In 1911, a boarding home for elderly ladies was opened in Haddonfield, New Jersey. It was a three-story house across the street from the Friends’ cemetery and the Haddonfield Friends School, near the Haddonfield Meeting. Next door was the library, where some of the ladies borrowed books and volunteered. The home was managed by a group of Friends (Quakers) who named it “The Estaugh,” after John Estaugh, an early Friend.
At The Estaugh “boarding home for elderly ladies” rates were as low as $10 per week for room and board, varying with room location and whether the resident was Friend or not, though most were Friends.
Having a tray served in one’s room cost 10¢, which went to the waitress for her extra work.
After 55 years the boarding home became obsolete and needed extensive repair. The Estaugh Board first sought to build a new facility in Moorestown but that town turned them down. When the mayor of Medford learned of the problem, he invited Lew Barton, Chairman of the Estaugh, to look at the Mickle Farm.
A creek and woodlands adjoined the property, and what was to become the signature holly tree stood next to a windmill.
The farm was on fairly high ground for the area, lying near a major highway, a railroad, and a town that provided essential services.
Money was quickly raised and the property purchased. Plans had to be developed, approvals obtained, and the myriad of details completed before construction could begin in 1970.
The Estaugh’s first quarters during this planning phase were in the offices of the Lewis W. Barton Co. on Marlkress Road in Cherry Hill. Blueprints filled the office for many months. Later, a trailer parked near the holly tree was the architects’ office and storage area.
The Estaugh office finally moved to Medford Leas in February 1971, and the trailer soon disappeared. For the first 16 months, Court #1 was Medford Leas headquarters.
The Director was in the living room of Apartment 5 in Court 1; the Assistant Director in the east bedroom of Apt. 6; the Receptionist in the living room of that apartment, with Accounting staff in the second bedroom. When the office moved to the Central Building early in 1972, Apartments 5 and 6 in Court 1 became the Health Center.
The first ten courts were built in this order: 1, 8, 2, 7, 9, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10. Courts 3, 4, and 5 were delayed because they were built on landfill; Court 6 was delayed because it was used as headquarters for workmen. One apartment was for carpenters, another for painters, another for electricians, etc.
Gladys Fleming, who moved into what is now Apartment 11 on March 2, 1971, was the only resident for two weeks.
Planks were put down in the mud in order for the station wagon delivering her and her furniture to get from New Freedom Road through the woods. There was debris everywhere. For her security, a hole was cut in the wall so she could reach the phone in the “office” on the other side.
In the fall of 1971, a chef was engaged to prepare dinners on weekday evenings. He and a waitress served the residents in the old Party Room in Court 7. Later, dinners were served in an apartment in Court 10. Early residents recall that the women typically wore cocktail dresses to dinner, and evening dresses to special dinners in the Private Dining Room.
The area around Medford Leas was composed of farms and it was often necessary for staff to be called to herd cattle from Medford Leas courtyards and meadows back to the barn on the Hennissee Farm. That is the farm on which Bridlington now stands.
