den's Maple Shade History Website

History of Maple Shade, NJ. First settled by the Society of Friends as part of West Jersey, it was part of the Township of Chester, together with Moorestown and Lenola. For its first 200 years it was mostly farmland. In the 1900's it was developed with Barlow built bungalows and later ranchers and apartments. Today it is a surburban township to Philadelphia with a Main Street through its center, alot of good people, churches and organizations all giving it a Hometown warmth.


Matlack Family Historians
Asa Matlack Notes
Examine the Township Website
You and Archiving
Maple Shade Historical Society:

Corrections to Arcadia book
200th Birthday Anniversary
Township Historical Sites:
The Maple Shade Train Station
The Collins Lane House
Chesterford School
Old Burl. County District Schools
Pioneer Families:

Thorne Family and Perry Frisby
Roberts-Lippincott-Mason farmhouse
From Farmland to Suburb:

Maple Shade Village- A German Town
1916 Large Landowners
Maple Shade Timeline 1900-1950



Stores and Business:

The Two Brickyards
Pre- William Frech Co.
Frech Wagon Interview
Coat Factory- Municipal Bldg.
Maple Shade Industries
Barlow Mansion Over Years
Villa Capri Fire
Maple Shade Gambling Casino
Links to Other Websites-

Phil's Camden, NJ Website
West Jeresy Project Website

densdoor YouTube
den's Webshots Photos

Air Victory Museum
Alice Paul Institute
Jack Allen Memorial Early Country Living Museum
Burlington County Historical Society
Burlington County Historian
Camden County Historical
Evesham Township Nostalgia
Griffith Morgan House
Maple Shade Alumni
Maple Shade Historical Society?
Moorestown Historical Society
N.J. State Archives
Historic Pemberton Train Station
Pennsauken Historical Society
Prison Museum (Mt. Holly)
Old NJ Maps- Rutgers
Villanova Library 1877 Atlas
Search the NJ Mirror



1853 Smith map of Philadelphia and Vicinity (Maple Shade area)

Has things from 1849 Smith And Wistar map (I think Otley and White surveys) like K. Burrough for "Collins Lane house." It would actually be Stiles for 1853.

Hi everyone interested in Maple Shade, NJ history. As you probably know I had an extensive history website up for about 5 years that I took down a year ago or so. Well Iam still researching here and there and am still in the Maple Shade Historical Society. Where are you???

OK enjoy some history and come out to the events!!!
-Dennis Weaver


Maple Shade Historical Society Events-
 
 
Hi Den:
Here are a few activities that are going on in the next two weeks.
Rich
 
 
1. Saturday October 17th 1:00pm at North Pine ave and Main Street a dedication of the new street sign is being made for Bob Sauselein. 
 
2. Saturday October 17th 2:00pm at the Train Station Allen Hauss will be the guest speaker talking about his book on South Jersey Movie Houses.      
 
3. Saturday October 24th 8:00am All are invited to help with clean-up, painting, lawn work and misc. chores at the Historic Collins Lane House, 57 Collins Lane.
 
4. Saturday October 31th 8:00am All are invited to help with clean-up, painting, lawn work and misc. chores at the Historic Collins Lane House, 57 Collins Lane.


Haunted House (Prison)

open many nights this month of October at Mt. Holly. (Plenty of nearby parking in court parking lots.) A good scare for you and the kids and learn history abit as well! I think second oldest remaining prison in US. And designed by man who designed other famous structures.

Prison Museum (Mt. Holly)

Past Historical Society
 
The Cutler family is probably mostly responsible for alot of structure and way was for years.
 
Had two "programs." well 3 -
 
Maple Shade: Past and Present-
A slide show of varying length shown by Arthur Cutler, or Edith (Mrs. Charles Cutler) then Joe Dugan, of old Maple Shade pictures to which you roughly followed notes and narrated.
 
Maple Shade: Before Electricity-
Edith Cutler, etc...
This would suplement the School childrens trips to the Little Red School House and help teach about the past. A start would be to ask the kids what things they use at home that use electricity then to show how it was different by showing a lantern, ice tongs, a wash board, hand tools, coal stove, etc...
 
3- would be the teaching of Maple Shade history at Schoolhouse with "Electricity talk interwoven slightly or not nmuch or the start. Telling about How school was back then and about the few town residents then who lived on farms (plantations) and early fire dept, etc...
 

 
Lately besides Meetings with speakers, we have open houses , currently at the Train Station on Parade or Main Street Event days such as 4th of July, and Christmas Main Street night.
And are working on Collins Lane house (town is slow progressing on, I heard new windows and doors are being ordered.)
 

 
Arthur (ed's younger brother, and Edith parker Cutler, wife of Charles Cutler the son of Ed Cutler, didnt know many things we know now.
 
Stiles Corners and train station was never moved.
Off dates on alot of farmhouses.
Emmanuel Beagary She kinda knew about and prob was first teacher at Chesterford School.
School built 1811 but 1812 prob first full year of use.
Iam seeing school yrs were longer then like 10 months!
 
Anyhow......
We have to get the classromms visiting again cause who else will continue the Maple Shade Historical Society if nobody gets interested. etc....
 
-Dennis


New Page in the works-


Asa Matlack Notes

Travels and Events of Nathan Perkins Book-


I skim read this the other night.
 
Meaning ran eyes across each page and only read parts I am interested in.
 
 
Nathan Perkins Farm is on N. Coles Ave. It was called Evergreen Terrace at least in his later yrs. In 1908 obit.
 
N. Clinton Ave. was named Evergreen and Terrace Ave is still Terrace Ave. as per the subdivision plan.
 
His father had nursery business in Moorestown (Perkins Memorial area.) and the family is related to the French family.
 
DeOlliers last owned Perkins Memorial before Twp. and followed wish of Perkins (related) DeOlliers gave 100,000 to Moorestown Friends in about 1970. (figure what that equals today!)
 
Anyhow
 
Jan 1874 he says he leaves Maple Shade which if this was a diary would be extremely important. AS Maple Shade Station was named that by Railroad in June 1874. Of course the area might have been called this and R.R. copying not originating the name. Nathan can be talking from "time he wrote book" so not as important.
 
Nathan's son Charles became a doctor, His younger son John went into business in Philly or Camden with his brother but then got sick. Nathan BTW had a cough sickness that sometimes layed him up at home.
 
Nathan was involved in real estate buying, selling and even developing (built some houses in Camden!)
He first raised trees on farm but then went to orchards and strawberries etc...
 
He had several people hired to look after farm while he was away. The first ones all fired for not doing well enough. Finally the black guy did good.
 
Nathan traveled a few trips to Cuba and talked about the slaves on Sugar Cane plantations. He would go to bed at night and still hear them singing as they worked until late. Other stories of Civil War and slaves in South.
 
He was robbed twice. One time Ellisburg by bandits with a gun. Police came by with no guns so did nothing. Another time in Merchantville are and cut across the face which left a scar.
 
Anyhow alot of interesting pages in there.
-den
 
 
http://books.google.com/books?id=FaEUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Nathan+Perkins+Travels+and+Events#v=onepage&q=&f=false




Maple Shade Historical Society table at the 2009 Sidewalk Sale.


New Page-


Maple Shade Village- A German Town


Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 9:51 PM
Subject: Thoughts

Two good studies here.
 
One William Matlack was an Indentured Servant to Daniel Wills- You will find about 5 or 6 books that say this
Including one(s) by Matlack family. Chalkley's "Retrospect of Colonial Times in Burlington County"
 
OR William Matlack was an Indentured servant to Thomas Ollive- Its in Moorestown And Her Neighbors and in Matlack book(s) and other places.   One account says a paper stated He was to Wills but because Thomas Ollive was land commissioner and acted to give the 100 acres of land that there is the misyunderstanding.
 
Third view is that he served both- Even DeCou in Burlington book I think says this and Tale of Three Towns goes that way.
 
William was a carpenter so I would imagine even if he was indentured to Daniel Wills , he would have helped Thomas Ollive build his Mill etc...
 
 
Basically Daniel Wills, and Thomas Ollive were in Co- hoots.
Thomas Hooton was also close and John Roberts etc... which brings next THOUGHT TOPIC
 
Hooton a Tallow Chandellor (candle maker) and other trades now had 100s acres and were supposed to now be "farmers"
This book would indicate a lack of farming and perhaps most of their land in 1700s was woods they hunted game in.
 
I know the ASA MAtlack text of a landing on Rudderow's land in early 1800s mentions the "landing of ashes" It was around 1811 or 1812 that they started using the Marl in Marlton as fertilizer.
When Heulings had Fork Landing starting in 1840s or whenever they had boats of lime come in for fertilizer.
 
-dennis
 


Starting to work on neglected stuff-

I just added the John S. Collins section to the Collins Lane House page.

The Collins Lane House




Good Map Website-


Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia from actual surveys, Smith, 1853

http://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/view-image.cfm/HSF.D2G16/geo-images/HSF/HSF.D2G16.ecw

A wrong name, as it is Smith getting "milage" out of older surveys, is "Collins Lane House"- Keturah or Kitturah Burrough house would now be Benjamin Stiles. Perry Frisby died and that is why its H. Frisby. This is a close map to the 1849 Smith and Wistar map of Burlington County!

A Few Old Pics-

I put a few pics up here.
 
I know Fred Olt wanted his pics seen.
 
Also primary motivation is new pic of Memorial from Barbour family.
 
I THINK that they didn't get enough funds to build the Memorial Community House so they at least built this Memorial, used by VFW / American Legion.
 
-dennis
 
 
 
http://community.webshots.com/album/573700079fDLpfS?vhost=community

New Pages in the works-

Maple Shade Bungalow Dates

Interesting Houses of Maple Shade

Get the popcorn out!

I put the "History of the Collins Lane House" DVD movie up on Youtube in 5 parts. This movie is on occasion available in a higher quality DVD format from the Maple Shade Historical Society at a reasonable cost!
Enjoy!

You will need a high speed connection to view the movie. If you don't have one visit a library.


densdoor YouTube movies





I won two "Honorable Mentions" at the
2009 Historical Awards presented by the Burlington County Freeholders!

"Moorestown- Out In The Country, The 1940s & 1950s Airport Road Area"
is a short book coordinated by me interviewing residents, primarily farmers, and researching old newspapers on microfilm.

My Mother, as well as several of my Aunts and Uncles were involved in the area as well, living with my Grandparents, or nearby, as farmers or tenant farmers. The Moorestown Airport was on what is now called Westfield Road, and closed mostly due to the new Moorestown High School and was the second oldest airport in New Jersey. This can be read at the Moorestown Historical Society or Moorestown Library, or contact me for a copy on cd rom (50 cents).

A DVD movie slide show was made by me for an important Maple Shade Historical meeting celebrating the "200th Anniversary of a 21st Birthday." It tells the history of the "Collins Lane house," the informal name due to it being a tenant farmer house for John S. Collins, developer of Miami Beach Florida, and his son Lester, for apple orchards. Further back though it was owned and rented out by Samuel Burrough of Evesham (even after he died by an Executor of his will) with a portion of the rents of this and another plantation to go to "the building of a meeting house for the Friends at or near Cropwell School." (2009) This was until August 1808 when Samuel Burrough Jr. turned 21 years old and got all the plantations.

-Dennis Weaver
Collins Lane house undergoing restoration

The Collins Lane house undergoing restoration in 2009.


  den's email addy is densdoor@verizon.net

This website back in limited format as of Feb. 14, 2009. Be sure to attend all Maple Shade Historical Society events as well as those events of surrounding historical societies that you might be interested in. -den

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