Griffith Morgan House - Pennsauken, NJ
N 39° 59.422 W 075° 02.896
18S E 495879 N 4426689
Although not the traditional community center, the historical society that maintains this early colonial home of the Morgan family, now uses it as a community center for celebrating the history of Pennsauken, Camden County, and the region.
Waymark Code: WMHWVF
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2013
Views: 3
Where the Pennsauken Creek flows into the Delaware River stands an old stone farmhouse--for over 300 years. The colonial home of the Morgan family is now a community center for celebrating the history of Pennsauken, Camden County, and the region. At the Griffith Morgan House living history, re-enactments, educational programs, craft demonstrations, community events, field trips and tours by appointment help us to fulfill our historical mission in service to the public. The Griffith Morgan Committee is an all volunteer, non-profit organzation that has undertaken the preservation and restoration of the Griffith Morgan House, ca. 1693, and its use as a historic resource for the community. SOURCE
This house was built in 1693 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1973. The house is surrounded by large warehouses on either side accompanied by several pieces of larger, yellow metal machines, some trailers, a few noisy generators and workers in tank tops milling about with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths. Such is the scene for our county's oldest house.
The house appears it was built in two stages as one half is obviously older than the other half which appears to have been added on in the 19th century. The house was built in the Queen Anne style of architecture. Situated on a homestead that was continuously inhabited from 1693 to the 1960s, the Griffth Morgan House celebrates three centuries of community history in its third-story museum (above). Many descendants of the Morgan family live as far away as Texas and California but stay in touch and have donated heirlooms to the museum. SOURCE
Dating to about 1715 and once attached to a structure that was built in 1693, the Griffith Morgan is one of the oldest stone houses in Camden County. It offers open-hearth cooking demonstrations in the fall and a popular "Mother's Day Tea" each May. Located off River Road near the Betsy Ross Bridge, the house stands near the intersection of the Delaware River and Pennsauken Creek.
Restored as a community project in the 1970s and maintained by the Griffith Morgan Committee, the house's special events are staffed by docents in period dress. Gary Smith, a Quaker from the Delair section of Pennsauken, above left, explains the Quaker history of the house and era. Gloria Oliver, above right, leads tours through the kitchen. SOURCE
The Griffith Morgan House is open to the public for a number of special events during the year but does not have scheduled weekly hours. The facility accommodates school and other groups by appointment. For additional information, contact:
Kay Rudderow kayrudd@aol.com
Griffith Morgan Committee
P.O. Box 522
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
856-665-1948