The sign is horizontal secured in a metal frame close to the ground, next to the building. The sign reads:
Glendale Methodist Episcopal Church is the only surviving building from the mid-nineteenth century settlement of Glendale, in what was then Waterford Township. The building was constructed in 1855 for use as a Methodist Episcopal church in the upper level and a community school on the lower level. The building is the second oldest surviving public school in Camden County, and the only known example of its unusual layout as a combined church/public school in the State of New Jersey.
Separate entrances are provided for each use, with the sloping site allowing each entrance to be above grade. Furthermore, the siting allows three of the school's four walls to be windows or door openings - only the front wall, which would have been behind the teacher and would have been covered with a blackboard is blank. At the upper level, the plan is reversed; the entrance is formally centered on the front while the blank rear wall serves as a backdrop for the altar. This unique plan type and combined original use makes this site historically significant as a rare example of a building associated with mid-nineteenth century public education and with the initial settlement of Glendale.
The crossroads village of Glendale began in 1851 when Ephraim Tomlinson opened a store and post office on the west corner of what is now Haddonfield-Berlin Road and White Horse Road. Four years after the store was built, the Glendale Methodist Episcopal Church and Schoolhouse was constructed across the street. The addition of the church and school established the village as an identifiable community.
The property and stone for the foundation walls of the building were donated by Alexander Cooper, a Quaker who bequeathed forty one-hundredths of an acre to the Trustees of the Church (Joseph C. Stafford, Israel Riggins, and Nixon Davis) on November 20, 1855. The inhabitants of the village also contributed to the construction of the building with the stipulation that the lower level of the building be used as a community school and meeting place.
Prior to the Civil War, Abolitionists met in the school room. In the late 1870s and early 1800s, the famous poet Walk Whitman (1819 - 1892) spent months in the area and wrote part of "Specimen Days" here while recovering from paralysis. He is known to have visited the school and bathed in the creek behind the church.
Although the village became a prominent trading point in the late nineteenth century, it developed slowly during its first fifty years. The twentieth century brought extensive development of the area around Glendale, which became part of Voorhees Township in 1899. Circa 1920, the lower level ceased to be used as a school, but continued to serve as a community center. The two towering tulip poplar trees that flank the entrance are over 150 years old. They were threatened twice by road widening in 1987 and 1998, but the plan to cut down the trees was denied by the New Jersey Historic Sites Council. Local development has continued unabated; only the church building remains as a reminder of Glendale's early history.
Glendale Methodist Church was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1995 and on the National Register of Historic Places on August 4, 1995.
The exterior of the church was restored in 2009, funded in part by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust/State of New Jersey.
From my previous waymark:
There is some mystery as to why Cooper donated the land. One story passed down suggests that Cooper, who was opposed to alcohol, gave the land in direct response to the building of a tavern just south of the site of the proposed church. Over the years Glendale Church has served as a school and community center, as well as a house of worship. It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior.
Between 1873 and 1888 it is said that the poet, Walt Whitman often visited Glendale from his home in Camden.
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Personal Anecdote
This is a very unassuming church. I have been passing by it for 40 years, a hundred times a year, at least and never noticed it before. Recently, it underwent a rehab and now, with the huge PRESERVED sign out front, it is very noticeable. Money was secured from the Garden Stare Historic Preservation Trust Fund. There are two gigantic trees which flank the walkway to the front entrance, curbside.
Recently, the church received a grant award from the state for $148,164 (2004). The following narrative comes from the N.J. Historic Trust:
"The Greek Revival style frame church was constructed in 1855 on land donated by Quaker Alexander Cooper. Originally, the structure housed a Methodist Episcopal church on the upper level and a co-ed public school at the lower level. Originally built in the small community of Glendale, the structure survives as the oldest public school in Camden County, one of the few historic buildings in modern Voorhees, and the only property in Voorhees Township listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1920, the building ceased to be used as a school, but the lower level continued to be used for community functions. The site is a small oasis in an area of intense commercial development, at a busy intersection.
The Trust grant will help fund the stabilization of the structure to allow greater load capacity for the church and recreate the church’s 1930s appearance by reconstructing the front porch, replacing the wood clapboards and repairing windows.
"
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Contact Information
Rev. Robert Ringenwald, Pastor
615 Haddonfield-Berlin Road
Voorhees, NJ
856-428-0808