Historic Whitall House Lands $7,300 in State Grants

Gloucester County provided the following news release: 

The Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders announced Wednesday that the Whitall House at Red Bank Park is the recipient of two state grants totaling $7,380.

Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said that the county received a $2,976 grant from the New Jersey Council on the Humanities for a new exhibit and speaker series about Yellow Fever and Midwifery, and a $4,404 grant from the New Jersey Historic Commission to support the researching, writing, and designing of new battlefield signage.

“The Whitall House is a treasure in our region for history and education and thecounty is committed to providing programs that help tell the story of the Whitall’s and life during the 18th century,” said Freeholder Director Damminger.

Damminger said, “We are very proud to receive these two grants during a time when every cent helps us deliver quality programs to our residents and visitors without impacting our taxpayers.”

Freeholder Adam J. Taliaferro said that the Whitall House is now open for tours Wednesday through Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm and that there are many exciting programs lined up for the upcoming season.

“For the first time, the second floor of the Whitall House will be open to the public and feature special surgical items on loan from Philadelphia's Mutter Museum,” said Freeholder Taliaferro.

“The exhibition ‘From Midwifery to Yellow Fever: Life and Death at the Whitall House’ and speaker series is going to help our visitors really understand the circumstances people faced when it came to medicine, disease and childbirth.”

Dates for the three-part Speakers Series will be announced and a special Heritage Sunday has been scheduled on July 21 to highlight the exhibit.

Freeholder Taliaferro noted that the grant award from the New Jersey Historic Commission would beused to support the researching, writing, and designing of 10 newbattlefield signs.  In September the county will apply for another grant for the fabrication of the signs. The signs will help explain:

• Gloucester County’s role in the Revolution, the local conflict, reasons for identifying with either side during the war, and the Whitalls' experience with navigating troubled political and social waters.
• The River Campaign of 1777, when British forces occupied Philadelphia and access to the Delaware River became crucial to supplying the city.
• The key figures, including Brigadier General Hugh Mercer, Colonel Christopher Greene and Colonel Carl von Donop.
• A soldier’s life and what “a day in the life” of a soldier looked like.
• African-American Soldiers and whether or not Christopher Greene’s First Rhode Island regiment contained African-American troops at the time of the battle. (After Red Bank, Greene officially recruited African-American troops to fill the ranks of the American forces.)
• Signs will also be designed to explain The Battle of Red Bank, The Naval Engagement, Quakers in War, The Medicinal Garden, and The Aftermath.