During WWII, the east and west coasts of the United States were protected by civilian volunteer aircraft spotters, members of the Ground Observer Corps. The GOC was a component of the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) that was established in May 1941 in response to the development of heavy bomber aircraft capable of flying over 1,000 miles to keep watch for enemy planes entering American airspace. It became inactive on May 29, 1944. Almost one million men and women volunteer “soldiers out of uniform” served in the AWS. In 1942, it became one of Merchantville's most popular outdoor sports with many teachers from Merchantville High School volunteering for tours of duty at a post located on Kresson Lake in Burlington County. 

The Oaks Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. "The Oaks," located in Merchantville, New Jersey, is a planned neighborhood of upscale, early-twentieth century suburban houses envisioned by landscape architect George E. Rhedemeyer and developed by the Oaks Realty Company which he formed in 1910. Designed during the early years of the automobile age and for the most part, before the First World War, The Oaks became Merchantville's twentieth-century showcase and its gateway for vehicular traffic entering the Borough from Wellwood Avenue, later renamed Browning Road, and includes 320 W. Maple Ave., 101-201 (odd numbers) Browning Rd, 308-318 (even numbers) Volan St., and 1-3 Oak Terrace. The Oaks Historic District contains an assemblage of the period's revival styles, several representatives of which were designed by Arnold H. Moses, long-time Merchantville resident and the Borough's most prolific architect during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Because The Oaks contains a concentrated group of Merchantville's most fashionable residences associated with the automobile age of the Borough's developmental history, and the resources reflect the discrete plan laid out by Rhedemeyer and the architectural work of Moses, the district is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The period of significance begins with Rhedemeyer's acquisition of the land in 1909 and terminates around 1937 when the last of the initial homes in The Oaks was built. Photograph by Carol Benenson Perloff, 1996.

Merchantville Antiques and Salvage came across a photo of his grandfather's Shoe Repair Shop the other day. The picture, taken in 1928, shows shop owner Orlando Ricci posing in front of his storefront. Upon finding this treasure, Michael and Jaclyn Ricci remarked on how amazing it is to think that in a couple years their family will have lived here for 100 years. Truly, one of the most valuable characteristics of Merchantville life is the rich history of each generation owning a small business at 37 South Centre - from shoe repair shop to luncheonette to dress shop, and now their antiques and lamp repair shop.

Merchantville is a treasure trove of a variety of well-preserved styles of residential architecture. A classic mix of 19th and early 20th century architecture and tree-lined streets with beautifully maintained gardens define the historic borough and its vital downtown. Less than one square mile, Merchantville is home to almost 3,800 residents. Quaint and intimate, Merchantville offers an unprecedented and authentic sense of community. This interactive walking tour adapts and combines the Merchantville Historical Society's individual district tours. They can be walked separately or together depending what you choose to explore during your time in Merchantville. Detailed descriptions of the houses in each tract are linked to in the directions below or can be obtained in person at Borough Hall, One West Maple Avenue.

As far back as 1924 there are published reports of drainage issues and flooding on Glenwood Avenue in Merchantville. In The Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey) on December 23, 1924 the borough highway committee was reported to be working with Delaware Township (Cherry Hill) on railroad drainage issues. In July of 1925 eleven residents filed a complaint with Council about the lack of a proper drainage in the thoroughfare, and in September of 1926 authorization of $1,250 for a storm sewer to drain "the lake that forms at Holly and Glenwood avenues." In 1938, 1939 and 1940 referencing garage and home flooding, a county sponsored WPA ditch drainage project that would cross Glenwood Avenue thereby overwhelming the runoff system and opposition to the project by Merchantville's borough engineer and Council. In a May 1947 Courier-Post article Borough Council requested that Freeholders supply storm sewers to drain Glenwood Avenue stating, "Drainage of the area, which has been flooded several times, has been problem for nearly 20 years." and in August 1950 police reports that the 200 block of Glenwood was flooded and "pedestrians and cars could not get through". Borough Council reported in December 1951 that the drainage project on Glenwood Avenue was "making normal progress".  Again, after a major storm in June 1969, flooding was reported on the "200 block of Glenwood Avenue." Ten years later, in March of 1979, resident Grace Green sent a letter to the Courier-Post chastising Councilwoman Yates and the mayor for condoning the existing water problem at Holly and Glenwood. The next searchable news about this comes from a Philadelphia Inquirer article on November 10, 1989 and p.2  titled, "Merchantville attacks problem of flooding on Glenwood Ave." It discusses the response to a serious flooding issue in October of that year. In 1992 the Inquirer, page 2 recorded the drainage issue as seen through the eyes of resident, Bob Press, sharing tales of knee-deep flooding four times a year. And from 1994, in a series of four articles - May, July, August and September - found in the Courier-Post and Philadelphia Inquirer, the ongoing saga of Glenwood Avenue is memorialized. In January of 1995 an $85,000 contract was awarded by Mayor and Council to VSP, Inc., Haddonfield to relocate and repair storm drains and pipes on Glenwood Avenue.