphia suburbs (and much of New England). As they did in Evesham, Quakers routinely settled areas that evolved into incorporated towns and cities. Though cathedrals associated with Roman Catholics and other religions may offer more impressive architecture, the simplistic nature of Friends Meeting Houses reflects their beliefs and the societies they cultivated.

Constructed in 1760, Evesham Friends Meeting House serves as a reminder of the influence of Quakers in Evesham and Mount Laurel's history. The roots of this meetinghouse can be traced back to English immigrant Thomas Eves who purchased a large tract of land that he sold in 1693  to his daughter Elizabeth Hanke and her husband, William Evans, a Quaker Minister. The simple architecture speaks to the Quaker faith and the culture they produced. The meeting house also has a small part in military history as General Clinton and his British troops camped on the property one night after vacating Philadelphia on their way to a battle with George Washington's troops. 

Medford to Mount Laurel New Jersey Driving Tour

Air Victory Museum

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