Alice Paul Birthplace
Paulsdale, c. 1958, with Hooton Road in the background
Paulsdale is located in Burlington County, New Jersey
Paulsdale
Paulsdale is located in New Jersey
Paulsdale
Paulsdale is located in the United States
Paulsdale
Location128 Hooton Road
Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey 08054
Coordinates39°57′24″N 74°55′50.5″W / 39.95667°N 74.930694°W / 39.95667; -74.930694
Area6.5 acres (2.6 ha)
Built1840 (1840)
Built byBenjamin Hooton
NRHP reference No.89000774[1]
NJRHP No.851[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 5, 1989
Designated NHLDecember 4, 1991
Designated NJRHPMay 22, 1989

Paulsdale is a historic estate and house museum in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey. Built about 1840, it was the birthplace and childhood home of Alice Paul (1885-1977), a major leader in the Women's suffrage movement in the United States, whose activism led to passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989, for its significance in social history and politics/government. Paulsdale was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.[3]

History

The main house at Paulsdale was built about 1800 by Benjamin Hooton. The Paul family purchased the 173-acre (70.01 ha) farm around 1883.[4] The property remained in the Paul family until 1958, and served as a sort of "home base" for activist Alice Paul, who was born here in 1885. For much of her adult life she lived an itinerant lifestyle, driven by her activism for women's suffrage. Paulsdale was a place she regularly returned to, holding meetings and strategy sessions for her campaigns. It was sold out of the family in 1958, after her brother's death.[3]

During the 1950s, the property was divided into two parcels: 167 acres (67.58 ha) of farmland and the remaining 6 acres (2.4 ha) which included the house and farm buildings. The larger became a housing development, while the smaller remained a private residence until it was purchased by the Alice Paul Institute in 1990.

The house has been restored to the condition when Alice Paul lived there. It now serves as a historic house museum and a home for the institute.[5] The purpose of the institute is to make sure Alice Paul's legacy survives by enhancing the knowledge of future generations on the topic of human rights.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System – (#89000774)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Burlington County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. December 28, 2020. p. 13.
  3. 1 2 Topolski, Jill S. (June 10, 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Alice Paul Birthplace". National Park Service. With accompanying 5 photos
  4. ↑ Kahn, Eve M. "Group Seeks to Buy a Suffragist's Home", The New York Times, July 13, 1989. Accessed July 12, 2008. "The Alice Paul Centennial Foundation plans to buy the house in Mount Laurel, but first the organization must raise $500,000 by Sept. 8.... The 2½-story, stucco-clad brick farmhouse was built in 1840 and once overlooked the Paul family's 173-acre Burlington County farm, east of Camden. Miss Paul was born in an upstairs bedroom in 1885 and lived in the house until she left for Swarthmore College in 1901."
  5. ↑ History of Paulsdale
  6. ↑ "Mission, Vision, and Goals". Alice Paul Institute.
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