The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society 117 Broad Street Elmer, NJ 08318

The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society 117 Broad Street Elmer, NJ 08318

The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society

117 Broad Street

Elmer, NJ 08318

(609) 670-0407

https://www.facebook.com/greaterelmerareahistoricalsociety/

http://www.elmerboroughnj.com/GreaterElmerAreaHistoricalSociety.html

Open: Sunday-Friday Closed/Saturday 10:00am-2:00pm (Second Saturday of the Month)

Admission: Free but donations are accepted and encouraged to help fund the museum.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46415-d28644121-Reviews-Greater_Elmer_Area_Historical_Society-Elmer_New_Jersey.html

The Greater Elmer Historical Society at 117 Broad Street

The History of The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society:

(from the museum website)

The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society was formed as a committee in 2008. It officially organized as a non-profit Historical Society in 2010.

Our Vision:

(from the museum website)

Serving the Elmer Borough, Pittsgrove Township and Upper Pittsgrove Township, The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society brings together the historical connection of he Borough and two Townships. Our vision is to use that connection to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of the history we share and to promote the cultural growth of our communities.

The entrance of The Great Emler Area Historical Society

Museum & Archives:

The GEAHS Museum & Archives opened in 2018 in the former St. Ann’s Church in Elmer, NJ. It is open to the public on the second Saturday of each month from 10:00am-2:00pm. Stop by and browse our collection of local history including books, photographs, signage, artifacts and much more. The Society meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30pm for guest speaker presentations, show and tell and society updates. The public is welcome to attend.

Some the events that the Society runs each year:

Historical Tours: The Curiosity House Tour is usually held in late November featuring houses and churches in the Elmer area. The homes are decorated seasonally and most have a rich historic background. The Historical Cemetery Tour is a guided tour held in late October highlighting the life stories of people buried in local cemeteries.

Elmer Harvest Day: Elmer Harvest Day is a community event that includes live music, crafters, antique car show, children’s activities, fire truck rides, petting zoo, food vendors, special offer from local businesses and lots of fun activities for visitors of all ages. Elmer Harvest Day is held on the first Saturday of October.

Elmer Harvest Day 2024: (I attended the event)

The tractors on display on Elmer Harvest Day October 5th, 2024

The streets were mobbed with residents and visitors on Elmer Harvest Day

The creativity of the crafts vendors

It was not even Halloween yet and here comes Christmas

These were some of the most unusual crafts at the festival. I loved the Mummy Bowl Fillers. Very clever!

I took a chance on a recent visit to Elmer, New Jersey to see if there Historical Society was open and I lucked out. On a beautiful early October day, they were sponsoring their annual Harvest Festival and the museum was open. What an interesting little museum. The collection reflects life in a small rural community and how it has grown in the modern time.

The outside of the museum on the day of the Harvest Festival

The museum is housed in an old Catholic Church

The building was built in 1894 as St. Ann’s Catholic Church that was organized in 1892. The church was built Adam Kandle at the cost of $1800. The cornerstone was donated by marble cutter Joseph Gibson. In November 2017, the former church building was donated to the Greater Elmer Area Historical Society to be used as their headquarters (Society pamphlet).

The shine to Saint Ann just outside the door

The inside gallery of the museum still has a feel of the church mixed with the modern era

The town progressed from a sleeping community of hunting and fishing for the Lenape to the coming of the Dutch, French, English and various waves of new immigration to the area.

The Early Settlement sign

The museum may be small but it packed with information on the history of Elmer, the local industries and farms, the Native American population and local population. Each section of the museum has a different theme to it.

The Native American artifacts

The Arrowhead collection at the museum

It seems that many of these artifacts were found in the local farm fields. The area had been a big settlement for the Lenape tribes, who probably found the same benefits as the settlers.

The Arrowhead Collection

The museum had an interesting collection of artifacts from local businesses from the area.

Artifacts from the Native Americans

With colonization, and the growth of agriculture ( which is still strong today), the business and manufacturing communities grew in the area and prospered even before the railroads came.

Early Industries of Elmer, NJ:

The growth of the area and the progress of a small town

The businesses of early Elmer included glass making, broom manufacturing and agriculture

The artifacts of the past of Elmer, NJ

The Registration Book of the Elmer Lake Hotel shows how the area changed to add leisure as work changed

Roles in the Home and Community:

The museum displays show a woman’s role in both the household and the community.

The roles of women were standardized

The roles of women in rural New Jersey were set in helping on the farm, tending to the house and raising young children until they were ready to work on the farm, cooking, cleaning and dong the domestic chores. With no electricity, what we deem as simple today was much work to the farm house wife. Domestic life and its attributes were noted in the display case,

Domestic items of the home

What needed to be done in the kitchen to feed the family

Canning and preserving foods for the winter

Ironing and taking care of clothing

Creating your own playthings, the Mercy Reeve doll. Store bought items were just too expensive for the average person or not available

The Wedding dress

The Hartz wedding dress

The was a nice display of items from the Elmer Fire and EMS departments on display as well. This shows the rich history of both departments.

The Elmer Fire and EMS department display

The museum also covered daily life in Elmer whether it be business or just general living. A rural community things continue to happen. Transportation continually changes from horses and buggies to railroads and then to cars. This has changed the landscape of the town.

Transportation into Elmer changed life forever

First by horse and buggies

Then by railroad

The daily life included trips into town to buy things for the homestead and visiting merchants and visiting with the doctor.

The Medical life in a rural community

The local dairy business was a big part of the economy

Visiting the creamery and how the dairy business was a big part of the community for work

The glassworks of the various businesses

Daily life in the town and the surrounding area in the beginning was a never ending wave of duties and chores. The household, farms and businesses had to run and everyone knew what needed to be done during the productive warmer months to survive the colder and hasher realities of the Winter. With time and progress each generation progressed to the modern era and this is still changing.

All parts of the everyday lives of people

Bonnet for picking potatoes

Not everything was all work and no play. There were dances, gatherings and socials and later on musical performances then the coming of radio and the movies. Children still had their games and to prepare children for domesticity of the future, there were toys related to the genders with girls playing with dolls and keeping dollhouses and boys with construction games and ready for life on the farm and factories.

The Cain family dollhouse was a cherished family item

The dollhouse with the historical marker

The museum shows the rich history of Elmer and the surrounding community and the spirit of a small town. There are many different displays in the museum to see and experience. Though the town has changed over the years, its progress continues.

Don’t miss their special events as well. I had a wonderful time walking around the downtown for the Harvest Festival. There are all sorts of special events and talks that the museum sponsors so please check out the website above.

One thought on “The Greater Elmer Area Historical Society 117 Broad Street Elmer, NJ 08318”

Leave a comment