Lower Alloways

      Sunday, March 20, 2022: On a final trip to Salem County, New Jersey, I attended an open-house event at the Lower Alloways Creek Historical Society Museum, 736 Smick Road, Canton (856-935-3666). This historical society presented these events almost every third Sunday in the spring and autumn months. (Unless a holiday falls on a third Sunday, then they hold the event on another Sunday in the month.) During this event, they opened their museum to the public, and they also had a different theme for each month where they displayed items around that theme as well as live demonstrations. When I was there, the event theme focused on a Working “Line Shaft.” Here, an old line-shaft engine, by way of its power belts, powered different machines inside a barn. Other outside exhibits included an old 1920s truck, different farm equipment both outside and in another barn, as well as displays of an outhouse, a water pump, and other stuff. Inside the museum buildings, I saw first the interior of the log cabin furnished to look like the 1700s, including an open-hearth fireplace and displays of cooking equipment. In the adjoining two-story house, I noticed exhibit items of such 19th-century innovations as an iron stove for heat, a wood burning stove for cooking, washboards, and an icebox. I also looked at a 1920s radio, and I heard and saw a Victrola. Throughout both buildings I observed pictures and texts of the surrounding area, and other items such as clothing, quilts, and other everyday items from the last three centuries. Anyway, if this open house has been any indication, it would be worth your time to attend one of these events!