Cross Keys School - New Jersey Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The school was actually moved here in early 1986, rather than 1976 as indicated on the sign. The information at the current site also conflicts with the plaque at the original location on Dixontown road, which indicates an older date that it was built.

It is currently in front of the Medford Memorial Middle School, and the interior is restored to show the period that it was built. It is not open to the public, but is still used as a classroom to teach history at times.

The name refers to the entire area that it was located, in between the intersection of Jackson and Stokes road, and Dixontown and Stokes Road. Farmer and charcoal producer, Samuel Thackara, hired his brother-in-law, Lester Gager, to build the one-room Cross Keys School. Lumber for the 26-foot deep by 22-foot wide building cost $9.00. For more than a century Cross Keys School was located at the corner of Dixontown and Stokes Roads.

Several generations of Gager children knew the Cross Keys School as the "Knowledge Box." In 1912 the salary of Sallie Davis, their favorite teacher, was $35 per month. When the school was closed in 1920s, the students went to the new Milton H. Allen School.

Before McDonald's bought the property in 1986, the structure had been used as a home, a store and a produce stand. When the public showed strong interest in saving it, the Township had the little school moved to Mill Street. By then the windows were boarded up and it had no roof.

Marker Name: Cross Keys School #62 Marker Type: Local? Unofficial Marker text: Built by Lester Gager in 1857 at the corner of Dixontown Road, the school was moved here by the township in 1976. Former students called it the “Knowledge Box”. Dedication Date: 01/01/1986 City: Medford, NJ County: Burlington Group responsible for placement: Not listed Web Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/06/2011 trowel32 visited it