Roger Prichard (left) and John Laverty display the state award, which they received during a ceremony on Nov. 21 for leading the effort to create the Riverton Historic Preservation Commission and save historic homes.
Riverton was mostly farmland nestled between Palmyra and Cinnaminson along the Delaware River in 1850 – but the landscape was about to change.
Principal founder Daniel Leeds Miller Jr. – on behalf of 10 founding families – purchased 120 acres in 1851 from Joseph and Beulah Lippincott for $20,000.
“All but one of the families were Quakers,” said Roger Prichard, who owns and lives in Miller’s original home with his wife, Astrid Caruso.
In keeping with the Quaker tradition of “everyone is equal,” Prichard and John Laverty, a lifelong resident who grew up across the street from Riverton Memorial Park and was a talented second baseman, formed a citizens roundtable to address concerns after a developer demolished a mansion in town.
Prichard and John Laverty accepted their Honorable Mention for Preservation Stewardship, New Jersey Historic Preservation Award on Nov. 21. They will share it with the Historical Society of Riverton during a ceremony in Paterson.
After unanimous consensus from the roundtable – with Riverton constituencies that included business owners, landlords, local volunteer organizations and elected leaders – Prichard and Laverty petitioned borough council to approve an ordinance creating the Riverton Historic Preservation Commission.
They succeeded.
“The commission has binding authority to reject a demolition application,” noted Laverty, who is the chairman, adding that there have been no applications since the commission was created in 2023. “It has already served its purpose.”
“There was anger in town about losing the house (the Frederick S. Groves mansion at 411 Lippincott Ave.),” Prichard said. The roundtable consensus? “No more teardowns.”
“We put everyone in the same room as equals and let them listen to each other,” explained Laverty, a senior construction manager for Checkers Drive-In restaurants, whose wife, Terri, is a retired Pennsauken schoolteacher. “There was unanimity all the way through the process.”
“We all agreed that everyone loves the appearance of this little Victorian town on the bank of the Delaware River, and any work must follow the old rule – first do no harm,” added Prichard, the town historian and native of Havertown, Pennsylvania.
“I have always loved history,” he shared, adding that he and his wife had lived in the Olde City section of Philadelphia and restored a house built in 1765 before moving to Riverton.
Their crusade began in 2022. The Riverton planning board had denied the owner’s request to demolish the Groves mansion, but the decision was overturned on appeal and it was torn down.
Both men are longtime members of the Historical Society of Riverton.
“Roger and John brought to the table as many stakeholders as possible, distilling a town-wide understanding of no more teardowns,” said society president Faith Endicott. “It was important to recognize the risk of destroying what makes our town special. Our historic character is worth defending from further harm.”
According to Preservation New Jersey, “the award is presented to Prichard and Laverty for their work as independent citizens to form a community roundtable that generated consensus towards and the writing of a new historic preservation ordinance.”
“Our new commission put protections in place to help prevent that in the future,” society member Nicole Belolan noted. “This is a win for historic houses, historic trades, and the environment – preserving houses is typically far greener than building new ones.
“Riverton takes pride in its historic homes from a variety of periods,” she added, “and many of its residents cite the look of the town as one of the primary reasons they choose to live and stay here.”
Prichard and Laverty both said creating the preservation commission was a team effort, and thanked former Mayor Suzanne Carsenni, current Mayor Jim Quinn, borough council President Bill Corbi, Fire Chief Bryan Iannacone, John Latimer, Bill Brown, local Realtors, members of the Riverton Porch Club and many others for all their help in preserving the history of their quaint little Victorian town for years to come.
