Evesham Historical Society & the Inskeep Homestead - Marlton, NJ
N 39° 53.860 W 074° 54.973
18S E 507162 N 4416402
The John Inskeep Homestead is now the home of the Evesham Historical Society. It was listed on August 26, 1993 w/ the Nat'l Registery of Historic Places. Visitors are able to visit a piece of Colonial history in the middle of a modern neighborhood.
Waymark Code: WM8NFE
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 04/23/2010
Views: 5
The folks at this historic society are very nice and approachable and not at all snooty or snobby. They even let us put a geocache in the rear of their headquarters. I met one of their members/leaders at Cropwell Friends Meeting 200th Anniversary celebration. He encouraged me to bring a group by the house for a tour and history of the area. He talked me into creating a geocaching event! There is not signage out front to mark this as the historical society headquarters, but it is!
Their meetings are @ 9:00am on the third Saturday of every month except July and August. Open house tours after every meeting 10:00am-2:00pm.
Teas - Private teas for a minimum of 25 people -- Call 856-783-0687
There is always something going on with the historical society, just check the website.
About the House
The Inskeep House is an example of a mid-18th century Evesham farmhouse. It was altered and enlarged in the mid 19th century, probably in two phases. Today it has been fully restored to its original period architecture.
The first house in this location was built in 1725 by John Inskeep (the second) who had obtained land from his father, John (the immigrant). The Inskeeps, or their descendents held the land, for over 200 years.
John Inskeep (the third) inherited the property in 1756. In April, 1770 he wrote that his house "was burnt". He later wrote in January, 1771 "came home to my own house". It is believed that the present north wing is the house that he built in 1772, probably on the foundation of the original house built in 1725.
On John Inskeep, III's death in 1810, the property was willed to his sons, John and Thomas. Thomas died in 1813 and John became the sole owner. In 1842, John conveyed the property to his children, Ephraim, Rachel, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Joshua Haines in 1845. They lived in the house and enlarged it in c. 1848. Inskeep descendents Haines, Woolston, Brick, and Pearl held the property until 1936, when Alfred and Helen Higgenbotham purchased it.
In 1963 the Higgenbothams conveyed the property to the first of several developers, although they continued to live there until their deaths in 1968. The house, vacant for 20 years, was scheduled for demolition when local opposition led the developers to donate a portion of the historic farm to the Evesham Historical Society in 1988.