OLD TOWN HALL MUSEUM REOPENS WITH NEW EXHIBITIONS

mh historicalMULLICA HILL — Harrison Township Historical Society’s Old Town Hall Museum has reopened this Spring with two new exhibitions exploring 10,000 years of local history.

“We are very excited to be able to reopen the second floor galleries,” said Suzanne Grasso, the Society’s president. “The new installations feature the Society’s rich holdings, many of which are on exhibit for the first time.”

“Living Off the Land: Food, Farms and Families” focuses on Harrison Township’s agricultural heritage. Food production has been a prominent feature of the area for centuries due to its fertile soil, progressive family farms and close proximity to major metropolitan markets in Philadelphia, New York and beyond.

“Long before the “local food movement” gained popularity, family-run farms here have been supplying

fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs for generations,” noted exhibition curator, James Turk.

The exhibition examines a wide range of farm products produced here, from fruits and vegetable crops to dairy, poultry and pork through artifacts dating from the early 1800s to the present day.

“Each section includes a recipe selected from the Society’s archives to give our visitors a ‘taste’ of the township’s culinary heritage,” added Grasso.

Going even farther back into the township’s history, “The Stone Age in Harrison Township” features the Society’s extensive Paleo-Indian collection. This archeological record provides evidence of 10,000 years human habitation here. Interestingly, the objects include stone hoes and adzes showing how long crops have been grown and harvested here.

“Eyewitnesses,” the Society’s interactive presentation in the first floor gallery concludes this Spring.  Here a collection of objects tell their own stories through an audio soundtrack accessible through visitors’ mobile devices and on-line.

The exhibition is also available at the Society’s website (www.harrisonhistorical.com). Both on-line and gallery visitors can vote for their favorite object and story. Museum visitors are also encouraged to share a “selfie” with their favorite object.

The Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. through May 15 (closed Mother’s Day) and admission is free. Old Town Hall Museum is located at 62 South Main Street in the heart of Mullica Hill’s National Register Historic District.

For information call 856-478-4949 or visit www.harrisonhistorical.com

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