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 Acorn Inn was a two-story building that housed a tavern, takeout restaurant, and second floor apartment. It stood on Davis Road near the White Horse Pike and was where, it was said, one “could get a meal.”[i] Undoubtedly, both sound management and good food contributed to the tavern’s longevity.
The structure was not always called the Acorn Inn. Edward Miller, a black contractor, constructed it as a schoolhouse in 1882.[ii] The forty by thirty-six feet two story building served as the Greenland School from 1882 to 1905.[iii] In 1910, Centre Township sold the vacated property to Thomas Hebron.[iv]
The Hebrons owned the property from 1910 to 1945. They dubbed it “Hebron Estate,” and likely marketed it as a venue for social and political events. William Willis, Lawnside’s resident entrepreneur, was the Estate’s manager in 1923.[v] Willis debuted his “Lawnside Inn” at the Estate before moving it to the former Eureka Sanitorium in 1925.[vi]
By 1936, Hebron Estate was renamed Acorn Inn.[vii] In 1945, the Hebron heirs sold the property to Clarence Waples. Two years later, on September 4, 1947, Waples sold the property to Addison J. Loving.[viii] Addison, called “Bus,” by some, made his home on the second floor of the building and confined the tavern to the first. He ran the Acorn Inn for thirty-four consecutive years, ostensibly retiring in 1981. Loving died on September 4, 1989, forty-two years to the day that he purchased the tavern.[ix]
The Acorn Inn was sold after Loving’s death. The new owner’s attempt to reopen the tavern as a sports bar failed. [x] The property was sold to the Mount Zion United Methodist Church on 16 August 1993.[xi] What remained of the structure was demolished in 2003. The entire parcel is now part of the church cemetery.[xii]
[i] Jim Walsh. “When Lawnside Jumped,” Courier Post, 13 August 1996, p. 1-C; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10/31/2022).
[ii] “Haddonfield Items,” Courier Post, 20 July 1882, p.1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12/11/2022).
[iii] 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=TdIwAQAAMAAJ : accessed 12/23/2023); see also, 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).
[iv] Camden County, New Jersey, Deed Book 355: 140-141, Centre township to Thomas J. Hebron, 1 November 1910; Camden County Clerk’s Office, Camden.
[v] “Hiram Lodge in Fine Celebration,” The Morning Post, 7 May 1923, p. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 4/16/2023).
[vi] “Many at Opening of Lawnside Inn,” The Morning Post, 1 June 1923, p. 19; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 5/24/2024); see also, “Testimonial For Horace C. Bryant,” The Morning Post, 25 April 1925, p. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 6/1/2024; and, “Lawnside,” The Morning Post, 28 April 1925, p. 20; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10/16/2022).
[vii] “Notice of Intention,” Courier Post, 6 March 1936, p. 24; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10/31/2022).
[viii] 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; see also, 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.
[ix] Loving is presumed to have retired by 1981 because the property was listed for sale that year: “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); see also, “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).
[x] 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); see also, Judith Thomas, “Attorney Will Appeal Denial of Liquor License,” Courier Post, 30 October 1992, p.18; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10/27/2022).
[xi] 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).
[xii] 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).
