Built in 1734, the Hancock House is an important tangible link to understanding the History of Salem County and our Nation’s struggle for independence. It was the home of a prominent “Salem County family and is an excellent example of English Quaker patterned end wall brick houses associated with the lower Delaware Valley and southwestern New Jersey. It was also the scene of a British- led massacre during the Revolutionary War.

The story of the Hancock House begins in 1675 when John Fenwick, a lawyer and Quaker from England. Arrived in West Jersey(now Salem County). With land purchased two years earlier; he established the first permanent English settlement here, called “Fenwick’s Colony,” and founded the town of Salem. Eager to populate the area with skilled, industrious individuals, he advertised the area’s assets by stating, “…if there be any terrestrial “Canaan” ‘tis surely here, where the land floweth with Milk and Honey”

View the Hancock House Brochure PDF file (1.47 mb)

Cumberland Salem Revolution Cycling tour

Help us Identify this Mysterious Object

This hand painted banner is 34.5" High and 39" wide. The image is
painted on linen. Our file in the collection records has an empty
envelope with these words written on it "Supposed to have been used in
the War of 1812".

Any ideas? Email:hancockhousenj@comcast.net