730 Marne Highway, Moorestown
The oldest portion of this historic farm house was built c. 1770 by Joshua Bispham. The residents of the house would have been witness to Hessian troops on June 20, 1778, marching up the Old Salem Road towards Mt. Holly to meet up with the rest of the British Army. Between the years 1812 and 1816, the house was owned by Commodore Thomas Truxtun, one of the US Navy’s most important early heroes.
During his retirement, the Truxtun family moved to Chester Township from Cranbury, NJ, in 1812. He moved to this 40-acre plantation he called Woodlawn, on what is now Marne Highway. His wife did not enjoy living in Cranbury, and the previous owner of this house, Dr. George Davis, wanted to move closer to family in Brunswick so they simply traded properties. The Truxtun family lived here until 1816, when he moved to Philadelphia. Tax records from 1812 show that Truxtun owned 40 acres of land, 3 horses, and 3 head of cattle. He described the property, which he intended to continue farming as previous owners had, as “handsome, healthy, and in a good neighbourhood.”
Courtesy of New Jersey State Archives, photograph by Nathaniel Rue Ewan, c. 1930s
Continue reading for more details…
As a privateer commander during the American Revolution, he captured ten enemy ships. After the war he continued to sail in service of the nation he fought to create. He was one of six commanders appointed by George Washington to the new US Navy. In 1785 he was responsible for the safe return of Benjamin Franklin to the USA from his tour as Ambassador to France.
US Mint bronze medal, from 1800
In 1786 his ship, the Canton, was one of the first American vessels to open direct trade between China and the United States. In 1794, he published an important book on navigation, Remarks, Instructions, and Examples Relating to the Latitude and Longitude, and was one of the first to map the Gulf Stream.
Commodore Truxtun’s 1794 navigational book
He also designed the original Navy signal manual and wrote the predecessor to the Navy Regulations in use today. As commander of the USS Constellation in 1799 he defeated the French ship L’Insurgente in the Caribbean as part of the “Quasi War” with France. In 1800, he forced the surrender of another French warship, La Vengeance. Six naval ships have been named for him in recent decades, including the current USS Truxtun (DDG-103), a destroyer. He had a reputation for bravery and tenacity as a disciplined but fair commander and a superior seaman and leader.
Commodore Truxtun’s ship, the Independence, 1777, capturing a West Indiaman ship
Silas Walton was another notable owner of the plantation in the later 19th century. In addition to farming his sizable acreage, he also invented a cultivator/tiller and developed a new variety of strawberry. The house remained in the Walton family until 1983.
Drawing of the house from the 1876 J.D. Scott Atlas of Burlington County
20th century aerial view of the homestead
One of many outbuildings
Stairs and railing from 2nd to 3rd floor
2nd floor fireplace with King of Prussia marble
Outbuilding used as garage
Finial detail on garage roof
Dollhouse replica of 730 Marne Highway, created for Walton children in the 20th century
730 Marne Highway, present day