History of Medford Told Through Photographs

Feb. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Medford from local author Dennis McDonald. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Settled by Quakers in the late 1600s, Medford was dominated by sawmills and gristmills in the mid-1700s. During the 1800s, small Quaker and public schools were scattered throughout the township, three of which still survive today. When Medford became a town in 1847, after breaking away from Evesham, it had already begun to develop as a community.

William Cooper, a photographer during the turn of the 20th century, captured many of the images featured in Medford. Cooper photographed workers at Kirby’s Mill loading wagons, baseball players at the Medford Field Club, schoolchildren at Cross Keys School, employees at Braddock’s Tavern, staff at the Indian Chief Hotel, glass blowers turning out bottles at Star Glass Company, and travelers at the Philadelphia, Marlton, and Medford train station on Main Street. He also snapped pictures of parades, kids playing in the streets, and men playing craps.

Highlights of Medford:
•   Several of the images in the book have never been seen before, including most from of the historical society images.
•   Many of the village buildings have remained the same and are easily recognizable today.
•   Baseball in Medford goes back to the 1880s and was played at a huge baseball complex located on North Main Street.
•   Rodeos took place near Christopher’s Mill in the 1930s through the 1950s at the farm of Tom Burr.
•   Medford is the home of the English Setter Club, which has held trials and events in town since 1912.

Dennis McDonald is a Medford resident and a longtime photographer with the Burlington County Times. Many photographs in this book come from the Medford Historical Society, the Kirby family archives, the Beverly Mickle collection, and the postcard collection of Bob Duerholz.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.