Glassboro Legacy Mural
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Located near the corner of High and Main Street (map coordinates: 39.703060, -75.112766), the Glassboro Legacy Mural depicts the historical arch of the Borough of Glassboro. The mural highlights the town’s significant events, places, and people, including our first inhabitants, agricultural legacy, focus on education, and our strong tradition of volunteerism.
The Borough of Glassboro commissioned the mural. Artists Jonathan Laidacker and Eric Okden were selected through a highly completive process to create the mural as a community project. Public programming included a community paint day, where visitors painted sections of the mural (see photos below). During this event, Councilwoman Anna Miller commented on the day's activities, saying, "This mural is about bringing our residents together and celebrating Glassboro's history. I am excited that we can be a part of history by being able to paint it ourselves. It represents diversity and inclusion and the fact that our town has always been full of amazing people."
The mural was dedicated on July 15, 2021, and featured a ribbon-cutting event and live entertainment. Creative Glassboro, a local organization, focusing on integrating the arts and culture into Glassboro, played an integral part in planning the mural's creation and celebration.
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About the Artists:
Jonathan Laidacker has over 15 years of experience as a muralist and teaching artist, primarily in Philadelphia. He has received over 100 commissions for murals, primarily from Mural Arts Philadelphia and from other organizations such as the Lumpkin Foundation, the Sprout Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Eric Okdeh has over 20 years of experience working in communities, schools, city governments, and organizations around the country and the world to create over 150 public works of art throughout the northeast United States as well as murals in Hawaii, Spain, Jordan, and Norway. He has created public art with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and multiple Percent for Art programs and other public art organizations, and his work is featured in seven books about public art.
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Below is a description of the mural, starting from the left moving toward the right.
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Located on the far-left side of the mural, this image depicts a figure representing the Lenni Lenape people who once inhabited the area of Glassboro and Southern New Jersey. The image also features native trees in the background, Lenni Lenape artifacts, and a crop of corn in the foreground. To learn more, please visit the Woodruff Museum. In honor of the Lenni Lenape people, we share their Land Acknowledgment.
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This illustration is found in Robert D. Bole and Edward H. Walton's book titled The Glassboro story. The illustration is an artist's rendering of Solomon Stanger's Glass House in 1780.
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The building shown here is the First National Bank of Glassboro. It was located at the southwest corner of Main and High Streets at the current location of the Glassboro Municipal Building. After the bank moved across the street, the structure was used as Glassboro's first municipal building. To learn more, please visit the First National Bank of Glassboro page on the Glassboro Memory Mapping project.
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This image depicts an unidentified resident, likely from the "Eighty Acres" neighborhood of Glassboro, NJ. Photographer Arthur Rothstein captured the image for a national photography project by the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal agency charged with combating rural poverty. To learn more about this photograph and many similar photos, please visit the photo's page on the Glassboro Memory Mapping Project.
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This image represents the men (and even children) who labored in extreme and dangerous conditions in Glassboro's glass factories. These workers create millions of glass bottles, windows, and other products sold throughout the United States and overseas, giving their efforts and Glassboro a global reach.
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This image depicts the Franklin House, which was previously located at the northeast corner of Main and West Streets. This plot of land was the founding location of Glassboro, and for the last 230 years, it has been a center point for community life and a beacon for Glassboro's growth. To learn more about the Franklin House and this location, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping Franklin House page.
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This image depicts the West Jersey Train Depot, located at 354 Oakwood Avenue, Glassboro, NJ. The Depot was built in 1863, and it was used till 1971 as a transportation hub for people and freight. It also served as a telegraph office for the Glassboro community. In 2014 a community of dedicated volunteers saved this historic building. In 2020 the building was registered as a National Historic Landmark. The Glassboro Historical Society currently uses the structure for meetings and community events. To learn more, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping West Jersey Train Depot page.
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This image represents the substantial influence of the Whitney family on Glassboro’s history and growth. The left portrait is Bathsheba (Heston) Whitney. She is the mother of Thomas, Edward, and Eben Whitney, who later founded the Whitney and Brothers Glassworks. Bathsheba was courageous and resilient, and Glassboro owes her much. The right portrait is Thomas H. Whitney, who founded the Whitney and Brothers Glassworks. The Whitney Glassworks is pictured in green. To learn more about the Whitney family, please visit The Glassboro Story.
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The Glassboro Fountain was located at the intersection of Academy and State Streets in front of what is now the Methodist Fellowship House. The fountain was placed on July 10, 1900, by the Women's Christian Temperance Union. It was both a drinking fountain (for people and horses; yes, they drank the same water) and as a lamp post. On the side of the fountain was the quote, "I was thirsty and He game me drink." This quote comes from the Bible verse: Matthew 25:35. To learn more about the Glassboro Fountain, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping project page.
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This image depicts Rowan University's Bunce Hall, which was the first campus building. This structure was built in 1923 for the newly founded Glassboro Normal School.
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This image depicts the Glassboro Intermediate School, located at 202 Delsea Dr (map coordinates are 39.707763, -75.108507). The Intermediate school was built in 1930 and was initially used as the Glassboro High School. To learn more, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping Project page.
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This image depicts a Whitney Glassworks coin, also known as scrip currency. The Whitney Glassworks paid workers with this currency, which was only valid at the company store. Examples of paper and coin scrip currency can be seen at the Heritage Glass Museum. To learn more, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping Project page.
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This image depicts the St. Anthony’s Italian Heritage Festival, an annual event celebrating Glassboro’s rich Italian heritage. To learn more, please visit: https://www.glassboro.org/italian-festival
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This image depicts the 1967 Glassboro Summit between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Kosygin. To learn more, please visit: https://glassborosummit.rowan.edu/
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This image depicts Angelo’s Diner, a popular Glassboro eatery since 1946.
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This image depicts the civil rights march on High Street on Saturday, April 6, 1968, two days after the assassination of Martin Luther King. The march started on Academy Street and then turned onto High Street. Longtime Glassboro leader, Mr. Robert Tucker, organized the march. He is pictured between the flags. To learn more, please visit the Glassboro Memory Mapping Project page.
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This image depicts the annual Memorial Day flyover by the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard to honor Glassboro's Fallen Heroes. Longtime resident and president of the Glassboro Historical Society, Daniele Spence made this annual event possible.
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This image depicts the many glass bottles and artifacts made in Glassboro from 1781 through the 1900s.
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This image represents the many high school and college graduates that called Glassboro home while exploring their studies.
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This image represents the many oak trees found in the Glassboro area. These trees were used to fuel Glassboro’s many glasswork furnaces in the late 1700s through the 1800s.
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For more information on Glassboro’s rich history please visit:
Creative Glassboro: To learn more about the Art Projects in Glassboro visit https://creativeglassboro.com/
The Glassboro Historical Society: https://glassborohistory.org/
The Glassboro Memory Mapping Project:https://gmm.glassborohistory.org/
The Glassboro Story: A digital version of the 1964 book
