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• 1 media/St-Thomas-Header.jpg 2019-05-02T02:30:50+00:00 A Famous Architects' Tie to Glassboro 18 image_header 2019-05-07T16:54:34+00:00

  Being a freshman at Rowan this year, there are a few names that I hear quite often, possibly the most frequent being the Whitney’s. Rowan’s honors program is even housed in the Whitney Center. I found that when Glassboro was becoming urbanized, the Whitney’s and a few other prominent families actually had religious meetings in their houses. These families were the Whitney's, Stangers, and the Lutz's.  
  
  I know that other cultural geographers of years past already discovered that the Whitney’s donated this land for St. Thomas to be constructed; however, I was unaware that they actually are buried in the cemetery next to the church. It is beautiful that their final resting place is in Glassboro, after they contributed so much time, money, and their heart to help this community become urbanized. Whatever one’s belief is on the afterlife, I think it’s nice that pertinent founders of Glassboro were buried here, and in a way, it’s like they are still with the community and watching us prosper.
  
  Furthermore, this land was donated specificially by Bathesheba T. Whitney, and the cornerstone of the church was laid by Biship George W. Doane in 1846. The cornerstone was made of local sandstone, which is the same material that was used to construct the Whitney Mansion. This chuch cost $6,000 to be built.

  After some extensive research, I discovered that Notman also created another local treasure of Glassboro, the Whitney Mansion. The mansion was built in 1849, three years after the construction of St. Thomas. This gave me the impression that Notman had built some rapport with the founders of Glassboro, specifically the Whitney’s. Notman had worked in several different states, however he came back years later to build the Whitney’s a home. This mansion is the perfect example of the Italianate architectural style that Notman was credited with bringing to the United States. This beautiful home was used as Rowan University President's Residence until 1998. In 2003, Rowan University invested $3,000 to restore the building.
  

  Both the Whitney Mansion and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church are on the National Register of Historic Places.