Beulah Oliphant Award Reception
March 8, 2018
4:30 - 6:30 pm
Congratulations to
Gail Hunton on being the 2018 Beulah Oliphant Award Recipient!
Gail Hunton on being the 2018 Beulah Oliphant Award Recipient!
Beulah Oliphant, through her foresight and determination, led the effort to preserve the Old Barracks, which became a museum in 1902. This award is named in her honor, and is presented annually to women in recognition of their outstanding contributions to New Jersey history in historic preservation, education, or scholarship.
2018 Honoree - Gail Hunton
The 2018 honoree is Gail Hunton, Chief of the Acquisition and Design Department at Monmouth County Park System. Throughout her career, she has worked for numerous cities and counties throughout New Jersey, including Monmouth County, Plainfield, Cranbury Township, Mercer County, Westfield, Washington Township (Morris County), Matawan, Freehold, and more. She has led or assisted over 35 projects for the Monmouth County Park System, ensuring continued restoration of parks and buildings, interpretive materials, permanent exhibits, publications, archeological research, and National Register Nominations.
About Beulah Oliphant
Born in 1840, Beulah Ann Oliphant was the daughter of Joseph Oliphant, who operated the Oliphant Mill near Medford, New Jersey. She was a teenager when her father passed away, leaving an estate whose income was insufficient to support Beulah and her family. She defied social conventions governing women of her class, and despite fierce opposition from relatives, became a teacher. She was to follow this profession for twenty years.
She later married General Samuel Duncan Oliphant, who shared the same last name but no close blood ties, and became mother to ten stepsons. When the south wing of the Old Barracks was advertised for sale by the Widows and Single Women’s Home Society in 1899, Mrs. Oliphant and other Trenton women worked for three years to raise the $6,317 to purchase the building. In 1902, the Old Barracks Association was incorporated and a museum established.
The 2018 honoree is Gail Hunton, Chief of the Acquisition and Design Department at Monmouth County Park System. Throughout her career, she has worked for numerous cities and counties throughout New Jersey, including Monmouth County, Plainfield, Cranbury Township, Mercer County, Westfield, Washington Township (Morris County), Matawan, Freehold, and more. She has led or assisted over 35 projects for the Monmouth County Park System, ensuring continued restoration of parks and buildings, interpretive materials, permanent exhibits, publications, archeological research, and National Register Nominations.
About Beulah Oliphant
Born in 1840, Beulah Ann Oliphant was the daughter of Joseph Oliphant, who operated the Oliphant Mill near Medford, New Jersey. She was a teenager when her father passed away, leaving an estate whose income was insufficient to support Beulah and her family. She defied social conventions governing women of her class, and despite fierce opposition from relatives, became a teacher. She was to follow this profession for twenty years.
She later married General Samuel Duncan Oliphant, who shared the same last name but no close blood ties, and became mother to ten stepsons. When the south wing of the Old Barracks was advertised for sale by the Widows and Single Women’s Home Society in 1899, Mrs. Oliphant and other Trenton women worked for three years to raise the $6,317 to purchase the building. In 1902, the Old Barracks Association was incorporated and a museum established.
Sponsored by:
- Debbie and Brian Kelly
- Jan Hird Pokorny Associates
- New Jersey Historic Trust
- Z Studio
- Hunter Research
- Clarke Caton Hintz
- Crossroads of the American Revolution
- Thomas Edison State University
- Elizabeth Hunton
- Mills + Schnoering Architects
- John O'Sullivan
- C. W. Zink
Previous Beulah Oliphant Award Recipients
2017 - Anne Weber
2016 - Linda Shockley
2015 - Debbie Kelly
2001 - Stephanie Stephens
2000 - Harriette Hawkins
1999 - Cynthia Koch
1998 - Pauline S. Miller
1997 - Constance M. Greiff
1996 - Nancy Gay
1995 - Jane M. Kenny
1994 - Mary Roebling
1993 - Maureen Ogden
1992 - Janet Patton Mills
1991 - Mary Emma Howell Yard
2016 - Linda Shockley
2015 - Debbie Kelly
2001 - Stephanie Stephens
2000 - Harriette Hawkins
1999 - Cynthia Koch
1998 - Pauline S. Miller
1997 - Constance M. Greiff
1996 - Nancy Gay
1995 - Jane M. Kenny
1994 - Mary Roebling
1993 - Maureen Ogden
1992 - Janet Patton Mills
1991 - Mary Emma Howell Yard