Medford’s Historic Business Properties - Stokelan Winery

by Kyle Mason April 2021

This is the first in a planned series on Medford historic locations and the businesses that call them home. Stokelan Winery was an easy first choice. It’s a stone’s throw from Kirby’s Mill, the well-known property of the Medford Historical Society, and has a rich history back to Medford’s early days. Located near the corner of Eayrestown and Church Roads in Medford NJ, the winery was established in 2019. Owner Deepa Lal and her team including vintner Andrew Dick have transformed the property in two short years into a working vineyard and are awaiting final approvals to begin operation. The establishment of the winery is an exciting development; however, it is only the latest chapter in the long history of Stokelan and its surrounding farmland. Native Americans occupied the land for thousands of years before the first European settlers arrived. For the purpose of this article we will begin with the “recent” history that lead to Stokelan’s creation. In 1691 Thomas Evans purchased 400 acres of land in what was the West Jersey. Later, in 1721, the land was sold to Joseph Stokes. It remained in the Stokes family and eventually Joseph Stokes inherited the land in 1847 and built Stokelan in 1853. Joseph’s brother, Joshua Stokes, built his own home nearby in 1855 on Eayrestown Road, near the present day Wawa. That home still stands today.

Joseph Stokes, the builder of Stokelan, was a bachelor and died at the age of 61 in 1866. In his will the property descended to his nephew Joshua Wills. Joseph’s sister, Lydia Stokes Wills, is seen living at Stokelan on the 1860 and 1870 census records. It was Lydia’s daughter that first named the property Stokelan. Later Joshua Wills and his family occupied the house and undertook major renovation/improvements, including the addition of a bathroom, one of the first in the area. The home also featured an ice house, a necessity in the days before electricity and refrigeration. Ice would have been harvested locally in the winter and stored in the ice house, remaining for many months, often until the following winter.

In 1910 Joshua and Rebecca Wills sold Stokelan for $10,000 to their nephew, Ezra Evans. Ezra occupied the home with his wife and daughters.

At that time Medford was home to dozens of dairy farms, in the area and also highlights the danger of fire in the days before sprinkler systems and smoke alarms. The news article reported on a fire at the farm of Ezra Evans [Stokelan] stating “The burned buildings were part of one of the finest dairy farms in Burlington County”. Fortunately no lives were lost and the main houses escaped damage, however 4 horses and several head of cattle perished and the barn and outbuildings were destroyed. Although no longer standing today, the barn was rebuilt in 1922.

The dairy farm at Stokelan remained in operation through the middle of the 20th century. One common thread that unites the generations at Stokelan is the Quaker faith. Many of the early settlers in what would become Medford were members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, including the Evans and Stokes families, in particular Joseph Stokes. His commitment to Quakerism was maintained by subsequent generations at Stoklan.Finally the new owner Deepa Lal developed a friendship while living in India with members of the Stokes family, who originally traveled to India as missionaries. Those Quaker missionaries were, remarkably, descendants from a branch of the same Stokes family that founded Stokelan. Today the winery sits on 10 acres of land with the beautiful main house surrounded by newly planted vineyards and several outbuildings. Approximately 112 acres of preserved farmland surround the vineyard ensuring the land around Stokelan will remain open space for future generations to enjoy. The author would like to thank the owner and staff at Stokelan Winery.

Special thanks to Alice Andrews for providing extensive background information and photographs and John Roohr for access to preserved farmland that surrounds the winery.