JR. OUAM, Tabernacle, NJ
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 39° 50.648 W 074° 42.692
18S E 524679 N 4410497
In 1874, the Order of Saint Mechanics built the Junior Order of United American Mechanics Hall, OUAM Hall for Short, which today is Taberncale, New Jersey's Town Hall. The history of this building is quite interesting.
Waymark Code: WM401G
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2008
Views: 38
On the day we visited Tabernacle, the Tabernacle Historical Society was holding it's annual "Strawberry Social." It gave us a great opportunity to meet the members of the Tabernacle Historical Society, who were more than happy to share their knowledge of the Town Hall and the town's history. We were also glad to make a donation and receive a copy of the "Historic Tabernacle A Pictorial Tour" booklet compiled by the Historical Society.
There were seventeen charter male members of the Juniors, as they were called. They allowed many community events to be held in their hall. The Methodist Church held dinner, and "medicine shows" took place on the first floor. On the second floor of this building was the "Paraphernalia Room" which among all things had a stuffed goat that only members could ride.
In 1920, Mr. Al Jones had an unusually large cranberry crop, and rented the first floor and the basement for storage and berry sorting!This unfortunately led to a fire, which destroyed township records stored in the basement...a great inconvenience to all the residents that had to write to Trenton for copies of important records.
After World War II, membership dwindled and it became impractical to keep the hall. The Juniors voted by unanimous decision in 1960, to donate the the hall to the Township of Tabernacle for use as it's town hall.
Marker Name: JR. O.U.A.M
Marker Type: Local? Unofficial
Marker text:
JR. O.U.A.M
Hall built 1874 by Order St. Mechanics, became Junior Order United American Mechanics No. 49 Given to township 1960.
Dedication Date: 01/01/1970
City: Tabernacle
County: Burlington
Group responsible for placement: Tabernacle Historical Society
Web Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site', please ALSO provide a detailed description of your visit so we can form a 'mental image'