The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-06-01
An Historical Review.

|
complete a knowledge Of such things 9
has Mr.. Cowgirl. The following pape
on Brainard Street will be found very ir
teresting, and quite timely. Soon ate
the lecture on John Woolman the edito
of THE News was asked several que'
tions about Brainard street, which b
answered, as he thought, correctly, bu
after reading Mr.. Cowgill's paper tn
idea gained ground that there are som
things that even an editor does no
know. We give with great pleasure spac
to the paper referred to, and feel assures
that it will be read with equal pleasur
and benefit. 1t follows:
/ While taking a ramble in my mind i
Occurred to me where will you find ;
street only one square long that has hat
more greatness thrust upon it" thar
Brainard street? And, by the way, how
Imany know that the original name wai
New street? Just when it was run out
do not know, but prior to, or at least al
early, as 1744, at which time it was al
luded to as being on the hack side O
the town." there not being a street t.
the north, east or west of it, nor was
there for over quarter of century
Governor Belcher mentions that in l747,
ITO houses were all there were in Bur
lington. Query, How many had wei?
1t took it's name from John Brainard,
successor to his elder brother David, who
died in 1747, aged %, missionaries to the
Indians. John finally settled in Mount
Holly, where in 1853 he established a
Presbyterian church which, it is said,
was destroyed by the British during the
Revolution.
This practically extinguished the de-
nomination, as they did not get reorgan-
lied until 1889 and did not get another
church until 1874, which they built on
Garden street on the site of the present
one, which was built in 1887. John and
Comfy Platts, who bought the academy
property in 1888, which stood to the east
of where the first Baptist church stood,
fitted up the lower floor for school pur-
poses, and the upper floor for church
purposes. Their original one story frame
church stood about on the site of the
present Methodist church, on the north
side of Brainard street, with a grave
yard attachment adjoining on the east.
What few had been buried, / presume,
where removed to the Friends yard, who
had big yard only two Or three years
old. Many years later, in digging the
cellar for the Methodist's sections house,
a skull or two were found. The bodies,
i suppose, were compounded with dust
whereto It's kin. Two efforts were
made to revive the name New
street, one on map put out, by Amos
Bullock in 1913, and one on map put
out by one Osburn in 1856, but the
efforts were futile.
That John Brainard had an eye terres-
trial as we'll as celestial, is evidenced by
the way he invested in real estate in
what is now the very center of the town.
In 1851 he bought of the Edward Ton
kin estate SO much land that after sell
ing the Friends in 1775 their large hold
ing, he still had over 500 feet on the
north side of Garden street, extending
to about what is now Buttonwood street.
This gave him an opportunity to let his
friends in on the ground floor. He later
sold this land to Robert Parrish, of Phil
adelphia, who in 1885 laid it out into IA
lots and sold them at public sale. Lots
one and two were on High street, the
corner property being owned by Joseph
Bennett.
The idea that prevailed for years that
the little one-story brick building still
was built by Brainard, is posi-
lively not so, as he nor the Presbyterians
had anything to do with it. it being
built by twenty-one citizens of the
Township of Northampton" for the ex-
press and avowed purpose of educating
the youth; they buying of John Brock,
of Chester township, on September 81,
Reconsideration eight pounds, ten
certain lot of land on the
l. II
III square perehes. John
Brock bought it of John Fisher, October
II, 1751, who purchased of William Nor
rell, April %, 1744.
The Baptist denomination also honored
this street with its first church. In 1884
the Rev. Peter Wilson preached the first
Baptist sermon ever heard in Mount
Holly, and for all we know, the last one
until 1892, when travelling preacher
named Joshua Smith came this way
from New England. Through his infiu-
ence Alexander MCGOWAN came here
and preached in private houses, and
in the market house, until
the court house was built in 1896. This
they were not always able to get So at
a meeting held in 1900 at a private
house, which was very much crowded,
they decided to start subscription
paper for the purpose of building a
church. They met with great success,
$4,000 in very few weeks.
Their first church, which they built in
1901, was on the north side of Brainard
street, about half way between the pres
ent Methodist church and Buttonwood
street. 1t was of brick, two stories high,
with galleries on three sides, the pulpit
being on the north side.
This Rev. Alexander MCGOWAN came
from Lamberton, above Trenton, to New
Mills (Pemberton) /, and thence to Mount
Holly. He was the brother of John
MCGOWAN, the great-grandfather of the
writer of this article, who had drug
and paint store where Gerber's clothing
store now is. The present church on
Garden street was built in 1894, and
enlarged in 1866. Meribah, wife of Jesse
Cox, has the distinction of being the
first Mount Holly Baptist.
1t is said that David Munrow's wife
Mary. better known as Polly" and.an
old colored woman living on Top e-toy,
with the classical name of Drusilla, but
called "Drooky, were the first Metho-
dists in Mount Holly. The Methodists
were like the Baptists in one respect;
they did not have any permanent abode.
At times they met at the town hall,
oftener in school house m the rear of
Robert Davidson's, now Schmidt's
bakery, on Mill street. In pleasant
weather they often held outdoor meet
ings, many of them being on the mount.
In the absence of regular ministers their
services were conducted by local preach
ers and exhorters, of whom John Walker
and Daniel Jones were the most prOmi-
nent. Buttonwood street not being open
ed until several years later, there was
not any outlet to Brainard street to the
east, so the Methodists, when they de-
cided in 1910 to build a church, went
nearly to the extreme western end and
built, on the lot now occupied by Joseph
Huff's house, twO-stOry brick church
26 feet square. About 1886 they built
another more commodious brick church
further to the east and on the north side
of the street. This later building had
galleries ON three sides with the pulpit
ON the north side. This was practically
on the site of the original Presbyterian
church as previously alluded to.
The writer's earliest recollection of this
1910 building was as an amusement hall,
and called 1.-THE Lyceum," the opera
house not having been built and the Ar
cade hall being rented by club of high
tones. This Lyceum was torn. down in
1865, leaving room for the moving back
of Joseph Huff's house when the Free
Masons built their temple on the corner.
Another spoke in the wheel is the
| fact, beneficial or otherwise, that the
editor of THE News lives on the street,
and has lived there over 60 years.
Lower Buttonwood street being opened
in 1925 gave us an outlet to the east end
of Brainard, so next we find the public
school ensconeed on the north corner. ]
never looked up the time of its starting,
| hut II WAS conSiderahlu more than a haIl