The Kay-Evans House @ Croft Farm - Cherry Hill, NJ - New Jersey Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Long Description:

The centerpiece of Croft Farm is the 16-room farmhouse. Built in several stages, the original section of the house was erected in 1753 by Issac Kay and exists today as the dining room, "tight winder" staircase and the primary facade facing Evan's Pond.

Through the years, the farmhouse has gone through many changes, including the addition of rooms on the northern side of the house in 1816. This changed the orientation of the home away from the pond and toward the road, a symbolic and functional acknowledgement of the development of roads and new transportation lines in Southern New Jersey.

It was reported by a descendent of Thomas Evans that Croft Farm "was one of the stations to which runaway slaves were brought. The slaves came from Woodbury and were received by Thomas Evans, then quickly hidden in the attic of the house so that no one could find them. Then, in the middle of the night, they would be given something to eat and hurried off in a covered wagon to Mount Holly, where they were received and hidden again." No one knows for sure how many people on the underground railroad were housed and fed at Croft Farm.

Records show that Josiah Evans arranged to purchase the freedom of two fugitive slaves, Joshua Sadler and Jefferson Fisher, rather than have them picked up by a bounty hunter. They remained at the mill, working to repay Evans for his kindness. Sadler went on to become the leader of a small settlement of freed slaves who established "Sadlertown" in what is now Haddon Township.

In the 1920s, with the once flourishing saw and grist mills no longer functioning, the Evans family sold the land to John W. Croft, Jr. who, along with assistant Thomas McCargo, farmed the land until 1981.

In 1985, the Croft family sold the 80-acre property to Cherry Hill Township. In 1995, a new era began as the Cherry Hill Arts Center was dedicated on the grounds of Croft Farm.

Marker Name: The Kay-Evans House Marker Type: Local? Unofficial Marker text: The Kay-Evans House at Croft Farm dates to the mid 18th century when Isaac Kay, a prominent West Jersey settler, built a two-story brick dwelling to accompany his burgeoning milling establishment on the banks of the Cooper River. Subsequent owner Thomas Evans, and his son Josiah, expanded the house and their milling and farming businesses on the site in the mid-1800s. The Evanses were active quaker abolitionists and used their property as a station along the underground railroad, assisting runaway slaves traveling north to freedom. In 1925, John W. Croft, Jr. purchased the property, abandoning the obsolete milling industry on the site in favor of a more lucrative farming business. Listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places in 1999, the Kay-Evans House at Croft Farm represents Cherry Hill Township's early industrial, agricultural and social history. The main farmhouse also illustrates the evolution of major architectural styles over three centuries. The Kay-Evans House and Croft Farm property are owned and operated by Cherry Hill Township. Funding the exterior restoration of the Kay-Evans House has been made possible in part by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust administered buy the New Jersey Historic trust, State of New Jersey. Dedication Date: 01/01/2006 City: Cherry Hill County: NJ Group responsible for placement: Cherry Hill Freeholders Web Link: [Web Link]

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