The
Whitman-
Stafford
Farmhouse
A Brief History
when the railroad was built, the area that is now Laurel Springs consisted of three farms and their surrounding pastures. One original homestead stood where the present-day Laurel Springs School now sits on Stone Road. During the 19th century, two of these farms belonged to Montgomery Stafford and together totaled 187 acres. The properties were separated by Clementon Road (now Stone Road), and one boundary of the Stafford Farm followed what are now East and West Stafford Avenues.
The Old Stafford Homestead
Map showing current town boundaries & historic property locations
Railroad Survey of "Laurel Mills" (Name the area was
given before incorporation of Laurel Springs Borough)
Before 1877
The Tomlinson Mansion
The Stafford Farm estates
were operated by George Stafford, the brother of farm owner Montgomery Stafford. Montgomery Stafford owned several farms in the surrounding area of what is now the Glendale section of Voorhees Township, NJ. The house that presently stands at 315 Maple Avenue, known today as the Whitman-Stafford Farmhouse, is one of the remaining structures from the original farm estate within modern town boundaries. It is believed to have been built around 1784 and served as the home of tenant farmers for decades.
Mr. George Stafford: 1827-1892
Mrs. Susan Stafford: 1833-1910
Walt Whitman & Harry Stafford
by John Moran ca. February 11, 1878
Between 1876 & 1884
renowned poet Walt Whitman formed a friendship with Harry Stafford, the son of Susan and George Stafford, tenant farmers who lived in the small farmhouse that still stands today. Whitman made frequent visits to stay with the family and enjoyed the comforts of the natural spring, which he believed helped soothe paralytic discomfort he experienced after suffering a stroke in 1873. While visiting the Staffords from his residence in the city of Camden, New Jersey, he worked on portions of his writings, Specimen Days and Leaves of Grass, and noted the healing qualities of the spring and the mud baths that aided his recovery. Today, the house stands as a monument to the poet and to the history of farmland in South Jersey.