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| Photo Courtesy of Brush Hollow Civic Association |
On January 25th, 1969, the Brush Hollow neighborhood had its Grand Opening. While there were 'Previews' the previous three weekends, this was the official beginning of the Marlton's newest neighborhood.
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| Courier Post 1/25/69 |
I've previously written about a few neighborhoods in Evesham that have an interesting back story. However, unlike some other neighborhoods, there isn't much of a story to tell about Brush Hollow. There were no lawsuits, no controversial town ordinances required, no bankruptcies and no giant globes suspended from helicopters. A quick summary of Brush Hollow reads like this: a developer bought some land, built some houses, sold those houses, the end.
Building began in 1968 by the Chiusano Brothers, who have built many of the neighborhoods in Evesham. Their new Brush Hollow neighborhood would have three models:
- The Bennington, two stories, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath
- The Cambridge, 3 bedroom 2.5 baths
- The Dutch Colonial Bradford, two stories, 4 bedroom
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| The Bennington |
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| The Bradford |
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| The Cambridge |
Pricing began at $25,690 and the neighborhood was to have around 400 houses. The first families were able to move into the neighborhood in July 1969. And in January of 1970, because of faster than expected sales, the 2nd section of Brush Hollow, known as 'Millbrook', opened.
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| Opening of the Millbrook section of Brush Hollow |
"Great emphasis has been placed on the selection of the color of the exterior siding and woodwork....Several selections of color combinations have been prepaired by color styles to give the overall community an attractive appearance" (1).
In much of the advertising, tag-lines were used to describe the neighborhood. The three most frequent were:
- "Country living at its finest"
- "The New Prestige Village"
- "The Complete Community"
One of the few noteworthy items to come as a result of Brush Hollow was the need for a new elementary school. Evesham Schools Superintendent Leroy Meland recognized early on that a new school would be needed in the Brush Hollow area, and one was planned for the corner of Westcott and Evans to house up to 645 children. However, taxpayers were not in an agreeable mood.
The first ballot measure in September of 1969 was voted down by a 2-1 margin. This would have authorized spending $1.2 million for a 23 classroom school on a 20 year bond.
The second ballot in December of 1969 was defeated as well, but by a much closer vote (427 opposed, 384 in favor).
A third vote in September of 1970 was approved by a vote of 844 to 372.
Interestingly, the school went through three names during this process. When it was planned, the school was known as the "Brush Hollow Elementary School." When it appeared on the ballot, it was referred to as the "Westcott Road Elementary School". And at some point prior to opening, its name was changed to the Robert B. Jaggard Elementary School. The school opened for the 1972-1973 school year.
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| Brush Hollow 1965 - Reprinted with permission from historicaerials.com |
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| Brush Hollow 1970 |
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| Brush Hollow 1995 |
Fun Fact: the Philadelphia Eagles' first round draft pick of the 1973 NFL draft, Charle Young, lived in Brush Hollow while he played for the Eagles. The tight end played for 4 seasons with the Eagles.
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(1) Philadelphia Inquirer 1/25/70