Historical Society of Haddonfield gets OK for archive site

The Historical Society of Haddonfield may soon have a new space to store its archive of books, photographs, letters, and papers.

The borough Zoning Board of Adjustment recently approved a plan by the historical society to build a new Archives Center on the society's property on King's Highway East.

The two-story building will replace a garage. A design by Haddonfield resident Eduardo Guzman of DCM Architecture & Engineering reinterprets a barn that had stood on the site.

No details were released about the size of the building or cost.

The society said the new building will provide much-needed space for its archival collection, which also includes diaries, scrapbooks, maps, pamphlets, ephemera, and privately published books.

"Together, these materials are the collective memory of our town," society president Carol W. Smith said in a statement. "The new Archives Center building will help us continue to preserve these important records for decades to come thanks to cutting-edge environmental controls, efficient storage space, and even room to grow."

Currently, the Archives Center is housed on the society's property in the 18th-century Samuel Mickle House, the oldest frame structure in Camden County. About half of the 725 linear feet of collection materials are now stored off-site.

The historical society said it plans to launch a capital campaign in 2016 to fund the project. More details will be released later.

The Historical Society of Haddonfield was founded in 1914 and seeks to collect and preserve artifacts and materials that help tell the history of Haddonfield and South Jersey.

- Melanie Burney