by Maggie Heineman
John Speirs, the one man with 24 women, sent me words and pictures for a summary of the July 25 bus excursion to Historic Mt. Holly. John wrote:
“Who knew so much history was so close to Medford Leas? I did not. On a perfect day for an outing, 24 residents left the main campus for the short ride. First stop was Burlington County Prison Museum designed by renowned architect Robert Mills whose later works included the Washington Monument. Completed in 1811, the building was in use until 1965.”
John continued: “The structure had 40 cells, some with fireplaces as the building had no central heating. Our knowledgeable guide, Marisa, shared stories of prison life including hangings in the adjacent court yard where, after the prison tour, we met Larry, head of the Mount Holly Historical Society. Larry boarded our bus and talked about Mount Holly as we drove around town. At noon we arrived for lunch at The Robins Nest, a local landmark. The food was delicious.”
Kit Ellenbogen provided this description of our prison visit:
“We were greeted by Marisa, who welcomed us at the back entrance and carefully ushered us up the back stairs into “the gift shop.” Here she started her presentation. Without a note in her hand, Marisa spent the next hour telling us about the history of the prison. Marisa led us to the basement, where the cooking and work shops took place, through the main floor, to the second floor, where more cells and “the dungeon” were located. She was articulate and enthusiastic, and answered all our questions with pleasure and patience. All of us, most of whom had been completely ignorant of Mt. Holly’s historic significance, were amazed with Marisa’s knowledge and willingness to share so much information with us. Marisa made history come alive with vignettes of the events and the people involved in the prison’s planning and execution (forgive the pun).”
Actually, John wasn’t the only man on our trip. Barry, who was our driver, joined us for lunch.
By lunchtime the vacation feeling had come over me. As interesting and fun as the trip was, it is the unexpected and indescribable feeling of being on vacation that is the siren call beckoning me to make room in my workaholic schedule for all the trips that the Medford Leas Short Trips Committee provides.
And I want to go again, with my husband, to visit the prison museum. Marisa told me that if I phone her and make an appointment, she’s happy to take just two people — even just one — on a tour. The website prisonmuseum.net provides stories and photos. You can learn a lot sitting at the computer, but to get the feel of the place, take a tour with Marisa. 609-518-7667.
Mt. Holly history includes the Battle of Ironworks Hill and the development of the Mill Race which made Mt. Holly an industrial town. Wikipedia is the place to start for an overview of Mt. Holly History.
John took this picture from the bus window as we rode past a Sears Catalogue Home.
Yes, it was a perfect day for an outing. And an outing planned by someone else can give you a vacation feeling.
I didn’t realize that before.
