DEPTFORD TWP. -- Andaloro Farm, a well-known vegetable farm in Deptford that was purchased by the township last year, will soon be the home to community garden plots and a New Jersey history museum.
Andaloro Farms has become synonymous with vegetable farming to the lifelong residents in Gloucester County. While many farms have been sold to become housing developments, Andaloro Farm has been saved from that fate.
"The land was planned to be been used for close to 75 homes or so if it was purchased by a developer years ago," said Mayor Paul Medany. "But we found a way to use the land for what it's always been: farmland. We talked to the Andaloro family about preserving it and made it happen."
The township purchased the land in February 2016 for $1.3 million, according to tax records. The county also had plans to reimburse the town $743,606 and then then seek 60 percent reimbursement from the State Agriculture Development Committee.
This spring, the 36 acres of municipally-owned property will offer 40 individual garden plots, 30 feet by 30 feet, where residents can grow their own vegetables, creating their own farm-to-table experience.
"One of our goals for this project is to have people that used to be farmers or had a strong gardening hobby come around and teach the families how to farm properly on their plots," Medany said.
The plots will cost between $15 and $20 for the year with all proceeds going back into the maintenance of the land. Farming on the property will begin this upcoming growing season, after a road to the plots and parking areas are put in.
But that's not all that's in store for the property.
A farm house has always sat on the plot and there it will remain, but not as a home. The farm house will be the new site of the South Jersey History Museum, which was located in Glassboro before it closed in October.
Years of history boxed for storage as N.J. museum prepares to close
A group of volunteers, including owner and operator Jeffery Norcross, operates the museum and will be moving the artifacts and displays to the new location over the next six months.
"We're excited, I'm very excited," said Norcross. "Deptford is just the right fit for us, it feels like home."
With more space than ever before, Norcross said the museum will house 80 exhibits, 20 more than before. There will even be a special display for Agriculture in Deptford to highlight the towns farming history.
"Everyone has been so supportive of us moving into the farmhouse," Norcross added. "When we first met [Mayor Medany] he told us all these stories about his time working on the farm as a kid and it's comforting. Everyone involved with this has such an investment in the project."
With the new site comes a new name, though. The official name for the museum will be the Museum of American History Deptford, New Jersey.
"A lot of us have history with the property," said Medany. "Many of us spent summers picking tomatoes and lima beans as kids, working summer jobs there. To see it be brought back to life like this is going to be a great thing for Deptford."
Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
