Bits Of South Jersey - Washington Twp.

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP SOME OLD FACTS, TALES AND REMEDIES

Washington Township was named of course, after George Washington. This was after it separated from Deptford Township in 1836 and became part of Camden County. It eventually found its way into the Gloucester County boundaries in 1871. The township was a mixture of small villages, many of them housing mills. Some of the names have changed such as Turnersville, which used to be called Bagtown. It is said that the name was originally used as a joke. The name referred to the four mills that were located in the area. People would carry their grist in bags and leave the mills with flour and feed in bags, thus Bagtown. Later, in the early 1900`s one of the mills near Bell`s Lake supplied General Mills, it was Bell Mill and it bagged its flour with the Gold Medal label.

Another name for Turnersville was Tentamekon, so used by the Mantese Indians.

Every town has its stories and fables to tell. One such story is about a young girl that was dating one of the Heritage brothers that lived in a fine old house on Salina Road in Hurfville. The house is still standing and represents a mixture of the colonial architecture with Dutch revival. The colonial section of the house was built in the 1700`s and added on to in the 1800`s in a Dutch colonial style. The young girl was dating Joseph and had been asked to dinner. After the meal Joseph saddled his horse and went back into the house to change his clothes. While he was changing, his brother Benjamin took off with the young lady. I have heard two accounts of this story, which differ at this point. One account says that he eloped with her that night, another says he married her a while after the event.

Either way, it proves one thing; don`t leave your horse or your girl unattended.

There is another story about this house that took place later in the 1800`s. The Heritage family still lived in the house and must have been well- to-do because they had a dumb-waiter that was used to lower the dishes down to the cellar for cleaning. One night, after a dinner party the dumb-waiter was lowered to the cellar when suddenly it broke and smashed every bit of fine china that the family owned. The dumb-waiter was later closed off but I am not sure when. Perhaps the family entombed it, never to be used again.

If you like old remedies, you are going to love some of these. They were found in a diary dated 1838 . For Colic take Black Alder Berries and soak them in Brandy to preserve them. For a sore throat take burning coal and Carolina tar and put it in the bowl of a pipe and inhale the fumes. If you run out of tooth past try this; Rye, carbonized or burned to ashes and crushed fine is a great tooth wash. If your refrigerator breaks down try this recipe for preserving butter. Put one or two pounds of butter in a stone jar, cover it with a pickle, made of 1-ounce saltpeter, 3 ounces of loafsugar and 12 ounces of salt. Should keep for one year. For a severe headache soak your feet in warm water mixed with mustard. If you have cold feet wrap them in newspaper over your socks and put on large boots. It may not be comfortable but I bet it will work.

Memories of Washington Township, NJ Vol. 1, 1971 "Gems From An Old Diary" by Joan B. Michael

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Author: Vickie Van Antwerp