The Kay-Evans House at Croft Farm

The Kay-Evans house at Croft Farm dates to the mid 18th century when Isaac Kay, a prominent West Jersey settler, built a two-story brick dwelling to accompany his burgeoning milling establishment on the banks of the Cooper River. Subsequent owner Thomas Evan, and his son Josiah, expanded the house and their milling and farming businesses on the site in the mid-1800s. The Evanses were active Quaker abolitionists and used the property as a station along the Underground Railroad, assisting runaway slaves traveling north to freedom. In 1925 John W. Croft, Jr. purchased the property, abandoning the obsolete milling industry on the site in favor of a more lucrative farming business. , Listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 1999, the Kay-Evans House at Croft Farm represents Cherry Hill Township’s early industrial agricultural and social history. The main farmhouse also illustrates the evolution of major architectural styles over three centuries., The Kay-Evans House and Croft Farm property are owned and operated by Cherry Hill Township. Funding for the exterior restoration of the Kay-Evans House has been possible in part by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund administrated by the New Jersey Historic Trust State of New Jersey.