Vineland in Cumberland County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Mary J. Dunlap
Women's Heritage Trail
Born in 1853 in Philadelphia, Mary J. Dunlap was awarded her medical degree in 1886 from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Dunlap was the first female Superintendent and Medical Director for the newly established Home for the Feeble-Minded in Vineland (now the Vineland Developmental Center), a public school and residential facility for girls and women. As Director, her aim was to promote physical development through "close supervision and moral persuasion." She presided over the facility at Main and Landis Avenues in Vineland from 1889 to 1909.
A leader in many fields, Dr. Dunlap was President of the National Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for the Study of the Feeble-Minded (presently AAMR), Director of the New Jersey Legal Aid Association for Women, Charter President of the Vineland Women's Club, President of the Cumberland County Medical Society (she was also the first woman to be elected as a member) and life member of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society.
" in making others self-helpful, useful and happy, we find our own lives so bright and so busy that we envy not those who look on coldly."
— Dr. Mary Dunlap
Erected by Department of Community Affairs, New Jersey Historic Trust; Department of Environmental Protection, Historic Preservation Office.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education • Science & Medicine • Women. In addition, it is included in the New Jersey Womens Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1853.
Location. 39° 29.076′ N, 75° 1.282′ W. Marker is in Vineland, New Jersey, in Cumberland County. It is on South 7th Street just south of East Elmer Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 108 S 7th St, Vineland NJ 08360, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in New Jersey’s South Jersey. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 26, 2020
2. Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society
Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
