Our town is a tapestry woven with the threads of our shared history, beauty, and community spirit. To preserve the charm that makes our town feel like home, we need your financial support now more than ever.
Your contributions will help us maintain our historic sites and host events that bring us together, fostering a sense of belonging and pride in our beloved Riverton. Let us come together to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same picturesque streets and vibrant culture that we cherish today.
Your contributions will help us maintain our historic archives and host events that bring us together, fostering a sense of belonging and pride in our beloved Riverton.
Let us come together to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same picturesque streets and vibrant culture that we cherish today.
Together, we can keep Riverton not just a place on a map, but a warm and inviting hometown filled with memories and joy!
HSR’s Board asks our supporters and friends and everyone who loves Riverton’s history to mark your calendars and …
Come out to Borough Council Tuesday 11/18/2025 at 6:30 at RivertonBorough Hall. This is an exciting moment for Riverton.
Getting many of the same protections enjoyed by many other historic New Jersey towns has been a two-step process.
After three years’ work at broad consensus-building among many constituencies, Riverton is in the home stretch.
In this time, the Mayors and Council supported two clear standards to safeguard our Historic District:
“No more teardowns!”
and
“Lose no more Historic Character!”
The first one (to stop teardowns) has now been in place for almost two years and we have not lost a single historic structure in that time.
Now it’s high time to complete the job in a way that is right for Riverton, because …
… we are still completely unprotected from shortsighted alterations to historic structures, which can seriously damage the character of any Historic District.
Borough Council has introduced a sensible ordinance that we agree will be great for Riverton and we urge your support. Why is it “sensible”? For starters, it doesn’t regulate paint colors, only applies to changes visible from the street, and allows substitution of modern materials that look like historical ones (with more allowance for things like roofing slates).
Read all about it there and on the pages it links to. You’ll see that it includes email addresses for the Mayor and the other members of Council’s subcommittee which drafted the Ordinance.
Please write to them with your comments and (hopefully) support. And it always helps to show up in person, so please, mark your calendars and …
Come out to Borough Council Tuesday 11/18/2025 at 6:30 at RivertonBorough Hall. Lose no more historic character!
Self-portrait with lighthouse in Pemaquid, ME, June 2006, 18”x24” oil on canvas
On Wednesday, October 8, 2025, nearly 70 attendees gathered at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverton to learn about the life and art of the late Reverend Richard Moore (1932-2017). Reverend Moore served as Calvary’s minister from 1967 until his retirement in 1994. Reverend Moore’s son Steve, his daughter-in-law Tricia, and grandsons Donovan and Nate curated the show of watercolors, oil paintings, pencil studies, and a few models of ships. These well represented the arc of Reverend Moore’s development as an extraordinary self-taught artist.
The program, hosted by the Historical Society of Riverton and Calvary Presbyterian Church, provided an opportunity for those who knew him to revisit his extraordinary legacy. For those who did not know him or his work, the event revealed a glimpse of a unique talent whose skills improved over time with the support of neighbors, friends, fellow artists, and patrons.
At the October 8 event, Steve Moore introduced his father’s work while standing by a painting of a docked battleship displayed on an easel gifted by a friend and fellow Riverton artist Ben Collins.
Reverend Moore’s living connection to the Riverton community was unmistakable at the event. Many in attendance remembered Moore fondly, and some brought Moore paintings from their personal collections. The Historical Society’s oldest member, Bill Hall, who recently celebrated his 101st birthday, was in attendance and provided a watercolor view of Jungfrau Peak from the Halls’ house in the Swiss Alps. The Halls and the Moores often traveled together; Moore’s travels were well represented in the show of his work.
St. Mary’s, Wreay, EnglandStrasburg, PA
A series of paintings reflecting Richard Moore’s love of travel.
The Artist’s Story
Richard Moore and Toshii Shimoda
Richard Caldwell Moore was born in Philadelphia in 1932, and raised in Upper Darby, PA. After graduating from Upper Darby High School in 1950, Moore received an ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he studied history – an interest he cultivated throughout his life and captured in many of his paintings. After graduating from Penn in 1954, he entered the Navy as a line officer for three years. He enjoyed his life in the Navy but felt a calling for the ministry and entered Princeton Seminary in 1957 where he met his future wife Toshii Shimoda. In addition to receiving a Master of Divinity degree like her husband, Toshii also enjoyed painting and music. It is not surprising that Steve Moore, his wife Tricia, and his children have pursued professions in the arts. (Steve and Tricia are architects, as is their daughter Veronica Moore; Donovan and Nate are musicians).
“Chaplain Transfer” This oil painting shows how chaplains were transferred from ship to ship via rope. Moore’s memory of this custom appears in this work painted years after serving as a naval chaplain.
After graduating from Princeton, Moore rejoined the Navy for two years as a chaplain stationed out of San Diego. He was then hired, in 1963, as a minister at Galeton Presbyterian Church, in a small logging town in north central Pennsylvania. In 1967, he moved to Riverton to become pastor of Calvary Presbyterian, and soon after pursued his love of painting.
An Artist’s Work
The two-hour event saw nearly 70 visitors walk through an astounding show of Richard Moore’s exceptional talent.
Everyone in attendance at the event was impressed not only with the high level of skill seen in the works on site, but also, Moore’s extreme productivity. What the crowd at Calvary saw on October 8th was a portion of what has been stored at his son’s house in Riverton. Steve Moore’s brother Bill has half of his father’s collection in his home in central Pennsylvania, and many of Moore’s works are in local homes and in museums. Bill provided slideshow-style videos of works within his collection for the event which included paintings of many houses in the Triboro area.
Houses on Main Street, Riverton, 1972
As a working painter myself, I’ve wondered how someone with a full-time day job, and rich family and social life could maintain such high creative output. I learned that Reverend Moore set aside Mondays, his day off, for painting. He credited his wife Toshii for allowing this luxury.
Pat Brunker, the HSR’s treasurer and member at Calvary recalled once stepping outside her renovated carriage house at the corner of Second and Thomas to see Reverend Moore studying her home with paint and paper in hand. Hers was one of many Riverton houses painted by Moore.
Moore at work on a painting of a large, dry-docked ship. This appeared on stage at the October 8 event.
As Moore became more practiced and skilled with oils, the artist developed a keen eye for painting dynamic, detailed, and accurate maritime paintings. He retired from Calvary in 1994 and had a house built near a beloved cousin’s house in Hampton, VA in 1994. He spent the next ten years painting and traveling around the country and the world, visiting friends. He also received many commissions for marine subjects from naval ship associations and museums. The American Society of Marine Artists, an association of professional maritime painters and sculptors, elected him President.
Moore standing in front of his commission for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
It was during this period that he experienced the loss of 23 of his best paintings, both oil and watercolor, in a gallery fire in Portsmouth, Virginia. However, he was very philosophical about the loss, saying that they were subjects that he enjoyed pursuing and that he was finished with them. The one painting that survived was the Moshulu, shown at the exhibit.
This painting was rescued from the fire and invisibly repaired.
In 2004, Richard and Toshii moved back to Pennsylvania, to Willow Street (near Lancaster), to be closer to family and new grandchildren. Moore continued to receive commissions during this time, most notably, a commission for four murals depicting the capture of a German submarine recently restored at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. At this point, Moore was in his 70s.
This fact is one of the keys to Moore’s legacy. He never stopped painting. And he continued to maintain a clear vision, with masterful brushwork. Moore’s last piece, a watercolor still tacked on its backer board, reflects this. It’s a fantasy, a collection of ships depicting the period during which sailing ships were being phased out and replaced by steamships in a medium that requires a confident, steady hand. At this point, Moore has use of only one eye, having lost sight in his other eye by this time.
Moore’s last painting.
The Historical Society of Riverton was honored to share his legacy with our community. We look forward to bringing you more stories about Riverton’s creative past to inspire generations for years to come. Special thanks to the Moore Family for their time and generous access to Richard Moore’s original works.
A program for you! Wednesday October 8, 2025, 6:30 pm at Calvary Presbyterian Church
Join the Historical Society of Riverton and the Moore Family for a program celebrating the art and life of one of Riverton’s most gifted and prolific artists.
Many original paintings will be on display, most from private collections and shown for the first time.
A talented, self-taught painter working in watercolor and oils, Rev. Moore was best known for his maritime works and was elected president of the American Society of Marine Artists.
Learn the stories behind some of Reverend Moore’s best works and get to know the man who never stopped learning, painting and inspiring others.
He painted watercolors of many historic Riverton houses and public buildings which are cherished by Rivertonians today.
Riverton has had a remarkable wealth of fine artists active in our little town and your Historical Society has been collecting images and biographies of all we can identify. Here’s our entry for Rev. Moore.
Our whole collection starts on this Local Artists page (use the dropdown box at the top to choose the one you wish to see). If you know of an artist (living or not) who isn’t in that list, let us know!
We hope that you will join us for what should be a great evening of reminiscences and enjoyment of beautiful artwork on Wednesday October 8 at 6:30.
At the end of every school year, one Riverton School social studies student is recognized for his or her excellence in history. The Historical Society of Riverton’s Betty Hahle Award was established in 2011 after the passing of the town’s first historian, Betty Hahle.
The award, which includes a $150 prize, was established as a memorial to this extraordinary leader who was the HSR’s president and the editor of its newsletter Gaslight News.
This year’s recipient well reflects the dedication and focus of the award’s namesake.
HSR’s Susan Dechnik presents Violet with her award.
Rosemary Allen, Riverton School’s middle school social studies teacher, enthusiastically nominated Violet B., this year’s winner. During the award ceremony, Mrs. Allen praised Violet’s consistent excellence (she’s maintained an A+ average in history for three years), her love of reading, her active engagement in class and her acting skills in a classroom recreation of the Boston Massacre Trial.
During the May 27th award ceremony, Mrs. Allen described her experience with Violet over the years. “From the moment she stepped into my classroom in 6th grade, her quiet voice rose up to stand up for what’s right, to look out for the most vulnerable, and to ask truly difficult questions about our past and present history.
“Her actions and dedication are that of a true historian: a bulldog looking for the truth, an attorney searching for evidence, and a lifelong learner always looking for her next great read.
“I am so proud of all of her accomplishments, but most importantly I am counting on her to use her brilliant mind and beautiful heart to make history and make our world a better place.”
Mrs. Allen’s engaging teaching style inspired Violet to learn more about the past.
Violet explained “I realized that I connected with history when Mrs. Allen started teaching us in 6th grade. Before that, history was kind of boring and I didn’t like it very much. Mrs. Allen is an amazing teacher who really immerses her students in the past. I felt like I was in a whole other world.
“When I learned what accomplishments and crazy things people had done it the past, it made me feel like I was capable of doing anything.”
When asked what she liked about learning history, Violet noted “when we learn about history, we learn about the mistakes that people have made in our past. If we learn about these mistakes and learn from them, we are able to not make them again which makes our future even brighter.”
Every other year, the Historical Society of Riverton honors neighbors who bring their love of history and community to the task of maintaining and improving the historic character of our very historic town. On May 20th, with the kind assistance of Calvary Presbyterian Church, the Society hosted an event celebrating 2025’s Honor Award recipients.
Awardees this year illustrate historic preservation’s broad scope: a tool for community and business development, a guide for exceptional home improvement, and (as many of us think about it) meticulous restoration projects.
101 Lippincott Avenue: John and Danielle Casparro Restoration Project
Daniel T. Campbell AIA presents HSR’s top award to the Casparro family for their work to restore the Miller house. On the screen in the background is the front hall of the house with John and Riverton’s beloved Nancy Hall, who was Charles and Hetty Miller’s granddaughter.
John and Danielle Casparro received HSR’s highest recognition this year, the Daniel Campbell Preservation Award, for their tireless and ongoing work repairing and restoring 101 Lippincott Avenue. The 1896 house, built for Charles C. Miller and his wife Hetty Coale Lippincott Miller, had slowly fallen into disrepair over the last several years, and even before that, elements of the house’s beautifully symmetrical porch had been removed or simplified.
101 Lippincott with part of its restoration complete.101 Lippincott, as it was brand new in April of 1897. The Casparros hope to be able to bring back some of the missing ornamental detail. They have nearly all of the shutters, so everyone has their fingers crossed we’ll see them back!
John Casparro restored his first house in Palmyra when he and his wife were starting their family. He and Danielle bought a house in Riverton at 204 Park Avenue and lived there for 18 months before taking on 101 Lippincott Avenue. Casparro had been eyeing 101 Lippincott for years. Even with it needing extensive repairs, he saw the house’s elegance and quality, unmatched in new homes.
He started peeling newer wallpaper the day he moved in. Soon after, he walked through the house with the late Nancy Hall, a granddaughter of Charles C. Miller, in a three-hour conversation about the house and its original family that was filmed for HSR’s archives by Roger Prichard.
Casparro prioritized fixing and restoring the most damaged parts of the house first. Some of this damage was visible from the street.
The raccoon family’s spacious front door.
Part of the fascia and dentil band rotted out on the house’s front façade, and a family of raccoons had moved into the void. These were evicted and the enormous hole covered until replicas of the various decorative elements, made by Bossen Architectural Millwork, could be created. During this process, the family’s general contractor was injured, leading to delays.
Just a small amount of the new material created by Bossen Architectural Millwork. An exact replica, this molding was made from sapele wood for its rot resistance, in the hopes that this will outlive us all.
But John and his family have been patient, dedicated stewards of this exceptional property. He continues to look ahead toward new projects that restore his house to its original design.
Brand new cornice to replace the racoon damage.
John frequently fixes some of the house’s issues on his own – opening up French doors in the dining room that had long been painted shut, fixing an issue leading to flooding in the basement, and constantly trouble shooting. He’s also an excellent neighbor of the author!
Joe Rainer: Preservation After Fire, and Continued Dedication
The devastating fire at 531 Main on May 19, 2022. Photo courtesy of Riverton Fire Company.
The fire above Revive Café on the corner of Broad and Main exactly three years ago could have diminished our town’s historic center forever. What might have been torn down and rebuilt, or more-affordably repaired, has not only been saved, but restored.
The Society recognizes Joe Rainer’s ongoing commitment to historic preservation with an honor award this year (he had received an award from us in 2022 for his substantial work up to that point). The restoration of the fire-damaged anchor building at the intersection of Broad and Main is the latest in a series of “great saves” by Rainer.
Joe kept the audience in thrall describing the extent of renovations and effort to make things look perfect.
Board member John Laverty, long-time friend of Rainer’s, introduced the local painter and building owner with a story from a skiing trip they took together while the fire damaged property was being renovated. On every chairlift ride, Rainer was constantly on the phone with contractors demanding the best throughout the job.
The cornice’s in-kind replacement with metal that exactly replicates the building’s original metal cornice illustrates Rainer’s commitment, making the effort to find a fabricator who could bend the sheet metal to match the original.
Here are some of Joe’s other fine Riverton projects:
John and Gail Caruso: New Porch that Should Have Always Been There
Borough Historian Roger Prichard introduced sister-in-law Gail Caruso to speak about the new porch project she and her husband John completed at 600 Elm Terrace. The project involving both the porch and a new tile roof is an excellent example of alterations that appear contemporary with the house’s early 20th C. masonry construction. The house, surrounded by a garden designed by Gail with the help of plant artist Stephen Coan, is Mediterranean inspired, but was without a signature tile roof until the Caruso’s recent upgrade.
Prichard noted that the small, purely ornamental blind Juliet balcony over the main entrance (original to the house) provided zero rain coverage, no functional use and little decorative purpose. In contrast, the new porch integrates with the design of the house and the yard, and functions beautifully. Neil Johnson of Moorestown was the architect of this project.
The deep porch also satisfied one of Gail’s long-time dreams for the house.
She shared that she was “offended somehow that the place didn’t have a porch. The house I grew up in had a porch. I used to sleep on the porch in the summertime.” She continued that the porch was simply “manifesting itself. It was there all along.” It isn’t hard to see what she’s talking about when you compare the before and after photos of this project.
By the way, the tile used on the porch and main roof and the hipped roof of an outbuilding is a modern composite tile, not terra cotta but you wouldn’t know it from the ground.
Of course the garage had to match!
Prichard noted that this porch is a great example of how the town can still evolve, but that the new can fit seamlessly with the old without diminishing its historic character.
Brewery 33, Tommy Cimino, Jr.: Business Development Through Adaptive Reuse
Though very different from other projects honored this year, the HSR board wanted to recognize Brewery 33 “for creation of a new business in the historic heart of Riverton that transformed a long-neglected storage lot into an attractive destination for residents and visitors alike, in a way that enhances our historic character.”
Tommy Cimino receives his award from HSR Board member Iris Gaughan.
Riverton getting a brewery was a big deal. Although home to a few restaurants, and now a coffee shop, Riverton has not, in its history, had a watering hole. But when Tommy Cimino Jr., brew master and retired fireman scouted potential locations for his dream business, friend Ray Reis (a fireman who lives near Brewery 33) suggested he check out an old brick garage for sale in the middle of town.
Cimino was immediately hooked on Riverton. The site was perfect – perfectly decrepit!
But once he’d set his heart on the property, its owner found another buyer. Cimino looked at a lot of other properties after this, but the Riverton site was always his ideal. Luckily for him, the business that moved into the site didn’t succeed, and the property became available again. He bought it without delay.
Riverton-based JRP Architects helped Cimino execute his dream. The simple building with large lot was, indeed, perfect for Brewery 33, but the engineering requirements for the new use – plumbing for the brewery operations and drainage concerns in the parking lot – delayed the scheduled opening and presented financial challenges that Cimino is still working through. He is hoping to begin working with a canning service, which will augment on-site revenue and keep the business moving forward.
In addition to more outdoor seating with ambient lighting, he would like to see art on the exterior walls. He never “planned for the building to be gray forever.”
Thank you, Tommy, for your vision and energy!
Pat McDermott: Community Leadership
Regardless the season, Riverton’s historic downtown always looks good! Ever wonder how this happens?
The plantings in our public spaces significantly contribute to the high quality of life here. This is due to Pat McDermott, one of the Riverton Improvement Association’s founding members.
Pat surrounded by some of her fellow beautifiers, Alex Miscannon, Edgar Wilburn, Bill McDermott, and Kathy Simon.
She is great at organizing volunteers to plant flowers and then weed and water them all summer long. Pat also orders plants for the town’s public spaces including the Veterans’ Memorial at the intersection of Broad and Main, the town park, the center plaza between Broad and East Broad and the roadside plantings.
She is also an active member of the Porch Club’s Environmental and Garden Department and has won several awards at the Philadelphia Flower Show with fellow Porch Club members. This has helped raise Riverton’s profile within gardening communities in Philadelphia and surrounding area. She also participated in the Porch Club’s Garden Tours twice, showcasing the lovely garden at her own home on Main Street which she designed and maintains.
Pat was part of the effort to renovate the eagle that now stands in front of CVS. Before being repainted by a local artist, it was faded and hidden in shrubbery behind the train station.
HSR presented Pat with an honor award this year due to her longtime dedication to this cause. It reads “for her extraordinary volunteer work in beautifying Riverton in a way that enhances our historic character, as a founding member of the Riverton Improvement Association and as head of the Porch Club’s Environmental and Garden Committee.”
Pat Brunker (r) doing her best to embarrass Pat McDermott with a recitation of just a few of her many accomplishments.
Historical Society of Riverton offers its sincerest thanks to all the awardees for their contribution to the quality of Riverton AND to Calvary Presbyterian Church for generously providing their fine, historic space for the event!
Join us Tuesday May 20, 2025 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Calvary Presbyterian Church, 4th and Lippincott Streets, Riverton, NJ.
Everyone loves celebrating good work!
Whether you’re the proud owner of a historic property or love them because they are the character of Riverton, you know this is truly a labor of love.
HSR periodically publicly acclaims some of those who have gone the extra mile to care for our history.
Come and give your neighbors a round of applause to show our appreciation for what they’ve done.
Here’s a sneak peak at our winners this year. Drumroll, please …
Our top award, the Daniel Campbell Preservation Award goes to John and Danielle Casparro for their extensive (and of course continuing) restoration of 101 Lippincott Avenue, the Charles C. Miller and Hetty Lippincott Miller house.
To Gail and John Caruso for their home at 600 Elm Terrace (long known as “Dr. Mark’s House”). They re-roofed with modern materials that bring back the look of the Mediterranean tile roof. With architect Neil K. Johnson of Moorestown they added a gracious front porch that looks like it was always there.
A previous winner, Joe Rainer just keeps on going. This time it’s for multiple projects …
In 2022, just as HSR was getting ready to award Joe for multiple projects, a disastrous late night fire swept his 1922 “Williams & Wright Building” at Broad and Main. While many owners would have used this as a pretext to demolish and build something new and probably non-historic smack in the middle of our downtown, Joe brought the original building back, better than ever.
He has also done considerable upgrades to his other buildings recently, including the stunning repainting of the New Leaf at 606 Main Street.
Plus two “Honor Recognition Awards”:
Brewery 33 for creating an attractive new business right in the center of Riverton in place of a storage lot that had seen better days.
Pat McDermott in recognition of decades of volunteer service to improve the appearance of downtown Riverton and in countless other civic projects.
“What’s your favorite house in Riverton? What’s its story?”
Attention high school and K-8 students living in Riverton!
Historical Society of Riverton announces TWO student prize contests for Spring 2025:
$500 Writing Prize for high school students
$100 Illustration Prize for K-8 students
Deadline for entries for each contest is May 31, 2025 and each must respond to this year’s history question: “What’s your favorite house in Riverton? What’s its story?”
The winning entry for each contest will be featured on HSR’s website and each winning entrant will be recognized at the Fourth of July ceremonies in Riverton Memorial Park.
To get more ideas for what house you might choose, you could read the interpretative markers in front of some of Riverton’s oldest houses.
You might also use our walking tour maps: Map1Map2 to get a little more information on many historic houses.
Another source full of ideas is HSR’s book “Images of America: Riverton” at the Riverton Free Library or can be purchased online.
Details
High School Writing Prize: Riverton is a town of great houses. Many of these contribute to our historic district which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. The story of these houses as homes for generations of Riverton residents represents the story of our town on a very personal level. You and your family are a part of that story.
Submit a 1,000 word essay about your favorite Riverton house. The house might be your house, or a house you admire or are just curious about.
For questions about the prize or to submit your entry, please contact Heather Huffnagle at 856-505-7087 or email at heather.mary.macintosh <at> gmail <dot> com
K-8 Illustration Prize: The winning illustration will feature a Riverton house and narrative elements such as specific past owners or people doing things related to the house’s story.
How do you tell that story in a picture?
Think about including details that help tell it:
— a family portrait of the first owners. They might be standing in the front yard, on the porch, or looking out the windows.
— a scene that explains what an owner did for a living. For example, if one of the original owners built houses or boats, illustrate them working on a project.
— an object that is associated with an owner. For instance, the owner of the Campbell Soup Company might be holding a can of tomato soup.
Illustrations may be drawn or painted.
You may submit a photo of your work or scan to Heather Huffnagle at heather.mary.macintosh <at> gmail <dot> com or reach out to 856-505-7087 (cell) if you’re having trouble documenting your work. We can help!
Join us for a trip to those times Wednesday March 26, 2025 at 7:00 pm at the Riverton Free Library, 306 Main Street.
HSR welcomes back Marisa Bozarth, Burlington County Museum Curator for a lively evening of stories and images from when everything that we know as Riverton and Cinnaminson was fields and scattered farmhouses.
Click the images to enlarge. The Parry family (above) owned several farms all around the intersection of today’s Riverton Road, Branch Pike, and (yes) Parry Road. In addition to strawberries, they had extensive orchards and grew other crops.
Here’s a view of our whole area in 1849 on the J.W. Otley and R. Whiteford map. The little dots are the only buildings. No Riverton! Palmyra was tiny and there’s nary a Wawa or gas station to be found! All farmland.
Here’s William Parry’s ad in the 1860 Boyd’s Directory which we found at archive.org:
We think that the “Turnpike to Camden & Phila” is today’s Branch Pike, based on the word “Branch” in the caption. That would make it likely that the crossroad is today’s Pomona Road.
Please join us for an interesting escape into days long ago. Free and open to the public.
Discovering and retelling Riverton’s stories since 1970.
Remember this great circa 1898 picture of founder Robert Biddle we included in our Images of America book everyone loves so much?
(Click on any pic to enlarge.)
It’s a scan of a 5”x7” glass plate negative, made by Robert Biddle’s great-great-grandson Stephen Biddle Russell, a retired attorney who has lived in Florida for decades.
Steve scanned that plate and several others for us a couple of years ago … and tantalizingly mentioned that he has dozens more.
Well, “dozens” was an understatement – he has nearly 100 images from his Biddle family collection, and he’s now donated ALL of them to the Historical Society of Riverton!
And he’s used his scanner to make darned good digital images of all of them, easy to just click through like you’re in a time machine.
We’re just stunned at his generosity and are so very grateful.
Above, for instance, on the right is Helen “Elsie” Biddle (1875-1962), Robert’s granddaughter, with her gorgeous brand new sailboat (look at the shiny varnish!) The young lady with her isn’t identified but looks a lot like her sister Anna (1869-1926). The fascinating building to the right is the family ice house (today called 2 Lippincott Ave. and home to HSR President Faith Endicott).
Here is our hero Steve Russell with his partner Karen Green on the day they delivered all the glass plates. Because they are so fragile (and heavy – there’s 31 lbs. of glass there!) Steve brought them from Florida in carry-on luggage carefully protected in a hard rolling case. He went to the airport an extra hour early just to be sure TSA knew what the heck he was bringing on the plane.
As you can see in the foreground, Steve also made up for us a couple of invaluable keys to family group photos. When proud patriarch Robert reached his 80s, he began having these pics taken at his birthday celebrations (August 10th) with all his descendants and their families spread out along the back porch of his home at 309 Bank Avenue.
Here’s the one from his 82nd birthday in 1896.
Everyone in the picture lived in Riverton. Robert (8) and his daughter/caregiver Martha (20) there at 309 Bank, his son Charles Miller Biddle (6) and family lived at their magnificent 207 Bank (corner of Lippincott), Anna Mary McIlvain Biddle (13) and family at 201 Bank (upriver corner of Thomas), the Frishmuths in a now-gone home at 101 Bank (upriver corner of Linden), and the Atlees in their brand new home at 100 Linden.
Now – not all 100 are of great interest. There are quite a few of the Biddles and Lippincotts relaxing at a hotel in Atlantic City, and many from various grand tours of Europe and the American West.
But good golly, there are some great images here no one has seen in 125 years. How about this one of an ice storm in 1898? That’s 101 Lippincott Ave. on the right (looking toward the river). Left to right are Charles Miller Biddle, daughter Helen “Elsie” Biddle, and her brother Robert Biddle 2nd.
This is what a box of 12 glass plates looks like (“gelatine” plates weren’t made of gelatin, they were glass plates with a thin gelatin-based light-sensitive emulsion) …
… and here’s what one of the 5″ x 7″ glass negatives looks like:
Rivertonians of today and Rivertonians of the future are truly blessed to be the recipients of this generosity. What other town creates this kind of special devotion?
Take a minute and enjoy a couple more images.
Who recognizes this one? It was taken from a small boat, so the slow shutter speed needed meant it’s not very clear. But truly a rare view.
It’s a riddle: which house isn’t there anymore – and yet it isn’t gone?
Answer: It was moved! This is the foot of Fulton Street in the late 1890s, then the home of Walter and Mabel Woolman. Around 1913 they wanted to build a new house there (which became today’s 701 Bank Avenue) so they moved this old house to what is today 201 Fulton Street, where it still stands (home of your Borough Historian, as it happens).
Built in the mid-1850s this was the second home in Riverton built by Daniel Leeds Miller, Jr. and his wife Anna. Daniel was the principal founder of the town (the one who actually bought the farm from the Lippincotts on behalf of his partners) and he lived here until his death in 1871.
Here is how it looked in a detail from the famous 1890 Birds Eye View lithograph by Rivertonian Otto Koehler.
And finally, here’s a super-rare riverbank picture from 1899 (lots of winter scenes in the collection, for some reason).
Recognize it? Two of those houses still stand. The three nearest homes left to right are:
– 311 Bank (then a guest house named “The Red Gables” and run by retired Civil War general William L. James and his family) – 309 Bank (at the time 48 years the home of founder Robert Biddle), and – 307 Bank (originally built for Robert Biddle’s brother William Canby Biddle and demolished by the Baptist Home in 1984 despite an uproar of opposition from Riverton residents).
We’re very grateful to Steve Biddle Russell – and to Moorestown’s Joan Biddle and her late, beloved husband Miller, who introduced us to Steve quite a few years ago now.
Historical Society of Riverton’s rich depth of authentic historical material has come almost completely from generous members of the public who, like the Biddle family, know that there are things that are important beyond ourselves. These images, documents, and artifacts all have stories to tell.
Please consider letting HSR scan or archive things in your own collection!
Discovering and retelling Riverton’s stories since 1970.
