150 East Commerce Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Cumberland
(856) 451-2620
The Woodruff Museum of Indian Artifacts is located on the lower level of the Bridgeton Free Public Library. It features 30,000 pieces of Native American relics creatively laid out in display cases.
Among the 30,000 pieces, you will find approximately 25,000 Indian arrowheads, all found in South Jersey. All artifacts in the museum derive from the Lenni Lenape indigenous tribe. James Holder, one of the museum’s volunteer tour guides, explains that all the artifacts were found in what the Lenni Lenape called the Unalachtigo section of the Delaware Indian Nation. This section covered parts of what is now Ocean and Burlington Counties on the northern border and extended southward covering all the South Jersey counties.
The museum was created by the late George J. Woodruff. The artifacts were stored in Woodruff’s home until he created the museum at the Bridgeton Library in 1976.
A group of volunteers interested in native artifacts and collectors themselves, serve as tour guides for the museum and are available to take school children on tours during the week if scheduled in advance. These knowledgeable volunteers provide a valuable background to what a visitor sees in the dozens of displays located throughout the museum. They are available from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. every Wednesday.