Mount Laurel Grange #6 - Mt. Laurel, NJ
N 39° 56.050 W 074° 53.502
18S E 509253 N 4420456
As the number six suggests, this was one of the first Grange Halls in NJ and the USA. Now defunct, the building, as well as its history, is a reminder of our agrarian roots and the debt we owe to our founding farmers.
Waymark Code: WM66BR
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2009
Views: 8
This site is known as Farmer's Hall and is on the National Register of Historic Places. I only learned it was a Grange Hall after interviewing some members of the Mt. Laurel Friends Meeting, located caddy corner and across the street. Built in 1866 by the Farmers Progressive Club, the hall was used in the past for the annual election of town officers. It served as the town hall from 1904 to 1969. The hall is now used as a museum after its restoration in 2002.
The following comes form the town's historical society site:
"The Old Town Hall is another building of significance. The Farmer's Progressive Club built it in 1866; hence it was called Farmers Hall. Following the incorporation of Mount Laurel in 1872, Farmer's Hall was used for annual election of Town officers. It was used as the official Town Hall from 1904 till 1969. Mount Laurel Township is currently in the process of restoring Farmer's Hall, which is located directly across the street from the Friends Meeting House at the base of the Mount." SOURCE
Architecturally Speaking
"The hall itself is a very simple, vernacular building. It is of no particular style, although the shallow pitched roof suggests Greek Revival or Italianate influences. The entrance is through a central door on the east side. There is one large room on the first floor, with small rooms in the corners, and another small room in a lean-to at the rear. Another entrance in the north side leads to a stairhall. Over this door, in the gable, is a semicircular plaque, which reads "MOUNT LAUREL 1866". At either end of the stairhall, winding stairs lead to the single large meeting room on the second floor. This was heated by a stove, the chimney for which rises above the roof ridge at the south end of the building." SOURCE
The Mt. Laurel historical society also meets there on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (except in July and August), @ 7:30pm at Farmers Hall. Farmers Hall is located at the intersection of Hainesport Mt. Laurel Road and Moorestown Mt. Laurel road. The building is open the fourth (4th) Sunday of every month from 1-4:00 pm.
Contact
President, Mt. Laurel Historical Society
Fran Daily, 856-235-2334
Finally, if you go HERE, Mt. Laurel's historical places have their own very comprehensive webpage. There is enough information there many waymarks. It provides additional information that the old timer did mot know about. Check it out!