141 East Main Street, Moorestown

The house at 141 East Main Street is a contributing property in the Moorestown Historic District, and it is listed on the National and New Jersey State Registers.

141 East Main Street, on right, 1890

Built in the 18th century by Joshua Bispham, this house, like the one next door, was a witness and is said to have been a reluctant host to Hessian soldiers in June of 1778 when the British were evacuating from Philadelphia.

“The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton” by John Trumbull

Sometimes referred to as “the tannery,” oral tradition has it that the building was constructed as a tannery downstairs with quarters upstairs. The walls of the house consisted of two layers of bricks with straw and mud between them for insulation and plaster over the bricks. The house has been added onto and remodeled many times over its long life.

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When Bispham and his first wife were coming to America from England, their daughter was born on the ship during the five month journey. The ship’s captain named the child Atlantica and presented her with silk for a dress. Bispham was Town Clerk and one of the assessors of the township during the years 1744-47, a NJ Assemblyman in 1749 and a Chosen Freeholder in 1753.

Joshua Bispham House, 1998

According to George DeCou, talking about the Hessian House next door in Moorestown and Her Neighbors, he wrote, “Old residents recall when these two buildings were connected by a one story building but I do not know when this addition was added. Some old records refer to the two properties as the barracks which was probably because the buildings were occupied by the British troops in 1778.”

On the 1876 J.D. Scott Map of Moorestown, 139 and 141 appear to be connected

Under the ownership of Asa Schooley, a harness and saddle shop occupied the space between the two houses.