Voorhees Twp history

In 1812 he purchased the Gibbs' estate, which included about 500 acres as well as a saw mill.

The story of this enterprise represents the realization of the American Dream in the best sense and this dream belonged to John Lucas.On November 25, 1825, John Lucas was born in Staffordshire, England.

In 1846 Kresson’s natural sandy soil attracted glassmakers who purchased land and formed the Milford Glassworks.

On an 1850 map, the White Horse Tavern, located on what is now White Horse Pike in Lindenwold, was a post office for the local residents.

In 1854 the railroad was laid and the “station” or stop was called White Horse.

Founded in 1855, Glendale Methodist Church was first known as Glendale Methodist Episcopal Church.

Together, John and Harriet built a summer home in town in 1856.

Settled in 1867 by Bavarians, it was a German community, which accounts for the name of “Old Dutchtown Road.” The general store served as a center for neighbors to buy necessities such as food and clothing, a place to bring and pick up mail, and a social opportunity to chat with friends.

In 1876 the sixty acres of land on which this mill was located, were bought by the railroad and converted into picnic grounds known as Lakeside Park.

In 1879 the Kirkwood Marl and Fertilizing Company worked marl beds near Kirkwood.

In 1881, Jesse Clark opened a general store which became the second such business in town.

On January 15, 1883, the Gibbsborough Post Office was established and Mr.

In 1884, the first public school--a one-room schoolhouse--was opened on Route 73 near the northern intersection of Dutchtown Road in the Kresson section.

Development continued and in 1887 a spur of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad was laid between Gibbsboro and Lucaston.

In 1893, the name of the post office was changed to Gibbsboro.

The township was incorporated in 1899, taking land from Waterford Township.

The first Voorhees census in 1900 included Gibbsboro, then a part of Voorhees.

The name “Kresson” was given to the area along Milford Road (later named Route 73) around 1907.

In 1909 the one room Glendale School, was built on the site of today’s municipal complex parking lot on Berlin Road.

In 1916 the Kirkwood Volunteer Fire Company was born.

In 1924, portions of the township were used to form Gibbsboro.

In January of 1930, the Sherwin-Williams Company acquired control of the Lucas Paint Company.

Formed as a result of a 1933 rail merger, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Line stopped at three stations in Voorhees; Ashland, Osage and Kirkwood.

Rogers and Jeanette Smith bought land on Somerdale Road in 1939 and built an airport, which they named Echelon, after their flying club.

In 1948 the Kresson section organized its first volunteer fire company.

Lions Lake began as a pond but was enlarged in 1949.

When construction for the Ashland Station of the PATCO Speedline began in 1951, the Ashland Fire Company moved to Evesham Avenue, and later to Burnt Mill Road.

Two larger, multi-room brick schools were built in 1957.

By 1961 a full time Police Chief, Walter White, administered a workforce of six part-time officers.

In 1963 the number of full time officers rose to four which included a sergeant and two patrolmen.

Gibbsboro Salutes the NJ Tercentenary, 1964.

Before Eastern Regional High School opened in 1965, Voorhees students attended other high schools including Camden, Haddonfield, Lower Camden County and Collingswood.

Until 1967 Voorhees residents called Cherry Hill, Gibbsboro, Berlin and Marlton ambulance squads in emergencies.

Completed in 1969 the PATCO (Port Authority Transit Corporation) Speed Line replaced the railroad, carrying passengers between Voorhees and Philadelphia.

Voorhees Officers prepare to go on a helicopter ride back in the early 1970′s.

A historic rock concert at Echelon Mall where thousands of people attended on November 20, 1972.

Voorhees Fire Company Number Four was incorporated in 1973, and was located on the southern end of Route 561.

In the fall of 1974 the Board of Education, with support from the Township Committee created the Community Education and Recreation Program.

Reflecting a national trend, CER began offering soccer in Voorhees in 1978.

Land for a firehouse on Route 73 was donated by one of the members of the fire company who lived nearby. It moved to Cooper Road near Kresson-Gibbsboro Road in 1979.

To address this need it created the Economic Development Committee in 1983.

With a growing number of two working parents, CER began offering Before and After School Childcare in 1984.

In March of 1985 Township Committee created the Voorhees Township Environmental Advisory Board to advise and assist the Township Committee, Planning Board, Zoning Board and other municipal leaders on environmental issues.

But as recent as 1987, pilots preparing to land at Philadelphia International Airport set their bearings with the Echelon Intersect located above the former airport.

On a historic visit to Voorhees Township on November 4, 1988, former police Chief Daniel Dwier meets President Ronald Reagan.

Signal Hill School opened in the southeastern corner of town in on Signal Hill Drive in 1989.

In 1990 a Commerce Bank branch was built on the site of the original store at Route 73 and Kresson Road.

Another sign that residents felt a growing sense of belonging to one Voorhees community occurred in May of 1993.

According to a brochure published by the Economic Development Committee, in 1996 the median family income was $76,394.

But the congregation immediately began rebuilding, and in 1998 the white wood frame church is the third to house the congregation.

By 1999 that number has grown to over 150.

The average household income for the neighborhood was $82,146, increasing from $68,402 in 2000.

2007 Osage School celebrates its 50th year.

In 2010, it partnered with the New York State Office of Cultural Education to establish the New Netherland Research Center, with matching funds from the State of the Netherlands.

However, the tenant house from the farm stands in the triangle between Evesham and Somerdale Roads, although it is slated for demolition as of 2019.