Mission and Governance
A calm spirit guides the Woolman Board of Trustees
Mission
“To share the spirit, vision, integrity and writings of John Woolman. The Association maintains historic documents, family artifacts, the gardens and the brick dwelling built in 1783 on property once owned by John Woolman’s daughter, Mary Comfort.
Governance
The property, consisting of two 18th Century buildings and approximately two acres of ground, is owned by the John Woolman Memorial Association, Inc. Founded in 1915, the Association is managed by of a board of eight trustees. We also have a resident Director who manages the day to day operation and activities of the Memorial. The board consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer; in keeping with Quaker practice we refer to our President as “Clerk.”
The trustees decide and guide all of the business of the Association. The Board and the Director gather for “meeting for business” the third Wednesday of each month and an Annual Meeting is held in June of each year.
Under the care of the John Woolman Board of Trustees, The John Woolman Memorial Association was incorporated in 1915 to keep alive the spirit and memory of John Woolman and to seek those in whose lives that spirit may grow and serve and for the purpose of social services in the spirit of John Woolman.
From the First Annual report: “Early in June, 1916, the house was thrown open to the public, and over eighty citizens of Mount Holly on two successive days were received as our first guests… The more formal opening took place on the 10th, when several hundred members and guests of the Friends Historical Society of Philadelphia visited…To the date of this report we have had over six hundred visitors.” Amelia M. Gummere
In the early years,the Memorial also served as a “Tea Room” offering guests bed and board. As the First World War got underway, families who had sons training at Camp Dix, a few miles North of the Woolman Memorial, would travel from around the country to stay here to visit with their sons.