Preservationists fear for future of the 19th-century Quaker Store on the White Horse Pike in South Jersey

Spared from demolition after a public outcry in 1999 and stewarded ever since by volunteers, the Quaker Store — a landmark in Stratford, Camden County — is for sale by the family that has owned the property for generations.

The three-story building was renovated with about $200,000 in public funds and has been used by community groups and for events under a sublease with the borough.

Because it stands on a busy commercial strip of the White Horse Pike, preservationists are alarmed by the prospect of a sale.

“No one has mentioned demolition,” Stratford administrator John Keenan said. “Demolition is a bad rumor.”

The borough council unanimously approved a resolution last week to “join the Stratford Borough Historic Preservation Commission in the goal of future preservation of the Quaker Store.”

But commission president Walt Baxter said Stratford’s recent history is cause for alarm.

On sale and at risk: A stately link to Stratford’s past

“Look at what happened to the Academy,” he said, referring to an 1844 edifice, also known as the Tomlinson Mansion. “It got bulldozed.”

“They’re saying there’s no plan to demolish the Quaker Store,” said borough historian Carole Dadino. “But what’s the plan to save it in case somebody wants to demolish it?”

Commission vice president Ginny Baskerville said the Quaker Store is the only building that remains from the Village of White Horse, which took its name from the White Horse Inn. The village gave rise to what is now Stratford, a 1.45-square-mile borough with a population of 6,961.

Built in 1740, the inn — also known as the White Horse Tavern — was torn down in the 1960s. “The Quaker Store is a last link to a past that is part of our identity,” Baskerville said.

The store, which dates to the late 1800s, was built on the foundation of a general store that was erected in 1743. As the Quaker Store, it was operated by local grocer Elizabeth Strippoli for several decades through the early 1980s.

Strippoli’s descendants still own the property. A family member involved in efforts to sell the store did not respond to a voice mail message Friday.

“When the owner put the lot up for sale, the borough did not let us know, even though we’re the group that was appointed to protect and preserve the store,” Baskerville said. “We only found out about the sale when we saw the sale sign in August.”

About 20 people attended a preservation commission meeting last Thursday at the store. The space has been renovated and showcases some original features, as well as donated furniture and other items.

“Back in the day, this structure was in a sad state,” Baxter said, reading from a statement. “We saw through the broken windows and doors … and the leaking roof [and saw] our town’s heritage and a place we stopped for soda and candy as kids.”

He also said that the commission is exploring purchasing, or moving, the building, and that he had had preliminary discussion with the owners.

Jake Gambon, a former Stratford shade tree commissioner who was born, raised, and still lives in the borough, said, “I used to run errands here for my mom when Mrs. Strippoli had the store.

“Without a sense of where we came from, we can sometimes have no sense of where we’re going.”

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