| Guy Weston has not only safeguarded a crucial piece of New Jersey’s history, but has also deepened public understanding of the lives and achievements of Black residents during the antebellum and postbellum periods. His leadership, scholarship, and dedication to the community of Timbuctoo made him a truly deserving recipient of the 2025 Dr. Doris C. Carpenter Excellence Award, presented by Preservation New Jersey.Guy Weston and teachers from Westampton Middle School and Rancocas Valley High School who worked on the project’s curriculumMr. Weston’s fourth great-grandfather was among a small group of free African Americans who purchased land in what is now Westampton Township in 1829. The community of Timbuctoo was established in 1826, when Ezekiel Parker, Wardell Parker, David Parker, and Hezekiah Hall, each having escaped enslavement in Maryland, purchased land from a Quaker and founded a settlement. The community was later named after the historic West African city in present-day Mali. Read Full Story |