5 Reeve Avenue
Haddon Township, NJ, USA

5 Reeve Avenue, Haddon Township, NJ, USA

The Reeve house, a hip roof, two-story structure, 33' x 28' was formed by joining two smaller existing homes, and is said to have taken on its present basic appearance in 1855 (or possibly 1842 according to a different source). A leanto kitchen and bathhouse were attached to the house. Samuel A. Reeve farmed 17 acres, which spread over two lots. He raised livestock and grew wheat, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and hay. There was a 22' x 35' barn (built 1839) with a large shed attached, and an open wagon shed next to the barn. Samuel A. Reeve was the first Tax Collector for Haddon Township when the Township was formally incorporated in 1865 and he was a trustee of the local school (The Rowantown School which sat about about 100 feet east of the house). Samuel married Lilpah White. Samuel's son Edward Reeve (1843-1882) married Mary C. Baker (-1925); Mary taught at the the school in the late 1860s.

The Reeve House passed to a child of Edward and Mary, Esterbrook Reeve (1881-1980). Esterbrook learned carpentery building an annex to the back of the school in 1901. That annex served as local government offices and later as the Haddon Township Public Library. With his carpentry skills, Esterbrook went on to build over 1500 in the Westmont area. Esterbrook Reeve lived in the Reeve House until 1933.