Beulah Oliphant Award

Beulah Ann Oliphant

Born in 1840, Beulah Ann Oliphant was the daughter of Joseph Oliphant, who operated the Oliphant Mill near Medford, New Jersey. She was a teenager when her father passed away, leaving an estate whose income was insufficient to support Beulah and her family. She defied social conventions governing women of her class, and despite fierce opposition from relatives, became a teacher. She was to follow this profession for twenty years.

She later married General Samuel Duncan Oliphant, who shared the same last name but no close blood ties, and became mother to ten stepsons. When the south wing of the Old Barracks was advertised for sale by the Widows and Single Women’s Home Society in 1899, Mrs. Oliphant and other Trenton women worked for three years to raise the $6,317 to purchase the building. In 1902, the Old Barracks Association was incorporated and a museum established.

Beulah Oliphant, through her foresight and determination, led the effort to preserve the Old Barracks, which became a museum in 1902. This award is named in her honor, and is presented annually to women in recognition of their outstanding contributions to New Jersey history in historic preservation, education, or scholarship.

2026 Recipient

Cate Litvack

The 2026 honoree is Cate Litvack, who devoted her life to public service, cultural enrichment, and historic preservation in New Jersey. A longtime leader in land conservation and heritage advocacy, she served on numerous boards including the D&R Greenway Land Trust, where she was chair and helped lay the foundation for its enduring work protecting open space throughout the region. She was the first Executive Director of the Crossroads of the American Revolution, leading the effort to secure its designation as a National Heritage Area, and championed the preservation and interpretation of Revolutionary-era history for future generations. Cate also served on the boards of the Old Barracks Museum, the Advocates for New Jersey History, and the Trenton Arts Fund, bringing passion, insight, and unwavering support to organizations dedicated to safeguarding New Jersey’s heritage. Her remarkable contributions reflect the very spirit of the Beulah Oliphant Award.

2024 Recipient

Alice Paul Institute and Founding Members

Left to right: Michelle Doherty, Executive Director, Old Barracks Museum; API founding members Barbara Haney Irvine, Nancy Quinn, and Patricia Kane Williams; and Cate Litvack, VP of Development, Old Barracks Association

Since 1984, the Alice Paul Institute (API) has evolved from a small group of talented and visionary volunteers to a professionally staffed organization dedicated to furthering the vision of those founders and its name­ sake, suffragist Alice Stokes Paul.

Born in 1885, Paul worked throughout her life to advance the cause of equality. As founder of the National Woman’s Party, her efforts were key to getting the 19th Amendment to the Constitution passed giving women the right to vote. She also authorized the Equal Rights Amendment and worked for 54 years for its passage.

One of her signature quotations, “There’s nothing complicated about ordinary equality,” is as relevant today as when she said it decades ago.

The Alice Paul Institute is headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ in Alice Paul’s child­ hood home, Paulsdale, the only publicly accessible National Historic Landmark in New Jersey that tells the story of a woman.

Past Winners