How many Haddonfield townfolk have passed by this house for years unaware of its interesting past or of the important Haddonfield families who have occupied it and who played roles in our town's history.

The original house built of wood in 1760, is now the rear section of the home and it was Mathias Aspden, of Philadelphia, who built it. He had built the Indian King 10 years before.

The home included four acres then and Mathias Junior inherited it five years later on his father's death. The Junior was a well-to-do Philadelphia Shipping merchant and he was declared a Tory during the Revolution, and his Haddonfield home was confiscated by the Colonials along with his other holdings.

He was exonerated after the War and the property was returned to him, however, he had gone to England and he never returned to America, and he died in 1824. Junior was a bachelor, and his will was in litigation for many years, but his Haddonfield home was not included in the estate.

During the confiscation, the house had been rented and afterwards it was sold to a tailor, Thomas Champion, in 1786, after Mathias Jr. had recovered it after the war. Thomas had deep roots in the area as his grandfather, John Champion, had brought 350 acres in Waterford (now Cherry Hill) in 1700.

The land bordered on Cooper's Creek, and in 1702, he established a ferry across the Creek that landed travelers on the opposite side from his property. This was in the vicinity of the present Yacht Club and the Camden County Police headquarters.

The East Kings Highway home was secured by the sheriff sale in 1840 after the death of Thomas by Dr. Benjamin F. Blackwood, who had graduated in 1828 from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and became a Haddonfield physician.

The doctor was married to Ann Hopkins. In 1846, Dr. Blackwood added the brick section to the front of the fine wooden home. The deep basement, fireplaces and high windows all were in keeping with the Victorian period and this was added by the outward swinging front door on the west side.

At Dr. Blackwood's death the property went to two daughters in 1866, and when the second sister passed away in 1891, George B. England purchased the home from the Blackwood estate 10 years later. He restored and improved it, and it has remained to this date in the possession of the England family.