Where was Davis Grove?

[Jerseyman]

TeeGate:
This is Doug again. The old Garden State Park used to be right there.That was built in 1937.
Doug

Doug:

Vineland entrepreneur Eugene Mori received special dispensation to build Garden State Park during the early years of World War II. Despite restrictions on virtually all building materials and a lack of gasoline and tires for transportation, Mori built his race track in 1942 and it opened on 18 July of that year.

I am continuing to check source material here in my library for the Davis Grove filling station. Mapping of Delaware Township in 1929 and property ownership map from 1935 both have failed to reveal any additional information.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[RMICKLE]

Hello Everyone,

When I first saw this thread a couple of weeks ago I asked my mother if she knew anything about it. She said she didn’t know the history of the place but added they had cheap prices and a lot of dirt in the tank :jeffd:.

One thing I noticed about the picture is it looks like the front of the buildings are facing south based on the shadows meaning the gas station would have to be on the north side of the highway.

Some of the highway was built on top of existing roads. The section east of Chairville was partially built on an existing road as seen on a topo map:

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.89281404710874&lng=-74.77543830871582&z=15&type=topo&gpx=

The old road separates from Rt. 70 and runs in front of Medford Cedar Products. So the Chairville gas station could have been moved back from the old road to make room for the new wider right of way but after looking at the State’s parcel map posted by Jerseyman it doesn’t look like the there’s enough room on the property for the spacing between the buildings as shown in the picture (in addition to the previously mention building style differences).

The highway west of Marlton was built on the Old Marlton Pike so it’s possible the gas station could have been there and moved back for right of way widening.

Another source may be “Cherry Hill, Images of America Series” at Borders Bookstore.
I think it had aerial views along Route 70 in the 30’s or 40’s.

http://www.bordersstores.com/search...erms=cherry+hill&mediaType=1&srchType=Keyword

Roy

 

[Jerseyman]

Hello Everyone,

When I first saw this thread a couple of weeks ago I asked my mother if she knew anything about it. She said she didn’t know the history of the place but added they had cheap prices and a lot of dirt in the tank :jeffd:.

One thing I noticed about the picture is it looks like the front of the buildings are facing south based on the shadows meaning the gas station would have to be on the north side of the highway.

Some of the highway was built on top of existing roads. The section east of Chairville was partially built on an existing road as seen on a topo map:

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.89281404710874&lng=-74.77543830871582&z=15&type=topo&gpx=

The old road separates from Rt. 70 and runs in front of Medford Cedar Products. So the Chairville gas station could have been moved back from the old road to make room for the new wider right of way but after looking at the State’s parcel map posted by Jerseyman it doesn’t look like the there’s enough room on the property for the spacing between the buildings as shown in the picture (in addition to the previously mention building style differences).

The highway west of Marlton was built on the Old Marlton Pike so it’s possible the gas station could have been there and moved back for right of way widening.

Another source may be “Cherry Hill, Images of America Series” at Borders Bookstore.
I think it had aerial views along Route 70 in the 30’s or 40’s.

http://www.bordersstores.com/search...erms=cherry+hill&mediaType=1&srchType=Keyword

Roy

Roy:

Thank you so much for responding to this thread. I concur that the building sits on the north side of the road and I have operated on that thought process from the beginning. Your suggestion of the Arcadia books is a good one, but I’ve already checked both of the Cherry Hill volumes and, unfortunately, none of the photos appear to show anything remotely similar to the house and office building. I hope to get in more research this week in Mount Holly. I should be able to either confirm or deny the filling station’s presence in Burlington County. If it is not there, then we will need to look in Camden County.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Teegate]

Doug,

What years did he reside at Willis Ave in Merchantville? I talked to my friend who delivered papers on Willis Ave in "Cherry Hill" in the 50s, and he did not recognize the name and he knew everyone. Willis in Merchantville is one street over the border and he was not as sure then.

I will try this weekend to visit the nursing home and talk to the 90 year old who lived in Cherry Hill and is the only person I know who may have some answers on the station. He hunted along 70 and 72 in the 1930s and lived in Cherry Hill all his life.

Guy

 

[anghew025]

Tee,
From the letters that I have addressed to my Great -Grandfather, he lived at 727 Center Ave in Collingswood in April of 1929. He lived in Merchantville on Willis Ave,first at#22 then at #25 from approx. 12/19/30 thru 7/26/33. I dont know YET if he was there any longer than that,as I have yet to recieve some newly found letters of his at my parents house. the only other info I can give you at this time is he lived at 226 center st in Tuckerton on 12/23/39 and shortly thereafter, moving onto my grandfather's property until his passing in 1978.

Doug

 

[Teegate]

Doug,

Thanks for the info.

Guy

 

[Jerseyman]

Tee,
From the letters that I have addressed to my Great -Grandfather, he lived at 727 Center Ave in Collingswood in April of 1929. He lived in Merchantville on Willis Ave,first at#22 then at #25 from approx. 12/19/30 thru 7/26/33. I dont know YET if he was there any longer than that,as I have yet to recieve some newly found letters of his at my parents house. the only other info I can give you at this time is he lived at 226 center st in Tuckerton on 12/23/39 and shortly thereafter, moving onto my grandfather's property until his passing in 1978.

Doug

Doug:

Based on the information you supplied above, I went back for a another search of the 1930 federal decennial census and I found the James family still residing in Collingswood. When the enumerator recorded them, He listed “Thomas” as the surname and “James” as the given name, which is why I did not find them the first time I looked. So, this time I tried a few tricks to track them down. Here is the information:

727 Center Street, Borough of Collingswood, Camden County, New Jersey

Thomas R. James.....Head.....Renting.....$35 monthly rent.....Radio, yes.....Male.....37 yrs. old......Age at first marriage: 22 yrs......Born in Pennsylvania of a Welsh father.....occupation: auto mechanic

Cora M. James.....Wife.....Female.....36 yrs. old.....Age at first marriage: 20 yrs......Born in Pennsylvania of an English father and Pennsylvania Mother.....no occupation

Verna M. James.....Daughter.....Female.....15 yrs. old. Born in Pennsylvania of Pennsylvania parents.....no occupation

Abstracted from United States Census Bureau, Fifteenth Decennial Census, Collingswood, Camden County, New Jersey. Microform edition, roll 1323, p. 12A, Enumeration District 99.

While anything is possible, it strikes me odd that Thomas would reside in Collingswood and Merchantville and operate a filling station all the way out along Route 40 somewhere. I wonder, like others here, if “Davis Grove” is not somewhere closer in towards Camden and, perhaps, he later leased the station that Teegate identified in Chairville.

I hope to get up to Mount Holly tomorrow. We will see what that brings forth.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[anghew025]

Jerseyman:
I bow down to your awesome-ness! You hit a grand slam there. How you find the resourses to find out this info absolutely astounds me. You pegged everything there. You even found a piece of info that I didnt even know about my great-grandmother.
As far as your statement about living in Collingswood/Merchantville and then travelling on Rt 40. I agree that travelling a distance would seem odd. However, like i noticed using a mapquest map, going from Willis Ave. to Rt 40 is only a four mile trip down Haddonfield rd. I can easily see my GG doing that since when he lived in Tuckerton he travelled to New Gretna to his station there.
I honestly cant help having since strange feeling that the infamous and elusive Davis Grove is somewhere close to the old Garden State Park area on Rt40.

Doug

 

[Teegate]

Jerseyman,

Nice work as usual.

Something hit me today at work. Remember when you, Relayer, Mike, and I were at the dam near Route 70 in Cherry Hill, and you said there was an old gas station in the woods nearby? Was the remains you and Relayer found old enough to be the proper era?

Guy

 

[Jerseyman]

Jerseyman:
I bow down to your awesome-ness! You hit a grand slam there. How you find the resourses to find out this info absolutely astounds me. You pegged everything there. You even found a piece of info that I didnt even know about my great-grandmother.
As far as your statement about living in Collingswood/Merchantville and then travelling on Rt 40. I agree that travelling a distance would seem odd. However, like i noticed using a mapquest map, going from Willis Ave. to Rt 40 is only a four mile trip down Haddonfield rd. I can easily see my GG doing that since when he lived in Tuckerton he travelled to New Gretna to his station there.
I honestly cant help having since strange feeling that the infamous and elusive Davis Grove is somewhere close to the old Garden State Park area on Rt40.

Doug

Doug:

You embarrass me greatly, but thank you for the kind words. Working in the local history field for the past 35 years has taught me a thing or two, so using a few tricks to elicit “missing” information I need from a census population schedule is almost mechanical at this point.

Unfortunately, I did NOT have the opportunity to travel to Mount Holly today, but I am hoping to do so first thing tomorrow morning. I was all set to go when a cell phone call from the office revised my itinerary and redirected me to Trenton after I hastily made a appointment at the Historic Preservation Office for reviewing a filed report.

Hopefully I will have some news tomorrow. I plan to check the drawings for Route 40 in Evesham, Southampton, Woodland, and Pemberton townships. If I am unsuccessful there at the Burlington County Clerk’s Office, I will know with almost certainty that we have narrowed down the location to some location in Camden County.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Jerseyman]

Jerseyman,

Nice work as usual.

Something hit me today at work. Remember when you, Relayer, Mike, and I were at the dam near Route 70 in Cherry Hill, and you said there was an old gas station in the woods nearby? Was the remains you and Relayer found old enough to be the proper era?

Guy

Thanks, Guy!

Yes, I well remember our visit to John Kay’s sawmill dam and our conversation in which Relayer and I told you all about the dumped gas station remnants on the other side of the North Branch of Cooper River. My mental recollections of that location identifies the remains as an old enameled-panel (porcelain) service station that had been dumped there and not an in situ filling station of the type depicted in the photograph that LMCFashions first provided, sorry to say. I wish it was that easy, Guy—I really do!

We will see what tomorrow brings!!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Jerseyman]

Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!

Folks:

It appears the mystery has been solved! I looked at well over 50 drawings today as I searched through the plans for widening Route 40 in Evesham, Southampton, Woodland, and Pemberton townships. I found one drawing that depicted a dwelling and filling station that appeared to be remarkably similar to the one known as “Davis Grove”:

This is a detail from:
New Jersey State Highway Department
Route 40 (Rev. 1927) Section 5A
Red Lion to Buddtown Road (widening)
February 1937
drawing 6 of 11
(Burlington County Clerk’s Office Plan #2922)

Based on this drawing, the filling station stood in Southampton Township on the north side of Route 40/70 just east of the roadway’s intersection with Bozarthtown-Burrs Mill Road

I then turned to the deeds to determine the history of the parcel and I struck more paydirt. Burlington County Deed Book 802, page 453 records a sale that occurred 14 November 1932 between John M. Kennedy 3rd et als., executors & trustees to George E. Davis and Anna G. Davis, his wife. The sale was for “Lot no. 2,” consisting of 5 acres.

This answers where the name “Davis Grove” came from. But there is more to the story. George E. Davis resided in Pennsauken Township with a Merchantville Post Office address at 6748 Githens Avenue according to the 1930 census. In all likelihood, Davis had either met or knew Thomas James locally, so when Davis decided to open the service station, he presumably leased it to James, an auto mechanic. Don’t forget that James and his family lived on Willis Avenue in Merchantville. Furthermore, Davis, being a house carpenter (according to the 1930 census), probably constructed the dwelling house himself as it does have a “new” appearance in the photograph in post no. 1 of this thread.

So, Doug, I suggest you head out Route 70 towards Burrs Mill and determine what, if anything, is left there.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Teegate]

Well, this shows that one should never blow off the memories of older folks. They will be right most of the time. Again, nice going Jerseyman!

I would assume that since the state owned quite a bit of land on that side of the road, they forced everyone along the edge to move on even though they never really widened the road. Looking over that area if the map is North up it would not be Burrs Mill Road that this was at. It had to be one of the roads coming in on an angle. Maybe Beebe Lane?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.888839,-74.654318&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

There are a few others in that area where it may also have been. Jerseyman, are those mile markers on the map? If so they don't add up from where 70 starts.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

He didn't have that place long after all that hard work building it.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

I suspect that map is compressed and the distances are farther than normal, so I place a guess right at this location shown on the 1931 map. There appears to be something there.

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.889323737709866&lng=-74.65029716491699&z=17&type=nj1930&gpx=


Guy

 

[oji]

Great work all, This was like reading a mystery novel. Clues, Guesses, Old memories, Paper trails, Dead ends and eventually an answer! Now I have one for you, I knew this guy who was the head of the Teamsters Union and.............................

 

[Banjo]

I agree with oji, this has truly been a great read. Reminds me of when they used to say "Tune in tomorrow for another episode of..." My thanks to all involved for an uplifting read, and kudos to Ben for creating a place where things like this can happen. It speaks volumes for the webmaster and the people who post on this site.

Now if we can find some aerial photos of Giants Stadium.....

 

[woodjin]

Interestingly, this area is very very close to my original guess (which was entirely a guess). If not for the designation of "North side of route40/70" I would have thought that was it. There are quite a few clearings of sorts around this area of the highway. Great work Jerseyman!!

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

Jerseyman, remind me to never commit a crime in your neighborhood. You are awesome. People like you are a treasure.

 

[bobpbx]

Interestingly, this area is very very close to my original guess (which was entirely a guess). If not for the designation of "North side of route40/70" I would have thought that was it. There are quite a few clearings of sorts around this area of the highway. Great work Jerseyman!!

Jeff

You were very close Jeff. At the location of your original guess (or close, at one of those horseshoe turns), I stopped there to take a leak on my way home from a business trip about 6 years ago. At the turnabout right by the lake there, a lass of about 25 years old (a blond) was sunning herself on a blanket she had laid out on the sugar sand. She was passable, but not stunning. She smiled at me with a "come hither" look on her face as I passed slowly by. I smiled back, but was too shocked to do anything else. There was no car nearby. Very unique.