Stokelan Estate is one of the township’s historic properties.
It dates back to 1691, well before the Revolutionary War, when its 400 acres of land were purchased by Thomas Evans. It was sold to Joseph Stokes in 1721 and remained in the Stokes family.
One of Stokes’ descendants – also named Joseph Stokes – inherited the land and built the Stokelan Estate in 1853, a name his niece came up with. The estate continued to move throughout the Stokelan bloodline, housing many generations of families and operating as one of the largest dairy farms in the area until the mid-1900s.
In the years since, the cattle and families were swapped out for grape vines and dining rooms.
Stokelan Estate Winery was established in 2019 and officially opened four years ago. The Victorian white home now serves light food and fresh wine made from grapes on 10 acres of vineyards that surround the house. There is seating inside and outside, and guests of all ages are welcome.
Aligned with the celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the winery hosted a Living History Day on July 12. The public, family friendly event welcomed guests to relax outside in Adirondack chairs, look at the vineyards, listen to live jazz and mingle with Revolutionary War reenactors.
Four reenactors from the First Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers wandered the winery grounds all afternoon. They represent the Loyalists in the Colonies who fought for Great Britain rather than America during the war.
“The Loyalist perspective and story is sometimes overshadowed, and the misconception is if you’re an American, you’re for independence, and that wasn’t the case,” explained one of the reenactors, Bill Garwood. “I kind of like to think of this as America’s first Civil War.”
Garwood, a Moorestown dad who has participated in the hobby of Revolutionary War reenactment for more than two decades and has been part of the New Jersey Volunteers for seven years, wore the traditional Loyalist uniform: red coat, white waistcoat, breeches, tricorn hat and black boots. He carried a long musket gun and a tin cup for drinking.
Garwood said he and his fellow reenactors spent the day interacting with guests rather than performing. They spoke to guests about the history of their characters and the Loyalists, showed off their equipment and uniforms and answered questions.
The Living History Day was the reenactors’ first time at the winery for such an event. Garwood said sometimes members would go to the winery dressed up after a reenactment just to hang out and get a drink, grabbing the attention of other guests, some of whom asked them about their costumes and their reenactments.
That interest sparked the idea to make the day a formal event where the reenactors can truly dedicate their time sharing information with guests.
A piece of Stokelan’s history was also celebrated inside the winery. A small collection of literature on the estate and Medford were available, and a few surviving artifacts from the centuries-old property could be seen.
“It’s really rewarding (to share history),” Garwood noted. “It offers you really, really neat experiences you wouldn’t get elsewhere.”
A Revolutionary War reenactor from the First Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers mingled with guests at the historic Stokelan Estate Winery on July 12.
