Medford History

Indians in the Medford Area

The native population in Medford never was high. The presence of massive amounts of Indian artifacts is likely explained by the fact that natives lived in the area for thousands of years, constantly moving about, and that most of household and hunting implements were made of stone, not bone or wood.

Upon the arrival of the European in the early 17th century, the Delaware Valley was occupied by a dozen native villages with perhaps 250 inhabitants each. They called themselves Lenape, which means "man”. The Lenape were a loose confederation of families each with its own leader. There was no supreme head of all clans. They named their villages after geographical locations. Along the Rancocas Creek were the Rancocas Indians, Rancocas meaning "sloping land". Its chief was named Ramcock, and he had 100 warriors. The English settlers called the natives "Delawares" as their principal villages were along this river.

Although the last remains of natives have been gone for over 150 years, this area is rich in Indian heritage. Two of our most heavily traveled highways, Stokes Rd. and Tuckerton Rd. were once Indian trails about 18 inches wide and known as Shamong Trail and Manahawkin Trail. The names of our schools and road abound with Indian names. The spirit of these first Americans will live on throughout Medford.

Early Medford Schools

Medford's first schools were not "free" and not "public". In colonial times, public instruction of youth was organized in religious schools. The first school in Medford was built by the Society of Friends in 1760. As the Friends had a strong belief in the importance of education, they built the school even before completing their first place of worship. The Friends' schoolhouse still stands at the rear of the Meeting House of Union Street we will see later, and remained in operation until 1989. Tuition was charged, but the Friends welcomed all pupils.

Early in the 19th century, four one room rural district schools were built with public funds but operated with private fees. The oldest of these was the Brace Road School located on Church Rd about a half mile west of Cross Roads, our next stop.

Another was situated at the intersection of Stokes and Dixontown Roads, originally called the Fairview School and later Oak Grove and Cross Keys. The structure is the only schoolhouse still standing from this period. A third school was located near Kirby's Mill and known as the "Eastern" School. Milton H. Allen attended school here around l847. The fourth school was on Sandtown Rd, just north of Rt. 70. It was the first to close. In l847, public support of schools was limited to the cost of building and maintaining the buildings. All pupils except declared paupers paid $10 tuition a year. Instruction was by a single teacher. The children arrived on foot, bicycle or buggy. School hours were 9am to 4pm with an hour recess for lunch and two shorter recesses each morning and afternoon.