The upcoming Shamong Day, formerly Atison Day, on Saturday, Oct. 4 will mark the Indian Mills Historical Society’s first large-scale fundraising event dedicated to making a new home a reality.
A permanent physical home for the Indian Mills Historical Society has been years in the making.
The upcoming Shamong Day – formerly Atsion Day – on Saturday, Oct. 4 will mark the society’s first large-scale fundraising event dedicated to making that home a reality.
The society was founded in 1973 by local residents of Shamong Township, many of whom were descendants of residents in Indian Mills and the surrounding area. Over the last 46 years, the society has grown in membership and now includes a diverse cross-section of the local population.
Yet it doesn’t have a formal headquarters.
“We operate primarily out of the Shamong Township building on Willow Grove Road, and many of our meetings and planning sessions happen in our own homes,” said Erin Wilkins, event coordinator for Shamong Day. “While we’ve made that work for years, we’ve long known that our community and its history deserve a more permanent home.”
A few years ago, the society acquired a property on Oakshade Road it hoped could be restored and used as a headquarters.
“After thorough inspections and evaluations, we came to the difficult conclusion that the building was beyond repair,” Wilkins shared. “We knew then that we would need to demolish and rebuild in order to create a safe, functional and welcoming space for the society and the community.”
A new building for the society will have three important purposes:
- A headquarters
- A climate-controlled archival space for preserving and displaying the group’s local artifacts
- A community gathering space for events, historical exhibits, field trips and educational programs
“We’ve been slowly working toward this goal for some time, but Shamong Day marks our first large-scale fundraising event dedicated to making this vision a reality,” Wilkins explained, adding that society members acknowledge their vision “will be a significant investment.”
“Every dollar raised brings us closer to giving local history a true home.”
The society has previously hosted small community flea markets in May and October at Atsion Lake. Attendance declined when the organization had to relocate those markets to Indian Mills Memorial School, the result of new regulations and fees through the New New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Shamong Day is the society’s way of “reimagining what a community event can be – bigger, more engaging, and more directly tied to our mission,” Wilkins noted.
The event will feature a unique blend of craft and flea-market vendors, a classic car show, live music, food trucks, local vendors and family-friendly activities for all ages.
In addition to the new headquarters project, the society remains active in preserving local history wherever it can. The group maintains historical sites for public access, offers field trip experiences and host talks on a variety of topics related to the Pine Barrens and South Jersey’s unique past.
Shamong’s Indian Mills was the site of the first native American reservation, known as Brotherton, from 1758 to 1801. In fact, the name Shamong is an Indian moniker that means place of the horn, referring to the abundance of deer that supplied food and clothing for those who first settled there, according to the society’s website.
Later milling operations were run from there, hence the name. Indian Mills was a leader in the production of iron for the industrial age, given the abundance of “bog iron” in the region, and it continues to be a strong farming community, supplying cranberries and blueberries for the world’s consumption.
Shamong Day will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Indian Mills Memorial School. Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 5. For questions, contact Wilkins at indianmillshs@gmail.com
Shamong Day will feature craft and flea-market vendors, a classic car show, live music, food trucks and family-friendly activities for all ages.
