Dennis Township Old School House Museum
681 Petersburg Road
Woodbine, NJ 08270
(609) 861-1899
http://www.dennismuseumfriends.org/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Friends-of-dennis-township-old-school-house-museum/100066513017935/
Open: Every First and Third Saturday of the Month (Please check with the website on weather conditions)
Admission: Free but donations accepted
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Dennisville Historical Society at 681 Petersburg Road
I have been wanting to see this charming little museum for several months. This is one of the featured historical museums in Southern New Jersey. The museum is representing the local farming and manufacturing industries as well as life in a farming community at the turn of the last century.
The Main Gallery at the Dennisville Historical Society.
The museum was started in 1994 in a partnership with the town of Woodbine, NJ and houses the history of Dennis Township. It is an all-volunteer museum, and the docents were really helpful describing all the displays that surround this small former schoolhouse. Their Friends of the Dennis Township Museum group does a nice job walking you around the museum and describing the displays.
The artifacts that are on display at the museum.
The museum tells the story of a small-town farming community with a history of different local businesses, the Dennisville School district from 1874-1948 and the Methodist colony that was a big part of the community in the early 1800’s. The shipping industry was very important to any small town that used to supply its fruits, vegetables and fish to Philadelphia.
The Farming display at the museum.
Some of the displays were dedicated to the local family businesses with the small cranberry industry that used to be in the area with equipment and packaging. The Mason Basket Company used to make the small and large wooden baskets for fruits and vegetables used to ship these items to both New York City and Philadelphia. These baskets are a staple at any farmers marker today.
The Basket making business for fruits and vegetables was a big business.
The other big business in town was the shingle making business that prided itself on supplying the shingles for Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
The history of the Basket making business in Dennisville.
The basket and shingle businesses in Dennisville.
The building had been the local one room schoolhouse for the surrounding community from 1874-1948 until the new schools were built in the 1950’s. There was a display on the school’s history as well as lots of pictures of the students at the turn of the last century with their period clothing and proper manners taking pictures with their schoolteachers. There were displays of desks, clothing and items that would have been in the school room.
The school display
The school display.
The town had once been a Methodist community with a large meeting house and surrounding homes for parishioners to stay. They showed the meetings and how the group would spend their summers in the area.
The summer community in Dennisville, NJ (from their archives)
The museum showcased live in a small-town farming community with all sorts of farm and farmhouse equipment. There were all sorts of home making items like cooking utensils to make meals from scratch, baking and serving in homes where being a housewife took a lot of strength. The farm equipment included hoes, racks and seeders that kept the farms going.
The Post Office display
There were pictures of the renovations of the Ludlam family cemetery that had gone through a renovation by the Boy Scouts and showcased it beauty. The members did a nice job renovating the tombstones and landscaping.
The Civil War display
The Clothing display
The Children’s display
There were lots of interesting items to see in the Children’s display.
In the corners of the museum, there is period clothing from the Civil War to the 1930’s with hats, gloves and dressing plus accessories. There is a small display to the local veterans of war. Near the entrance there is a working pipe organ and more information about the town from the early 1900’s.
The Household items at the museum.
The docents told me that they have the old town records and that people come to the museum to research their families that used to live in the area. They have had people come from all over the country to find their family roots.
The Shipping Industry
The Ship Building industry
For a small museum, it is chock full of small displays offering a glimpse into a community of time past and how it has grown over the future and changed.
The Military display
Take time also to drive around this small town loaded with historical homes that have been beautifully maintained and labeled with the year that they were built. Some looked like they had the family names on them. All of the homes are painted bright colors and each has been brought back to life. I was amazed in how in one year how many of these homes had been bought and repaired and painted. The whole town was brought back to life.
Downtown Dennisville has a quaintness to it.
The Purple House in Downtown Dennisville, NJ.
The light Green House in Dennisville, NJ
The gardens of the Green House
The Pink House is a known landmark to local law enforcement as a marker in the town.
There is a tiny gift shop selling jewelry behind the house which just opened. I thought it would make a nice Tea House.
The Town of Dennisville has it charms to it and it totally being redone. Too bad the only restaurant in the area is a Wawa. Still it is a nice place to visit and drive around in.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 