Pennsauken’s Historical Houses Part Of County History Week
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian
The biggest historical event in Camden County in many years is coming in October, and both Griffith Morgan House and Burrough-Dover House in Pennsauken are part of it!
Camden County History Week is a project of the Camden County History Alliance, a group formed to promote local history through cooperative projects involving the many and diverse historical sites and organizations in all parts of the County. The Camden County History Week project culminates on the weekend of Oct. 20 and 21, when literally dozens of historic sites and museums, members of the Alliance, will be open to the public simultaneously with special programs, exhibits and activities! From the Battleship New Jersey to the Winslow Township History Center, from the Railway Historical Society in Haddon Heights to the Underground Railroad Museum in Lawnside, 36 sites and organizations in Camden County will be welcoming the public!
Griffith Morgan House and Burrough-Dover House will welcome visitors both Saturday and Sunday of this history-making weekend! On Saturday, Oct. 20, 10:00 a.m. to 4: 00 p.m., Griffith Morgan House will host a hearth cook, who will prepare foods of colonial Camden County, back when it was still part of old Gloucester County; and Burrough-Dover House will be the site of participatory living history activities like butter churning, tin punching, quill pen writing, outdoor games, and more!
On Sunday, Oct. 21, noon to 4:00 p.m., both Pennsauken’s historic homes will again be open to the public. Griffith Morgan House will offer its annual “Halloween for the Kids” event, with spooky crafts, activities, and a pumpkin patch where the kids can select their own pumpkin for decorating for just $1 each while supplies last! Burrough-Dover House will host the certified wildlife rehabilitators and educators of Freedom Center for Wildlife, along with a few feathered or furry education animals from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
During this historic weekend, admission to Griffith Morgan House and Burrough-Dover House is free; parking at both sites is free; and tours of the historic homes are also free!
Additionally during that weekend, you can get a Camden County History Week passport and get it stamped as you work your way around the County’s historic sites to be entered in a drawing for some very special prizes, including a family overnight stay on Battleship New Jersey! So trek across the county and across the centuries for your chance to win!
Indian King Tavern, Pomona Hall, Walt Whitman House, Barclay Farmstead, Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum, Gabreil Daveis Tavern, Collings-Knight House, and, of course, Griffith Morgan House and Burrough-Dover House are just a few of the historic places you can visit and enjoy during Camden County History Week’s special weekend!
Don’t forget: both Burrough-Dover House and Griffith Morgan House will also be open for tours on our traditional “First Sundays” in October on the 7th and in November on the 4th, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.; admission, parking, and tours are free.
Burrough-Dover House is located at 9201 Burrough-Dover Lane, off Haddonfield Rd., opposite the Wyndam Rd. traffic light. Griffith Morgan House is located at 243 Griffith Morgan Lane, off River Rd. between Delair and Route 73.
Visit the Griffith Morgan House and Pennsauken Historical Society pages, or the group, “Pennsauken History Forum,” on Facebook for more details and directions; or call (856) 486-9561 and leave a message or e-mail pennsaukenhistoricalsociety@gmail.com. Both Burrough-Dover House and Griffith Morgan House are also open for tours, events, and research by prior appointment.
