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OLD MEDFORD TROLLEY ROUTETHE JOHN HAINES HOUSEINDIAN CHIEF TAVERNLOCAL TOWN NAMES AND POSSIBLE MEANINGSBRIEF BURLINGTON COUNTY HISTORYTHE FARMING INDUSTRY IN MEDFORD
Jones Road Left onto 70 West, right onto Jennings Road Right onto Hartford Rd., right onto Church Road. Left onto Fostertown U–turn at business across street; left on Church Road Right onto Eayrestown Rd., becomes Branin Rd., right on Chapel, left on Stokes Left on Himmelein Right on Christopher's Mill, right on Georgia Trail, right on Hartford, left on Himmelein; left on Mill Left on Main Left on Union This is the oldest house still standing in the Medford area and was the farmstead of Jonathan Haines. The Land was known as the Friendship Tract, and was patented to the builder's father in l683. The house was built in three sections. The brick portion was built in l720 with the frame section added about l808 on foundations believed to be those of the original cabin built by John Haines in l695. The Haines family established the milling community nearby first known as Haines Mill, and later changing with the ownership of the business to Kirby's Mill. The son of Richard Haines, John Haines preceded the family by two years and lived in a cave on "Haines Bank" on the south branch of the Rancocas. As water transportation was the best way to travel then, the Haines Creek area was the first settled by the Quakers who pushed out from Burlington. When these thrifty Quakers cut the trees, they sawed them into lumber, floated them in rafts and this lumber was assembled at Lumberton for loading onto larger craft for exporting to Philadelphia and beyond. Hence, lumber was the first product of Medford soil of commercial significance. John Haines was somewhat literate at a time when the typical farmer could not even sign his name. His will shows his signature, although those of his brothers only crosses or marks. The first clue to agricultural commerce other than lumber is in his will: he bequeathed to his grandson his hay landing. It is very likely that John Haines exported hay to Philadelphia, no simple matter. Hay had to be cut by hand with a sickle; dried in the sun and then raked by hand. Hay continued to be a solid agricultural product in this area for many generations. By 1815, Medford Village had over 20 houses and several businesses. The Indian Chief Tavern was built in l8l0 by Richard Reeve, the cabinetmaker. The building has been restored by Frank Salicondro. The tavern was operated by Samuel Hartman from l780 to 1824, after which his widow operated it for a year and then Stacy Kirkbride took over during the heyday of the stagecoach. Stages would arrive from Philadelphia via Marlton Pike and Shinntown Road. The line ran from Vincentown through Medford, Marlton, Ellisburg and Camden. Around l847, the innkeeper was Jacob Leeds. Stagecoaches at that time were post coaches consisting of three transverse seats, each holding three persons. The front seat passengers rode backwards. A tenth passenger could ride outside with the driver. The tavern had a stable with 20 stalls, a 100 foot shed built in l852, a wood house and an ice house. In bad weather, horses and wagons wore deep ruts in the road, often becoming bogged down in the mire. It was decided that trees shorn of their branches and laid side by side parallel to the road would improve conditions, and Medford had its first pole road, even though the road was a bit bumpy! If you were to stand on this corner on a summer evening about 75 years ago you would have seen numerous teams of horses pulling wagons loaded with produce headed for Philadelphia. They came from the north and south on Main, rounded the corner onto Union, and proceeded down Old Marlton Pike. Local Town Names and Possible Meanings Absegami - native meaning "little sea" Assicunk - native meaning "place of clay" Atsion - native meaning "Indians nearby" Batsto - native meaning "bathing place" Buckingham - by/after John Buckingham Burlington - first Provincetown, then Bridlington. The latter being a town near York, England. The named has been changed over the years. Chairville - for the chair factory located there, long defunct Cinnaminson - Senaminseng - native meaning "sweet water" Columbus - after Christopher Dealware Township – Later name changed to Cherry Hill Township Evesham - named after the Eves family that first settled there Florence- named for daughter of one of the town's founder Fort Dix - first Camp Dix after Civil War General John Adams Dix Gravel Switch - from being a switch station on RR from which sand was shipped Marlton - named for the abundance of marl pits once located in the area McGuire AFB - for WWII pilot Major Thomas B. McGuire Medford - taken from Medford, Massachusetts, said to have been suggested by Charles Read after he visited there. Also was sometimes known as Shinntown and after areas of the current township. Mount Laurel - taken from the "mount", land bought by the Evans family in 1693, first called Mount Pray New Freedom - for emancipation Pindasenakun, Pindachsenacan, Pindassenakun, and Poensinghacking – Tobacco pouch, name later changed to Pennsauken (Camden County) Rancocas - native meaning "many kinsmen" Roebling - named for John A. Roebling, a Prussian immigrant, and designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Shamong - native meaning "place of horn" Vincentown - named for Vincent Leeds as Vincent's Town, then Vincenttown after which a T was dropped. Whitesbog - for J. J. White, cranberry innovator BRIEF BURLINGTON COUNTY HISTORY The lines of the old London and Yorkshire Tenths were first laid down in 1681, and that year has sometimes been named as a beginning date for the County. The formal County alignment and naming came later, under this Act of the West Jersey Assembly dated from Burlington in May, 1694: "Be it further enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives in this present Assembly... that the two distinctions or divisions heretofore the first and second Tenths be laid into one County, named and henceforth to be called the County of Burlington." This early year of formation points to the fact that, paradoxically enough, the County became an entity almost a century earlier than the State and Nation of which it is today a part. The early boundaries, extending from the "Pindasenakun" on the south to the Assunpink or "Falls of Delaware" (later Trenton) on the north, were next amplified by naming eastward bounds "from the mouth of Little Egg Harbour River along the seacoast to the line... between East and West New Jersey." The County was therefore once far-flung to the sea, and it has been diminished somewhat in the course of time. The formation of Mercer County in 1838 carried the northerly boundary south, to Crosswicks Creek. The erection of Atlantic and Ocean Counties in 1837 and 1850 brought losses years later, after Court decisions and after, tradition says, gerrymandering in the State Legislature which took Little Egg Harbor Township to Ocean County in 1891. In 1702 the early Province of West New Jersey became - by mutual agreement among the West Jersey Proprietors, the Assembly, and the "Lords of Trade and Plantations" in England - a Crown Colony under the protection of "Gracious Queen Anne." The Queen named her cousin Edward Hyde (Lord Cornbury) as the first Royal Governor. The County of Burlington became host to a long succession of such Royal Governors from 1702 until 1776; their West Jersey residence being a columned colonial mansion on the riverfront at Burlington. Burlington served as Capital of the Colony, as it had of the earlier Province, and was also the County Seat. The town's importance as a center of government continued after the Revolutionary period, until the new State Legislature, having led nomadic existence, finally settled at Trenton in 1790.
Burlington continued as the County Seat into the Federal period when, in 1795, the move to Mount Holly was voted by the electorate in hotly contested balloting. The population of the new County of Burlington in 1694 was less than 2,000 persons. Four decades later, in 1737, the colonial census named the count as: above age sixteen, 2,709; under sixteen, 2,186; slaves, 343; total 5,238. Serving such scanty numbers, County institutions emerged slowly and various functions were combined with those of the Colony at large. Thus the time-honored Burlington Court continued much as it had in provincial days, carrying jurisdiction far beyond the County bounds. When the County Coroner was eventually named, he was to serve as "the substitute for the High Sheriff" but was more ordinarily to "take inquests relative to deaths in prison, and of all violent, sudden, or casual deaths within thy County." The County Clerk was assigned multitudinous tasks, but was forbidden to "act as a Surrogate, or to practice as an Attorney." County government under original concepts and early laws was to serve as an agency of the parent Colony and later of the State, "constituted to perform certain functions of state government." The early County Surrogate, therefore, acted as a substitute for the Governor in supervising the affairs of orphans, and in the probate of wills and settlement of estates. The "Board of Justices and Freeholders of the County of Burlington" had its beginnings under enabling colonial legislation of the year 1713. County Judges shared the duties of the Board with elected Freeholders, representing every Township, until 1798. The role of the Justices having by then declined and the desire for fully elective leadership being strong, the new name under State legislation in that year became "The Board of Chosen Freeholders." The requirement for representation from every Township still prevailed and made for a large Board, becoming larger as the Townships multiplied, until 1912 when a new State law permitted reduction in Board size to a few members elected from the County at large. The term freeholder was a common but proud one in New Jersey, where land was held "free" of proprietary quitrents. In early Jersey any person owning 100 acres was considered a freeholder, and qualified to run for election to the Board. In no other State has the title "Freeholder" been carried down, across the centuries, to designate a member of a County governing body. Among the earliest Board members in Burlington County were Thomas French, Jacob Heulings, John Hollinshead, and Elios Toy, of the period 1713 to 1716. The early Board named the County Collector, to raise monies "by precepts to the Assessors of the respective Town- ships." The Board of the colonial period also named the County representatives to the West Jersey Assembly. Early and important was the County Sheriff, an elected official who dealt with crime in forthright fashion. His associates were a few "rangers" and the Township Constables - all of them traveling on horseback and "armed to the teeth." Stocks and a whipping post stood before the original Court House in Burlington, and later before the Market House at Main and Mill Streets, Mount Holly, until these devices were outlawed in 1837. Across two centuries of County history the high gallows appeared from time to time at Bordentown, Burlington, and Mount Holly; the last of some thirty hangings occurring in 1906. The census of 1830, a century and a half after the beginnings, listed 31,107 persons in Burlington County - then covering a larger area than does the County today. Of the many population explosions across the next century and a half, leading to the present, none more dramatically demonstrates growth than the figure of 45,000 for Willingboro alone, on the site of an ancient Township numbering less than 100 persons at the outset. The present County total of more than 300,000 is in itself a study in contrasts with the earlier figures for the historic County of Burlington. THE FARMING INDUSTRY IN MEDFORD Early records have listed one of the first residents of Medford as John Haines. John Haines lived in a cave on the South Branch of the Rancocas Creek called "Haines Bank". John Haines, the cave dweller, was the first recorded farmer of early Medford who could sign his name. Many of the early settlers of Medford could not even write or sign their names but, could at least make their mark (usually an X or some other simple symbol). The complication came when such signatures had to be witnessed this was done by adding their own mark, again, usually an X or other symbol. Unfortunately this makes it almost impossible to trace early inhabitants of Medford. The area along Haines Creek was first settled by the Quakers who came from the Burlington area. The clearing of the land along Haines Creek was left to the first settlers of Medford. These pioneers had to clear the land in order to plant their crops. Sometimes trees were cut down needlessly and burned. However the conservative Quakers when clearing land; cut trees, then sawed them into lumber afterwards floating the lumber down the river on rafts. After the rafts arrived in Lumberton the lumber was then loaded onto larger rafts and then floated on to Philadelphia. Lumber was one of the first major products of the soil that had commercial significance. While the clearing of woods was taking place the capacity for water retention was greatly affected. In June 1766 a board of directors was created to keep the Rancocas Creek free for transportation from Oliphant’s Mill (today’s Hartford Rd and Taunton Blvd) to Lumberton. In order to obtain this goal a toll was charged for utilizing the Rancocas for travel; the toll money was used to maintain the Rancocas, pulling out logs, sunken barges, and other obstruction. Lumbering was so profitable for the farmers that many times they did not stop removing trees when enough land had been cleared for their crops. After removal of the trees from the swamp, the water retention of the ground was gone, and this formed some of today’s lakes. Because the water retention was gone floods and erosion were more destructive. Traveling by water was now even more scarce. In 1840 twenty vessels of different kinds were traveling between Lumberton and Philadelphia. Forty years later there was only a few remaining vessels carrying freight. The growing and harvesting of hay was a product of commercial importance because of the need to feed livestock during the winter. The harvesting of hay was time consuming, back breaking work because it was harvested loose and not baled as today. When hay was to be done additional help was hired from outside sources. The Star Glass Works provided much of this needed labor force. This labor was only available because Star Glass Works shut down during the hottest months of summer. Farmers would often discuss the wage that the were willing to pay their hired help. This would often take place at where ever people gathered. The first step of hay harvesting was to cut it with a sickle, leave it to dry and then rake by hand with wooden rakes or forks, forming windrows. A flat horse drawn wagon was followed by a flat bed wagon with a man on each side. They would then pick up the bunches of hay tied together, called haycocks. Men of this time period were tough and rugged, withstanding the heat and discomfort of harvesting hay. The scratches and itching that went along with the harvesting of hay may it an undesirable back breaking chore. The type of hay called Alfalfa was not introduced into this area until sometime in the 1900's. Fifty years ago Medford and its surrounding lands were dotted with big old barns with large hay lofts for storing the loose hay. Today most of these barns with their large lofts are gone, however to one looking across the Medford countryside a few still remain. The tall cylindrical shaped silos which stored corn silage used for cow feed can also be seen dotting Medford’s countryside. Today’s dairy farmers store their silage in bunkers which are dug out hollows in the ground. This method is much cheaper than constructing tile type silos and much cheaper to maintain. After a few years of repeated farming the soil was soon tired and not producing as much as it possibly could. Unfortunately, artificial fertilizers were not available for if they had been there would never have been food or grain shortages. Since commercial fertilizers were not available a natural source of rich Marl deposits was found in Marlton. Bids were made by the farmers who were in need of the Marl to revitalize their farmland. The highest bidder got to dig up the Marl and transport it to his fields in need of the fertilizer. Many of these pits are still in existence today in the Marlton area. In April of 1807 David Peacock of Medford was granted a patent for his invention of the iron plow. Peacocks plow was made of three separate pieces and therefore easy to repair. This plow invented by Peacock was one step ahead in the modernization of farming. Even without the Peacock Plow Medford was a very prosperous area for farming.
In 1869 a railroad was formed between Medford and Mt Holly, and in 1881 a branch of the railroad ran between Camden and Atlantic. Just off Main Street was Medford's rail station. Dairy farming was also quite large in Medford and surrounding areas. Medford dairy farmers would deliver their milk to the rail station in Medford. The train would arrive in Medford and leave by 8:00 a.m. Many times the dairymen could be seen hurrying the streets to get to the train station on time. The milk cans would travel by train to Camden, and the empty milk cans would be back at the Medford station in that same evening.
The railroad was mostly responsible for the development of cranberries in Medford. Medford cranberries were shipped all over the United States and Canada. Cranberries were believed to be a prevention against scurvy when carried aboard a ship. Before refrigeration, if citrus fruit was not available, ship captains would pay as much as fifty dollars for a barrel of cranberries. The railroad made it easy to get the cranberries shipped so people began buying property for cranberry bogs. Today if you visit the Pinelands you may see some of the bogs that were not successful and sometimes what remains of their dams. Large quantities of berries were shipped out of Medford, mostly in large barrels. There was in Medford at one time almost twelve cranberry houses where the berries were sorted, packed and stored. Some of the smaller mills had gone out of business due to the lack of water power. Millponds housed some of the major cranberry development for Medford. In several cases cranberry production was not very successful. Cranberry Hall (see picture below), today the township courthouse, once housed a small sorting operation for Medford's finest berries. Israel Garwood was the inventor of a variety of cranberry called the Garwood Belle. The Medford born cranberry was unique because it was not uniform in size or color. John Hinchman of Taunton was known then as the largest cranberry bog owner in the nation, owning almost 3,000 acres of bogs. Centennial was the largest and most successful of his bogs. Mr. Hinchman hired 300-350 part time workers during the harvesting season. He also had several full time employees.
Jersey tomatoes are known across the United States and Medford played a large part in their development and production. Today farmers from nearby states purchase and import Jersey soil so that they too can reap the rewards a Jersey Tomato has to offer. Everybody wants to eat a Jersey tomato. A man by the name of Pemb Griscom supplied tomato plants to farmers by the thousands. Farmers came from Marlton, Vincentown and surrounding areas to purchase his tomato plants. Pemb lived in the last house on South Street, across from Main Street Meeting House. Pemb raised the tomato plants behind his house in hot beds. The demand for fresh Jersey tomato's was rapidly growing. Campbell Soup Company began growing Jersey tomato's at their farms in Riverton. During this time a farmer whose tomato crop produced ten tons of tomato's was considered very good. Today farmers in Medford are yielding thirty tons per acre, due in part to the fertilizers and growing techniques. Medford was also idea for growing strawberries. The sandy soil in Medford; with its high acidity was ideal for growing strawberries and still is today. Fields of eight acres or more were seen growing this juicy red fruit. In Medford vendors sold their berries three quarts for a quarter. Strawberry fields required a lot of maintenance because weeds like to grow around the berry plants. Families had problems getting their children to help with the weeding so eventually the price of the strawberries was so high only the wealthy or very well off could afford them. The fields where strawberries once grew are now the locations of apartments, or other crops which require less manpower to produce. Today if you walk in the woods or along streams during the late Spring you may find small patches of strawberry plants with their white flowers preparing to bear their red fruit. Later sometime in June these same plants will be bearing some of the juiciest berries ever. .
Information on this page has been collected form various resources. Some of them are: Medford Township website, Burlington County website, and many other publications and miscellaneous sources. |
