Tag Archives: history
Halloween For The Kids At Griffith Morgan House
Halloween comes to old Griffith Morgan House in a big way! On Sunday, Oct. 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., crafts and spooky lore of the season will join with tasty treats and a visit from our special guest, the Jersey Devil, for an eerie day of historic fun! Pumpkins to decorate, legends to tell and an old house to explore! What could be better? Admission, tours and parking are free. Some activities may charge a nominal fee to help defray the cost. Click here for more information.
A Special Postage Stamp For Labor Day, 1956
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian
Since the invention of the first postage stamps in the United Kingdom in the 1840, an innovation adopted by the United States since 1847, a veritable gallery of art and history in the form of a practically useful commodity has been available to the public for a few pennies. Nevertheless, only the true enthusiasts, collectors, and scholars of philately, the study of postage stamps, fully appreciate the beauty and value of these tiny scraps of paper.
An example of the art and history embodied in a postage stamp happens to link to an icon of our local history: the three-cent, Labor Day issue of 1956.
Open House Of Historic Home Held On July 3
The Historic Burrough-Dover House, 9201 Burrough-Dover Ln., will hold an open house on Sunday, July 3 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The 305-year-old home will be open for tours. Admission and parking is free. For more information on this and other events, visit the Pennsauken Historical Society’s Facebook page.
Revolutionary War Colonial Militia To Muster At Historic Griffith Morgan House
The first Sunday in June at historic Griffith Morgan House will bring to life a muster of the colonial militia when the 11th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia performs drills and prepares to take on the “lobster-backs” of the British army in the fight for independence! On Sunday, June 5, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., the re-enactors of the 11th Pennsylvania will perform drills and recruit new soldiers, while the women of the regiment prepare a meal for their brave soldiers at the hearth of Griffith Morgan House and perform the other domestic tasks so important to support the men in the field. This day of living history on the level of the common soldier of the Revolution will also feature free tours of the historic colonial home of the Morgan family and access to the museum of local history.
Pennsauken Historical Society Holds Spring Festival May 21
On Saturday, May 21 the Pennsauken Historical Society will host its annual Spring Festival from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the historic Burrough-Dover House, located at 9201 Burrough Dover Ln. in Pennsauken.
The event features free tours of the Burrough-Dover House and the Joseph E. Fitzpatrick Nostalgia Museum; corn husk doll making; tin punch demonstrations; and live music by the band “Warm Hearted Country.” In addition to a bake sale, snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/PennsaukenHistoricalSociety.
Griffith Morgan House Celebrates First Sundays, Colonial Earth Day
Historic Griffith Morgan House, located at 243 Griffith Morgan Ln., is holding special open house events on the first Sunday of April and May.
The spring season had special resonance for our colonial and early American ancestors in the days before we could seek out the sun’s warmth by hopping a flight to Florida. Many early signs marked the slow return of the sun to our climes: the lengthening days, the sprouts emerging from frozen soil, and also the bounteous return of the anadromous shad to spawn in the Delaware River. The fishermen of Pea Shore were always eager and ready for this most satisfying rite of spring! In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mohican Club, located near Griffith Morgan House, hosted abundant planked shad roasts for the delight of its membership. On Sunday, April 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., the historic hearth of Griffith Morgan House will glow with a demonstration of the delectable seasonal fish roasting at the open fire during its next “First Sunday” event! Learn of the economic, recreational, and environmental importance of this fishery, its decline, and the slow rebound of a remarkable marine resource.
Griffith Morgan House Hosts Second Annual Welsh Heritage Celebration
Though a tiny nation, Wales played an out-sized role in the settlement of the Delaware Valley and the founding of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Among the early colonists of West New Jersey was a Welsh mariner named Griffith Morgan, who settled his family at the mouth of Pennsauken Creek in 1693. On Sunday, March 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., historic Griffith Morgan House will cast its eyes back across the Atlantic to the native land of Wales with food, music, folklore and history of the Welsh.
Skeletal Discoveries At Griffith Morgan House
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian
Five years after Pennsauken Township was created, a macabre mystery was literally unearthed at our own historic Griffith Morgan House, situated in the community known then as Morris Station. Evanescent as a specter, what was then revealed is subject only to theory and imagination.
Well Into Their Nineties, Pennsauken Residents Going Strong
By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
In the last few months, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of speaking with some very, very longtime residents: 99-year-old Pete Heckers, and 96-year-old Eleanor Seaver. The lives they’ve lived and the stories they tell give us a unique snapshot of Pennsauken’s past.
Reflection On A 20-Year Community Friendship With The Pennsauken Library
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian
Unless you are a teenager, or not much past, 20 years doesn’t seem to be a very historic period of time looking back. On the other hand, yesterday’s news is already history. It all depends on perspective and the relative significance of events. Measured by these factors, the founding of the Friends of Pennsauken Free Public Library is historic, because of the fundamental worth to our community of the Library itself. In these years of challenge for our local public institutions, it is all the more so.
