Editing Lawnside, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:FWPNW026Lawnside756G.jpg|thumb|left|Lawnside school {{circa|1940}}]]
[[File:FWPNW026Lawnside756B.jpg|thumb|left|A tavern in Lawnside {{circa|1940}}]]
Lawnside has been home to African Americans since the late 18th century. Methodist gatherings were established by 1797, and in 1811, Bishop [[Richard Allen (bishop)|Richard Allen]] of Philadelphia founded the local [[African Methodist Episcopal Church|African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)]], which eventually became the Mount Pisgah AME Church today.<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia>Romisher, Jason. [https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/lawnside-new-jersey/ "Lawnside, New Jersey"], ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia''. Accessed February 18, 2025.</ref> AME churches were premised on abolition and civil rights, primarily serving former slaves and their descendants. Additionally, freedmen often sought safety and support by concentrating near [[Quakers|Quaker]] allies, which in the case of Lawnside was the [[Haddonfield, New Jersey|Haddonfield]] Quaker Society of Friends, with support from the [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County]] Abolition Society and [[Vigilant Association of Philadelphia]].<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia /> In 1840, these latter abolitionists further advanced the settlement by purchasing land to convert into inexpensive lots for sale to African Americans. The original name of this community, Free Haven, was due to its crucial role as a stop along several routes of the [[Underground Railroad]]. Indeed, the [[Peter Mott House|home of Peter Mott]], now a nationally recognized refuge of the underground railroad, was saved by the Lawnside Historical Society from demolition in 1992 specifically to preserve this important legacy of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Park Service |title=Peter Mott House |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/nj2.htm |access-date=July 1, 2023 |website=Aboard the Underground Railroad}}</ref><ref>[https://www.petermotthouse.org/learn/ The Story of Peter Mott], Peter Mott House. Accessed February 18, 2025</ref>

The early village was later known as "Snow Hill" after the Civil War and eventually "Lawnton." After a train station was constructed by [[Reading Company|Reading]] along the [[Atlantic City Railroad]] in 1907, the town became known as Lawnside, either from the presence of a spacious lawn at the station or as a shortened description of the stop's exit on the "Lawnton side" of the tracks.<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia /><ref>[https://www.lawnside.net/ Home Page], Borough of Lawnside. Accessed September 2, 2015. "The current name of Lawnside was coined in 1907 when the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad built a station stop there."</ref><ref>Engel, Edward. [https://web.archive.org/web/20151223081129/http://articles.philly.com/1992-05-15/news/26014520_1_higgs-love-poem-dirt-road "Rewinding Times Of Lawnside And Role As Ex-slave Haven E. Muneerah Higgs Focuses On A Town She Loved As A Child. Her Video Is Part Of A Film Festival Today."], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', May 15, 1992. Accessed September 2, 2015. "Once known as Snow Hill, the town now had a new name: Free Haven. It took the name Lawnside in 1907 from the borough's station on the Reading Railroad's old Atlantic City line."</ref>

In 1919, [[John Lawson (Medal of Honor)|John Lawson]], a prominent Philadelphian and recipient of the [[Medal of Honor]] for his service during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], was laid to rest at Mount Peace Cemetery in Lawnside. The exact reasons behind this location remain uncertain, with possibilities including family connections to Lawnside or the restrictions on burying black veterans in certain Pennsylvania cemeteries at the time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Phil |date=2004 |title=Landsman John Lawson |url=http://www.dvrbs.com/CW/CamdenCountyHeroes-JohnLawson.htm |access-date=July 1, 2023 |website=Heroes of Camden, New Jersey}}</ref>

On March 24, 1926, [[Governor of New Jersey]] [[A. Harry Moore]] signed into law [[New Jersey General Assembly]] Bill 561, dissolving [[Centre Township, New Jersey|Centre Township]], of which Lawnside was a part, and incorporating the Borough of Lawnside, which also included portions of the borough of [[Barrington, New Jersey|Barrington]].<ref name="Story">Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 107. Accessed May 29, 2024.</ref> One month later, on April 20, 1926, an "Official Special Election" was held making Lawnside the first independent, self-governing [[African Americans|African American]] community north of the [[Mason–Dixon line]].<ref>[http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/SPECIAL20/610190345/-1/special20 "Lawnside: Rich and deep progress"], ''[[Courier-Post]]'', October 19, 2006. Accessed July 9, 2008. "In 1926, Lawnside was incorporated as a borough and became the first independent, self-governing black municipality north of the Mason-Dixon Line."</ref>

Despite historic [[Redlining|discrimination from banks]] against African Americans, the incorporation of the town as a Black community allowed residents to achieve home ownership with minimal bureaucratic obstacles. This was also facilitated by local mortgage lenders like the Home Mutual Investment Company, established in 1909, and the Lawnside Mutual Building and Loan Association in 1915.<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia />

Lawnside's existence and reputation as a distinctive community was supported in the 1930s through the presence of a thriving jazz and barbecue scene in the wake of prohibition, with venues named the Cotton Club, The Hi-Hat Club, Dreamland Café, and Club Harlem. These establishments attracted visitors from across the northeast, offering the opportunity to enjoy performances by influential African American artists and celebrities who were not allowed to play at white establishments, including such superstars as [[Sarah Vaughan]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Duke Ellington]], [[Billie Holiday]], [[LaWanda Page]], [[Billy Eckstine]], [[Arthur Prysock]], and even champion boxers [[Joe Louis]] and [[Jersey Joe Walcott]].<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia /><ref>Walsh, Jim. [https://courierpostonline.newspapers.com/article/courier-post-lawnside-park-1996-when/60253260/ "When Lawnside Jumped"], ''[[Courier-Post]]'', August 13, 1996. Accessed February 18, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

During the 1960s, Lawnside's young people, influenced by the [[Civil rights movement|Civil rights]] and [[Black power]] movements, led sit-ins, protest marches and media campaigns against the discrimination they faced at the regional [[Haddon Heights High School]], which resulted in changes in school administration, increased representation in student life, the introduction of Black studies courses, and the formation of the Afro-American Cultural Society. On April 9, 1968, Lawnside civic leaders became the first governmental entity in the United States to declare the birthday of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] to be a holiday, just days after [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|King's assassination]].<ref name=PhiladelphiaEncyclopedia />