Acorn Inn
Known Name(s)
Acorn Inn
Address
White Horse Pike Lawnside, NJ (Primary) (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)119 West Davis Road Lawnside, NJ 08045 (Modern Address)
Establishment Type(s)
Tavern
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
Two story frame building, forty feet long and thirty-six feet wide. Built by Edward J. Miller, 1882.
Detailed History
The site of the Acorn Inn, White Horse Pike and Davis Road, has a long history. In 1855, a one room schoolhouse was erected there on land owned by Charles L. Willits. Known as the Greenland School, this integrated schoolhouse served students from nearby towns.1
In 1882, the one-room school was replaced by what George R. Prowell referred to as “. . . the finest school-house for colored children in any country district in South Jersey.” That two story frame building, forty feet long and thirty-six feet wide, was built by Edward J. Miller, a black contractor. The building’s use as a school ended with the 1904-1905 school year; afterward the property was sold to private concerns.2 Thomas J. Hebron bought the property from Centre Township in 1910. His family sold it to Clarence Waples in 1945. Waples sold it to Addison J. Loving in 1947. Loving, known familiarly as “Bus,” was the Inn’s only operator from that point forward. In The property was briefly advertised for sale in 1981.3
Addison J. Loving died 4 September 1989.4 His brother, Robert H. Loving, sold the property to the Four B’s in 1989. Unable to secure a liquor license for the planned establishment, the Four B’s sold the property to the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in 1993. The church demolished what remained of the structure after a 2001 fire. The former Acorn Inn's land is now part of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church Cemetery.5
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1. Helen H. Bradley, “Education,” One Square Mile of Friendliness (Magnolia: Magnolia, 1983), np; Victoria A. James and Cheryl L. Baisden, Images of America, Magnolia, (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2007), p.87.
2. Geo. R. Prowell, “Chapter XV - Education,” The History of Camden County, New Jersey (Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1886), p. 315; Google Books (https://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_Camden_County_New_Jersey.html?id=TdIwA QAAMAAJ : accessed 12/23/2023); “Haddonfield Items,” Courier Post, 20 July 1882, p.1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12/11/2022); National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, “Lawnside School,” p. 14-15; image copy, National Park Service (https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/7b43139d-9d22-447a-9f98-b48157f71321 : accessed 12/20/2023).
3. Camden County, New Jersey, Deed Book 355: 140-141, Centre township to Thomas J. Hebron, 1 November 1910; Camden County Clerk’s Office, Camden; Camden County, New Jersey, Deed Book 1003: 481-482,Thomas Wendell Hebron to Clarence C. Waples, 2 February 1945; Camden County Clerk’s Office, Camden; Camden County, New Jersey, Deed Book 1252: 401, 4 September 1947, Clarence Waples to Addison J. Loving, Camden County Clerk’s Office Camden; NOTE: Deed Book 1252 is not currently in the ImageSync System; “Greenland School,” Courier Post, Business Opportunities Section, p. 18, Col. 3, Business Places [for] Sale (45D), 31 July 1981; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11/19/2023).
4. “LOVING, Addison J. (Bus),” Courier Post, 6 September 1989, p. 16, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12/30/2023).
5. Camden County, New Jersey , Deed Book 4406: 0581-0582 (1989), Robert J. Loving, Administrator of the estate of Addison J. Loving to Four B’s, a partnership; image copy, CamdenCounty.com (https://www.camdencounty.com/service/county-clerk/online-property-records/ : accessed 12/232023); Camden County, New Jersey , Deed Book 4655: 0160-0162 (1993), Four B’s to Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Inc; image copy, CamdenCounty.com (https://www.camdencounty.com/service/county-clerk/online-property-records/ : accessed 1/23/2022); “Then and Now,” Courier Post, 2 November 2006, p.6; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11/19/2023); Camden County, New Jersey , Deed Book 10442: 1817, 29 June 2016; Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Inc., image copy, CamdenCounty.com (https://www.camdencounty.com/service/county-clerk/online-property-records/ : accessed 1/23/2022); this deed informs that the land served to expand the church cemetery.
