The mission of El Museo del Barrio is to present and preserve the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States. Through its extensive collections, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activates, festivals and special events, El Museo educates its diverse public in the richness of Caribbean and Latin American arts and cultural history.
By introducing young people to this cultural heritage, El Museo is creating the next generation of museum-goers while satisfying the growing interest in Caribbean and Latin American art of a broad national and international audience.
The History of the Museum:
El Museo was founded 45 years ago by artist and educator Raphael Montanez Ortiz and a coalition of parents, educators, artists and activists who not that mainstream museums largely ignored Latino artists. Since its inception, El Museo has been committed to celebrating and promoting Latino culture, thus becoming a cornerstone of El Barrio and a valuable resource for New York City.
The exhibitions in the Main Gallery
El Museo’s varied permanent collection of over 6,500 objects, spans more than 800 years of Latin American, Caribbean and Latino art, includes pre-Columbian Taino artifacts, traditional arts, twentieth-century drawings, painting, sculptures and installations as well as prints, photography, documentary films and video. For a brief overview of our history and to explore the institutional chronology and exhibition history year by year.
The Galleries of El Museo del Barrio
Our Purpose:
El Museo del Barrio’s purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret the art and artifacts of Caribbean and Latin American cultures for posterity.
To enhance the sense of identify, self-esteem and self-knowledge of the Caribbean and Latin American peoples by educating them in their artistic heritage and bringing art and artists into their communities.
To provide an educational forum that promotes an appreciation and understanding of Caribbean and Latin American art and culture and its rich contribution to North America.
To offer Caribbean and Latin American artists greater access to institutional support in the national and international art world.
To convert young people of Caribbean and Latin American descent into the next generation of museum-goers, stakeholders in the institution created for them.
To fulfill our special responsibility as a center of learning and training ground for the growing numbers of artists, educators, art historians and museum professionals interested in Caribbean and Latin American Art.
The mission reaffirms the vision of Raphael Montanez Ortiz, who founded El Museo del Barrio in 1969 and of the Puerto Rican educators, artists and community activities who worked in support of this goal.
(El Museo del Barrio pamphlet online)
The Collection:
The museum features an extensive collection of around 8,500 pieces composed of pre-Columbian and traditional artifacts, particularly a large permanent Taino exhibit as well as 20th century arts and crafts, graphics and popular media, Mexican masks, textiles from Chile and photographs and traditional art from Puerto Rico. There are often temporary exhibits on Puerto Rican and Latino modern art. The museum also sponsors numerous festivals and educational programs throughout the year including the annual Three Kings Day parade. Due to a lack of space prior to their 2009-2010 expansion, the museum began to place some of their permanent collection online. This also served as a means of audience development. (Wikipedia)
I have visited this interesting small history museum a few times and they do a wonderful job in presenting their displays with interesting facts catering not just to a local crowd, but anyone interested in history and events.
The one-room schoolhouse, built in 1872, operated as a public school until 1905. It was part of the district school system formed in 1864 or 1865, which was geographically defined rather than by township. It was operated as School District No. 45. When the towns incorporated in 1894, that district system was dissolved, and the school became part of the Ridgewood school district.
The Ridgewood Schoolhouse Museum’s permanent collection
Tradition has it that the original land grant to the Dutch Reformed congregation from Pierre Fauconier and his daughter, Magdalena Valleau, stated that room should always be given upon the church land for a school. We know that a small school building opened in 1785. A second stone school was built in 1820 and eventually replaced by a frame structure in 1845.
Eventually the present schoolhouse was built in 1872 at a cost of $4600.00. It is likely that other schools existed on the church property from the time the church was built in 1735 to 1785, for the consistory assumed responsibility for education and the exact time when that responsibility was handed over to the public is not known.
The large bell summoned children from miles away to school each morning. The original belfry is gone but the bell stands in the entryway. It was used in other schools and a church after the school closed in 1905 but was returned to the historical society in 1977.
The original entry was divided into separate entrances and cloakrooms for boys and girls. The potbelly stove is original as are the windows and the two central lamps. The black boards around the room have been removed except for one behind the teacher’s platform.
There is a recreation of the old schoolhouse when you walk into the museum
When the Historical Society started the museum, the privy building was attached to the main building to provide more display area. In their special display area, they have an exhibition space for farming and a local comedian.
The schoolhouse display
In April 2018, they have a very interesting exhibition call “The Thread of Life” which tells the story of family’s progression in home life from the end of the Civil War until the beginning of the Depression and times changed between the Civil War and WWI. Between the Victorian Era, the sinking if the Titanic and the devastation of WWI, the baby boom of the teens and the ‘Roaring Twenties’ with the stock market built changed the attitudes.
The way of life for an entire generation until the Great Depression put a halt on it. You can see the changes of behavior in the displays of clothes and household decor. It is an interesting display.
A Morning Outfit during the Victorian Age
Union Army outfits and display for the “Civil War” artifacts
They also have an ongoing exhibition of farm equipment and a continuation of their “Farming in Bergen County” exhibition that just closed before this show. This is how farmers of Bergen County produced their crops.
Dutch items in the collection
The Blauvelt, Zabriskie and Haring families are known farming family names in Bergen County and were important in business and politics during the after the Revolutionary War.
The “Farming and Agricultural” display
Also, see their ‘Halloween Cemetery Walk” in my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” entry “This is Halloween” Day Ninety-Six, October 31, 2017. Don’t miss it this year!
Day Ninety-Six: This is Halloween-MywalkinManhattan.com:
The Cemetery Walks in October are extremely popular
Don’t miss the “Here comes the Brides” exhibition that just opened up in May of 2019. It shows the history of formal wear for weddings along with accessories, menswear, invitations and even cakes toppers.
‘Here comes the Bride’ Exhibition 2019
In July of 2020, as Phase Three of the Opening in the State of New Jersey, the Museum is now open from 2:00pm-4:00pm for viewing with a new exhibition “A” is for Artistry: Celebrating Centuries of Art, Artists & Creativity”. The exhibit is a combination of local donated art and heirlooms from Ridgewood and the surrounding towns.
The Exhibition “A is for Artistry”
There are interesting displays of early photography and portrait painting as a way of preserving a persons’ image for the future. The use of oil painting, tin and then photo ‘sittings’ came in vogue as the technology changed.
Portraits were the form of imagetry before photography was invented
There was an interesting display of Children’s toys from the handmade farm toys of clay and corn husks to the fancier toys of bisque and cloth when imports and specialty toy stores were created for children’s playthings. They even had a collection of the famous “Punch & Judy Dolls”.
The Punch & Judy Dolls at the “A is for Artistry” exhibition
Children’s playthings over the last two hundred years
Another standout of the exhibition was the display from General Westervelt, a local citizen of Bergen County whose shipping expertise helped the North during the Civil War. His use of navigation and sailing was a detriment to the South and there was a $1000.00 bounty on his head. He died during the Civil War.
The “Object Lessons-Treasures that tell our Stories” exhibition
In 2022, when the Museum reopened after a long closure with COVID, they opened with two exhibitions: One was “Object Lessons-Treasures that tell our stories”, in which household objects, farming equipment and all sorts of artifacts from the pre-Revolution, Revolutionary War and Civil War periods were shown. It showed the progression that life took for families between the Revolutionary War and the beginnings of the Victorian Age.
“American Revolutionary War” display
They had local Dutch family heirlooms such as chests, cabinets, china, clothing and even documents. The average Dutch family kept their family linens, china, silver and bedding in a locked chest as these were valuable family luxuries that needed protection and proper care.
Dutch Chest with family items that were locked up.
There was a “Lincoln display” at the museum. They had a copy of the poster from the night that President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford Theater during the performance of “My American Cousin”. There was a family shot of the Lincoln family and items from the period.
The “Lincoln Display” that showed an original poster from “Our American Cousin” the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
The other exhibition was “Toying with the Past: Antique Toys & Games”:
Toying with the Past was an interesting exhibition in that it showed how much toys have developed and changed over the years and how much they have stayed the same. There was a beautiful collection of china and bisque dolls, some that were made as playthings and others used as marketing tools to show women the latest fashions coming out of Europe. The dolls would be dressed in the dressmakers’ newest designs.
The Doll Collection is beautifully displayed
There were older versions of modern board games, everyday items like marbles and Jaxs. There were kitchen-based items that a little girl might be given to improve her domestic skills and there was even an early version of an “Easy Bake Oven”, with an electric oven that could be plugged in and boil water.
The items a young girl would receive to prepare her for homelife
Fancy rocking horses and dolls
Vehicles and Board Games that sparked children’s imagination
More dolls and vehicles over the last 100 years
There was also all sort of toys on wheels and rocking horses that could entertain a grumpy child for hours. They even had a selection of play clothes and school items to show what classroom work was like at the turn of the last century.
Childhood was changing for young people after the Civil War and during the Victorian Age
The Latest Exhibition that was on display in April 2023 was the “History of Hats” that replaced the Toy exhibiton:
Hats from all ages
Men’s hats through the ages
Military Hats
General’s Hat
Ladies bonnets
‘Fashion of the 1880’s’
Special Events and Lectures at the Museum:
Don’t miss their ‘Cemetery Walks’ during the day. I took one recently at the old Dutch Reformed Church and we discussed the history of the church, the location of the old church versus the building of the new one, which is why the cemetery looks the way it does and the locations of the tombstones as well as how time and advancement in carving went from sandstone, which fades and chips over time when to the production of granite and marble for future tombstones.
The Cemetery Walks in Valleau Cemetery across from the museum
The cemetery is filled with names famous and prominent in Bergen County and North Jersey history which includes participation in the wars and the building of Bergen County including the Westervelt’s, Van Riper’s, Haring’s, Zabriskie’s, Terhune’s, Demerest’s, Blauvelt’s and Tice’s families. It is a fascinating place to learn Bergen County history and its development.
The Cemetery Tours that take place the week before Halloween are interesting as well. The paths of the Valleau Cemetery in Ridgewood are lined with candles and you follow the path with the town historian who takes you on a creepy tour of the famous dead residents of Ridgewood. These include prominent athletes, business people and local laborers. You pretty much tour about a third of the cemetery as you move from one tombstone to another met by costumed actors, who they themselves have to sit in the cemetery in the dark waiting for you. That is a horror movie into itself.
The Valleau Cemetery Walk and Lecture
The best part of the tour is you are greeted at the museum with a tour of the museum and a table laden with fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts that make the perfect refreshment on a cool fall evening. Make sure to take the 7:00pm tour when it is dark out and make the reservation well in advance as these tours fill up fast.
Taking the Cemetery Tours is interesting!
Don’t miss their upcoming tours for Halloween, Christmas and their lecture series.
Please check out the museum’s website for all their very original special programming.
The museum’s latest acquisition, a Native American on horseback
For the 2024 Northwest Bergen Historic Coalition Day, I visited the museum again and they were having an exhibition entitled “It’s Personal-100 years of obsolete Everyday Essentials”. It made me feel old when I saw a rotary phone, ink well and some of the other items that were in the exhibit. Some of them were from my generation and I do not consider myself old.
The sign from the “It’s Personal” exhibition.
The entrance to the Ridgewood Schoolhouse Museum for the “It’s Personal” exhibition
The Ridgewood Schoolhouse Museum “It’s Personal” exhibition.
The Ridgewood Schoolhouse Museum “It’s Personal” exhibition.
The Inkwell display at the “It’s Personal” exhibition to be replaced by the modern pen.
The Sewing Kit at the “It’s Personal” exhibition to be replaced by the modern sewing machine than by Ready to Wear clothing.
The Vanity which is still in use depending on the person in the “It’s Personal” exhibition.
The development of the phone and then the change to the modern cell phone in the “It’s Personal” exhibition.
The exhibition was interesting because its takes the modern perspective of the development of objects and their use over the last 100 years and show them with a modern twist on how times continue to change.
I have been to many special events at the Garretson Forge & Farm over the years, but COVID had put a stop to many of them since 2020. The farm is now back and running beautifully with the help of their roster of volunteers and master gardeners manning the grounds both in the front and back of the homestead.
In previous years when I have visited, I have toured the home visiting the indoor kitchen and display room that is the oldest part of the house which was built in 1719.
The signage in front of the house
The kitchen of the Garretson Forge is from the original structure of the house.
The kitchen
The cooking utensils at the Garretson Forge kitchen
The spinning at the Garretson Forge farm was part of life
The newer part of the house where spinning takes place and where you can see examples of Dutch furniture with chest for clothing and a rope bed, where the expression ‘sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite’ comes from. You had to tighten a rope bed with a key to tighten the ropes at night and the mattresses were either made from straw or if you were lucky, goose feathers.
The newer part of the home with the upstairs dormers was built in 1760.
The upstairs is the newest addition to the house
The Upstairs
The Garretson Family tree
Inside the original part of the home is the family tree of the Garretson family who lived in the house for six generations from 1719 to 1972 when the last of the Garretson line, the husband of the wife who was a direct descendant died and the home was bought by a developer. The also have a collection of Presidential signatures that are kept under lock and key at night.
The Presidential Signature Room
The Living Room fireplace is right off the Signature Room
The kitchen in the original 1719 part of the home is decorated with period utensils, herbs and vegetables for drying and all the things you would need to prepare food for the long winter. These things would have been placed in the fruit cellar.
The Herb Garden right off the kitchen
The water pump and herb garden are right in back of the kitchen
Outside the home during the recent Harvest Festival that I attended in October 2022, you can visit all sorts of farming equipment, sleds, and hoes for using on the farm to grow plants.
The barn has herbs drying for the season and foods being stored. This along with farm equipment. These items have been brought from all over Bergen County.
The Fall Festival 2022 on October 9th, 2022
The other barn had period carriages and even a dairy vehicle delivery of milk and eggs to homes. There were items drying out in the barn for basketmaking and even in the back the tombstone of an original member of the family.
The Barn Vehicles
The barn equipment
The backyard of the home is an extensive number of plantings that the Master Gardeners maintain and many of the items grown on the property go to a foodbank in Paterson, NJ. I thought that was a very nice donation to give especially these days. I was able to walk through what was left of the vegetables and fruits that had not either been picked or went through their growing cycle.
Items drying in the barn
Activities at the Harvest Festival included making colonial dishes from original recipes including a roasting ham on the fire, pumpkin pie, chopped vegetables for stew and a stew that was cooking on the fire.
The bounty of Fall in Colonial America
Unfortunately, we were not able to sample these delicious looking items because of a food license but everything looked really good. They had everything laid out on the table as the ladies explained to me how things were cooked back then.
Roasting meats on the fire a traditional way
Here and there were tables of items for sale including snacks, crafts and vintage decorative items for the home. This helps raise money for the maintenance of the house.
There was also a plant sale where items grown on the property were being sold for people’s decorative gardens.
Before I left, the master gardener explained to me that the Chinese Chestnut Tree in the back of the property was a documented tree and was one of the oldest and largest in the State of New Jersey. They are not too sure who planted it years ago.
Their Harvest Festival was a lot of fun and there were lots to do for families with small children. This takes place every October.
In December I took a special tour of the farmhouse during the holiday season when the forge was decorated for the Sinterklaas event and the Christmas holiday season. I was very lucky that the President of the organization gave me a private tour of the house and gardens. The house had been very busy for the Christmas season.
During the time of the Dutch, homes would not have been as decorated for the holidays as they would during the Victorian Age with trees and massive amounts of decorations. Around the time of the Revolutionary War, ‘greens’ would have decorated the home to bring ‘life’ back into the home during the long winter months. So things like pine, holly and mistletoe would have decorated the house.
The front of the house for the holiday season.
The front of the house at Christmas time.
The entrance to the house decorated in bows and garland.
The entrance to the house decked in garland, bows and fruit during the holiday season.
Entering the house from the back door.
The entrance to the back door decked out for the holidays.
The entrance to the historic farmhouse.
During the holiday season, the New Jersey Dutch citizens would celebrate “Sinterklaas”, the Dutch Christmas festival in which Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) would bring good little children toys and sweets. During the first week of December, the farmhouse has the traditional “Dutch Christmas Festival” in which children can visit with Sinterklaas and enjoy music and holiday treats.
The front hallway decorated for the Dutch Festival.
The Dutch Kitchen ready for the holidays.
The kitchen getting ready for the holidays.
The back fireplace during the Christmas holidays.
The main room of the Dutch Farmhouse during the Christmas holidays.
The banister was decorated in garland and bows.
The Spinning Wheel and fireplace during the festivities.
Where Sinterklaas engages the small children at the event.
The stockings and wooden shoes which would have been filled with candy and toys by Sinterklaas for good little girls and boys. The Christmas tree would have come in Victorian times along with the presents in the later part of the 1870’s and 80’s with the rise of Queen Victoria.
As we exited the house at the end of the tour, the President took me on a tour of the greenhouse that was attached to the house. This is where all the new plants and saplings were being grown during the winter months.
The Greenhouse is attached to the main house.
The decorated window box just outside the kitchen of the farmhouse.
We passed through the gardens that were now dormant for the holidays but would be sprouting in about four months.
During the Revolutionary War and the take over of the English, Christmas would have meant church services on Christmas Day and a light luncheon in the afternoon. Things like gift giving, entertainment and music would have been later in the 1800’s as the ‘Puritan influence’ would have prevailed at this time with little merriment during the holidays.
After the Civil War and the rise of the Industrial Revolution did Christmas get more elaborate and festivities became more colorful. You see this in different stages of the house. The forge is open for the “Sinterklaas Festival” the first week of December every year.
In the Spring, I attended “Pea Day”, the first planting of the gardens took place in March of 2024. The volunteers were cleaning the beds out and planting the first fruits and vegetables that could survive in the cool weather. It gave us a chance to see how things were planted on the farm during the different seasons.
The front of the Garretson Forge & Farm during the last days of Winter.
The property during the late Winter months.
The daffodils were in full bloom on the property.
Cleaning up the property during the late Winter months.
The volunteers planting the beds during “Pea Day”.
The volunteers planting the beds during “Pea Day”.
The students of Bergen Community College learning about the Garretson Forge.
“Pea Day” gave us a chance to see the property and see how the plantings of the farm were timed with the seasons. It also gave the students a chance to see what the farm looked like and understand its logistics.
The farm on “Pea Day”.
The History of Garretson Forge & Farm:
Garretson Forge & Farm is one of the oldest historic sites in Bergen County, New Jersey. Settled in 1719, this Dutch Colonial homestead was home to six generations of the Garretson family. Their homestead remains a rare surviving example of a simple farming life that was prevalent in the 1700’s and 1800’s. It now functions as a living museum and a working farm, preserving our colonial past and agricultural heritage.
The front of the Garretson Forge on River Road in Fair Lawn, NJ.
The Property:
Located along an old Native American trail, about a mile north of Garretson Lane, is one of the original farms in Slooterdam, owned by the Dutch family of Peter Garretson. Today, more than 300 years later, the trail has come to be known as River Road, Garretson Lane is now called Broadway and Slooterdam has evolved into Fair Lawn, yet the original farmhouse and remaining grounds are still referred to as the Garretson Homestead.
In the 17th century, New Jersey was divided into the Provinces of East and West Jersey by its English proprietors, Lords Berkeley and Carteret. These lands were then sold to a group of Quakers headed by William Penn. By 1692, part of East Jersey, known as the Saddle River Tract, had been divided into large lots, one of which was sold to the Stillwell family.
The Garretson homestead stand on a portion of land that was acquired in 1708 by David Daniellse from the Stillwell family. A copy of the original propriety deed signed by King George of England and the Lenni Lenape Chief, Spotted Tail and granting the land to David Daniellse, is hanging in the homestead. The original property was bounded on the west by the Passaic River and on the east by the Saddle River. Peter Garretson purchased the property from Mr. Daniellse in 1719.
After Peter Garretson’s death, title to the land was passed from one generation to the next. From time-to-time parcels of the tract were sold. The present site consists of 1.84 acres along River Road.
The beauty of the Garretson Forge Farm in the Fall
The Homestead:
The house is an example of Dutch Colonial architecture which is charismatic of Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties.
One and one-half stories high and built about 1719 of rubble and undressed stone, the current kitchen wing is considered by most to be the homestead. It features a large open-hearth fireplace typical of Flemish design of the late 1600’s. On a late nineteenth-century photograph of the house, remnants of a brick beehive oven can be seen on the outer wall.
Farming equipment outside the barn
In 1760, the larger section of the house was built using dressed stone. The sandstone blocks were held together with mortar made of river mud mixed with straw and hogs hair. It was under this section that fragments of clay pipes (c1720) were uncovered.
The farmhouse on River Road in Fairlawn, NJ
The Farmhouse
Extensive renovations were made to the house in 1902. The present gambrel roof replaced a steep gable roof; a front door was replaced with a window; an inner stairway to the basement replaced cellar hatches. A large center Victorian stairway to the second floor was also built and the open-hearth fireplaces were enclosed in the Victorian style. A large pillared porch was also added.
An early nineteenth century carriage house still stands on the property along with a large barn and several smaller outbuildings, the oldest of which is a small wooden structure built circa 1800 in the Dutch barn style.
The barn and carriage house
The Garretson Family:
The history of the Garretson family in America began in 1660 with the emigration of Gerrit Gerritse, his wife, Annetje Hermansse and their son, Gerrit from Wageningen, Gelderland (Netherlands). They arrived in New Amsterdam and proceeded to the town of Bergen, where in 1668, Gerrit (Sr) bought from Philip Carteret, eight parcels of land. The family resided in what is now the Communipaw section of Jersey City, where Gerrit died in October of 1696. His wife died on September 7, 1696.
Some of Gerrit Gerritse’s children took the name Van Wagenen, while others retained that of Garretson, from the name of their father. The descendants of Gerrit Gerritse, going by the surname of Garretson, Van Wegenen and Van Wagoner are today numerous throughout Bergen and Hudson Counties.
Mary Garretson’s Tombstone is located in the barn
Peter Garretson, grandson of the elder Gerrit Gerritse, purchased the Slooterdam Patent from David Daniellse in 1719. The house was built shortly afterwards. Six generations of the Garretson family resided on the farm until the death of Mary Garretson Brocker in 1950. Her widower, Feenix Brocker, remained at the homestead and continued farming until 1974.
The Gardens:
Originally a homestead farm, subsistence and market crops were grown from the early 1700’s through the early 1970’s by the Garretson family.
The back of the house
Today, the gardens at Garretson continue an agricultural tradition. A variety of heirloom vegetables, all open-pollinated are grown in the kitchen garden using organic and sustainable practices. Produce in season is donated to a local emergency food pantry. An extensive herb garden contains over 75 types of medicinal and culinary herbs that were grown in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds.
The Garretson farm gardens behind the house are tended to by the master gardeners.
Garretson’s Butterfly Garden provides host plants and nectar sources for many different kinds of butterflies. Since 2005, Garretson has been certified by Monarch Watch as a Monarch Waystation (monarch habitat).
The Children’s Garden at Garretson abounds in spring ephemeral wildflowers, bulbs and ferns. In the heat of summer its offers a welcome place to sit in the shade. Gardeners have been restoring native plants to this woodland area.
The garden sheds behind the house
Many of the garden volunteers are Rutgers-trained Master Gardeners who have done their community service at Garretson and who give back to the community and Bergen County Master Gardener Program by training new gardeners at Garretson.
The gardens at the Garretson Forge farms behind the house
Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc.:
The Garretson property was sold in 1974 to a private builder for residential value, community members became interested in acquiring the property for preservation. This led to the founding of the Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc. in 1974 for the purpose of raising funds for the purchase. Through the efforts of the organization, the community at large and government agencies, the necessary funds were raised for the acquisition of the property.
GFFR Inc. continued to raise funds to maintain the site and to restore the kitchen to its eighteenth-century design. Money was also used to purchase artifacts and articles related to Garretson history.
The open kitchen at the Garretson Farm
In 1977, ownership of the property was accepted by the Freeholders of Bergen County. Now a county historical site, the Garretson homestead continues to be administered by the members of Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc.
GFFR Inc. is a volunteer organization whose mission is to preserve and maintain the Garretson homestead, keeping it open to the public; to educate the greater community about local and state history; to foster environmentally sustainable agricultural practices and biodiversity.
Programs and Special Events:
Throughout the year, Garretson Forge and Farm offers.
Living history events:
*The Spring Festival celebrating colonial life and crafts in the 1700’s.
*The Fall Festival celebrating the harvest and the 1800’s farm.
Fall Festival 2022
Civil War Activities at the Garretson Forge
Civil War activities at the Fall Festival
Spinning wool and cloth making at the Fall Festival
*Dutch Christmas presenting a traditional Dutch celebration with the homestead decorated in Victorian style.
The house decorated for the Sinterklaas and Christmas festivals.
The house decorated for the Christmas holidays.
Educational Programs:
The Map and Signature galleries
*School Tours
Children’s toys at the Garretson Forge
*Open House and garden tours
*Lectures on the environment and on local history.
The Signature and Map Collection at Garretson Forge
*The Master Gardener Program
*Organic/sustainable gardening
*Garden and craft workshops
*The annual Butterfly Festival for families.
Community Service Programs:
*Eagle Scout Projects
*Community Seed Bank
*Seasonal produce donations to local food banks.
For more information on events, please check out the website:
The Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
Disclaimer: This information is taken directly from the pamphlet from the Garretson Forge & Farm. For more information on the site, please call the above numbers or email them.
In the Spring Semester of 2023, my Introduction to Business class at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ created a project to promote the Garretson Forge & Farm for Destination Tourism. It was an extensive project creating new programs, new advertising and promoting the site with commercials and walking tours.
I think a lot of these historical sites do not get the attention they deserve and with the 250 Anniversary of the Revolutionary War happening in two years, these wonderful sites needed to be showcased. They needed to dusted off, revamped and a fresh perspective was needed to tell their story. This is where the project for the “The Bergen 250: Tourism at the Garretson Forge & Farm” came from.
The project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Bergen 250-Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm”:
That and the tour the former President gave me during the holiday season when I begged to see the Christmas decorations for the Sinterklaas celebrations were still up. I needed pictures for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” and “MywalkinManhattan.com”.
My blog on Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm on VisitingaMuseum.com:
When I toured the home during the holidays, I approached them on using the home as a future project and she seemed to like the idea. This is where the partnership for the project came from.
Our first visit to the site was on “Pea Day” in March 2024 for an extra credit assignment to start the project off so that the students could see the grounds and experience the farm and its attributes.
Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ for “Pea Day”
Visiting the farm house and gardens on “Pea Day”
The volunteers planting at the Garretson Forge & Farm on “Pea Day”.
Observing the Master Gardeners and Volunteers on “Pea Day”.
The students coming in on their day off to attend “Pea Day”
Everyone took turns getting their hands dirty on “Pea Day”
We also had a special field trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm on class day so that everyone could tour the farm and the farmhouse. Outside “Pea Day”, it was the first time anyone in my class had ever visited the site.
We started the tour on a rather gloomy night. We had just had a rain storm but that did not stop our visit. Our whole class attended the trip (it is a mandatory part of both the project and the class) and it was a interesting tour for all of us.
Our host was the President of the Friends group that helps raise money for the site. We started the tour after the rain storm with a trip through the barns to see some of the old farm equipment. The were some interesting artifacts that included farm plows and horse drawn articles to carriages and sleds.
Then we toured the gardens where the volunteers had just finished the plantings of the summer fruits and vegetables. The President explained that the fruits and vegetables that were grown here were donated to a soup kitchen in Paterson. I thought this was a great idea.
Then were toured the farmhouse, which I had just been to for a private tour during the holidays. The kitchen was set up for a harvest meal now and I explained to some of the students how food was cooked back then in the hearth.
Then we toured the small museum and looked at the family tree, where generations of Garretson’s had lived. Our last stop on the tour of the farmhouse was the main living room where the Sinterklass event was held and many of the talks on domestic life on the farm.
This is where we concluded the tour and many students asked questions about life at that period of time. After the tour was over, I took the students out to dinner as part of their Team Building. It is important for the students to get to know one another.
The start of the tour near the barns.
Our tour of the grounds, the barns and life on the farm.
The grounds near the second barn. Touring the gardens at twilightTour of the kitchen.
Discussing the expression “Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite” and where it came from.
Discussion on the second floor.
The second floor had been added on years later.
Discussion on farm living.
Discussing the furnishings and how the farmhouse ran as a farm and a home.
Continuing our discussion of life on the farm.
Talking about life on the farm.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. tour of the site.
Our group shot with President of the Garretson Forge & Farm April Barth.
After the tour was over, I took my class to Bella Vita Pizzeria in Fair Lawn, NJ for their first Corporate dinner and Team building exercise. The dinner was wonderful, and the pizza was excellent. It really warmed us up after a cold night of touring and the students seemed to enjoy getting to know each other over a hot pizza dinner.
Bella Vita Pizzeria at 1761 River Rd A, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410:
My Teams dining together at a “Corporate” pizza dinner.
The company Team dining together that night.
The aspect of dining together is an important part of the Team Building exercise and you can tell by the pictures that my students enjoyed it.
The next few weeks were preparing the project for the presentation. We had a visit from Vivian Davis, who I had known for years from working in the Division of Disability Services when she was one of our speakers. She now was running the “Bergen 250: The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County” and we had incorporated part of this in the project. I had given her a copy of the project and she came into the class to discuss what she was planning and the significance of the Revolutionary War had on the towns in Bergen County. It was a real history lesson on some of the towns in Bergen County and some of the historical homes and sites in Bergen County.
This project was a bit more intense than my morning class. While they designed the rigors of the Bergen Room Bistro, my evening class was putting together an entire game plan of Revolutionary War events for the ‘Bergen 250’.
I had the students working on an Independence Day event, a Children’s Walking tour of the property, a Mid Summer dinner with a Revolutionary War themed dinner, a continuation of the Sinterklaas event that would extend visiting the decorations in the house another two weekends and then a new Digital Marketing campaign for the site with a commercials and posters.
The night of the presentation on April 24th, it all came to life. The students each showed the PowerPoints with their ideas, menus and commercials to promote the site. They really had some interesting ideas.
Finishing the evening with my Student Consultants was great. The students were so excited to finish and I have to admit it was quite the journey for me too. It was a lot of work (and money) to pull this event off but it went by well. The Board of the Garretson Forge & Farm really seemed to enjoy it and asked lots of questions.
Vivian Davis, who is running the “Bergen 250″ asked the most important question of the night, if I was to run all of these events, would your age group come?” This got the students thinking and one said, “We are a busy group with college and work. If you want our age group to come, you are going to have to cater to things we like.” I thought that was fair and gave her something to think about as well.
We then took our Board picture. I am always so proud of my Student Executive Consultants. They come dressed for work.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250″: Garretson Forge & Farm” Executive Team.
I want to thank my President of the Team Project, President TJ Fischer and SVP of Operations Camila Alvarado and the entire Team of Vice-Presidents, Team Leaders and Team Members for tackling this very difficult and very detailed job of promoting this wonderful historical site with such detail.
The questions on the project were excellent and direct and audience was very impressed by how thorough the project was done that evening. To all my Student Consultants, you did an excellent job!
Great Work!
New Historic Project for 2025:
To Celebrate the “Bergen 250: the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County”, we are creating a new project with a series of special events and meals at different historical sites in Bergen County. It gives these sites a fresh approach to new visitors.
Our class toured the site and I tried to showcase this site to another Team of students to reimagine it.
We were joined by County Historian Vivian Davis who led the tour to my students
We toured the grounds and gardens where a Country Afternoon Tea would be planned in the backyard of the home with a house and garden tour and plant sale.
My class toured the historic kitchen
We then toured the historic room with the homes past and the family tree
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting 250 Team in the backyard of the Garretson Forge & Farm
Our selfie with Vivian
The end of our tour that afternoon
It was another successful in the field by Bergecco- Parc Consulting Inc.
The Museum of Chinese in America engages audiences in an ongoing dialogue, in which people of all backgrounds are able to see American history and society through a critical lens, to reflect on their own experiences and to make meaningful connections between the past and the present, the global and the local, themselves and others.
MOCA began in 1980 as the New York Chinatown History Project, a community-based organization founded by scholar John Kuo Wei Tchen and community activist Charles Lai to promote knowledge and understanding of the history and contributions of Chinese Americans. Today, the MOCA is a national cultural anchor and a global destination. It is located on the border of Chinatown and SoHo in New York City in its Maya Lin-designed home that was highlighted by Architectural Digest as one of Lin’s most memorable designs.
The entrance to the museum
Permanent Exhibition:
Our core exhibition, ‘With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America’, traces more than 160 years of milestones in Chinese American History from the earliest Chinese Immigration to the struggle for citizenship to the development of our contemporary identity.
The core exhibit revolves around the Museum’s historic sky-lit courtyard, which renowned artist and designer Maya Lin has left deliberately raw and untouched as a reminder of the past and to evoke a classic Chinese courtyard house.
The permanent collection shows immigration from the earliest days during the early 1800’s with immigrants working in the mines and on the railroads doing the back-breaking work all while dealing with the problems with racism in the country at that time.
The timeline shows the development of the early Chinatowns in major cities and the growth of industries like restaurants and laundries where they could make a living. This is where the term ‘eight-pound package’ came from with a pile of clean laundry. Even in these industries, the exhibit shows the systematic racism in these fields as well.
It was not until WWII when you saw Chinese Americans fighting for their country did you see a change of attitude, but it never seemed to last long. This ongoing theme is seen throughout the exhibition up until today.
Special Exhibitions:
Our rotating galleries showcase a revolving series of MOCA-curated and visiting exhibitions featuring contemporary art, design and historical subjects.
The first time I visited the museum, I saw an exhibition of the modern twist to the ‘Chinese Restaurant’ where the foods we eat are really Chinese American cuisine that was created when immigrants came here and had to adapt to their new homeland. Items like Chop Suey and Chow Mein were inventions of new immigrants with the items they had in their pantries.
The exhibit showed how chefs of the third generation of Americans of Chinese Descent are changing these dishes by adding modern spins to the food. The exhibit featured the chefs, their restaurants and the dishes that they were creating. They were changing the cuisine again.
The current exhibition “Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism”, deals with the Xenophobia that came with COVID and the affects that the disease and its thought that it came from Wuhan, China has trickled down to a new hate for Americans of Asian descent. This has led to a series of assaults all over the country. The exhibition shows this type of racism throughout the history of this country and the response from the community itself.
“Responses: Asian American voices Resisting the Tides of Racism” exhibition
MOCA Shop:
The MOCA Shop features select items, including books, ceramics, designs by local artists and children’s gifts.
Education:
Using inquire-driven approaches, MOCA provides museum and in-school programs on Chinese American history and culture for K-12 and college students at all levels, as well as professional development workshops for teachers. These programs complement classroom learning and foster expansive opportunities for primary source-based learning and development of 21st Century skills such as critical thinking, visual media literacy and civic engagement. They present diverse layers of the Chinese American experience, using individual stories to highlight what it has meant to be Chinese in America at different moments in time, while also exanimating America’s journey as a nation of immigrants.
Family Programs:
MOCA’s family programs bring together parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren alike to participate in fun, hands on activities celebrating Chinese American heritage and history. From our annual holiday Family Festivals to our bi-monthly MOCACREATE workshops, enjoy storytelling, drop-in arts and crafts, teaching artist demonstrations, performances and more!
Public Programs:
Through its thought-provoking and multi-disciplinary programming, MOCA’s signature public programs series offers diverse perspectives on the living history of Chinese Americans and gives visitors opportunities to actively engage in shaping and influence the Chinese American cultural landscape.
Tours:
MOCA offer dynamic educator-led tours of our exhibitions and guided walking tours of New York Chinatown for all ages, designed to encourage meaningful ties between visitors’ lives and the history, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States.
Preserve your family Legacy:
As visitors enter the Museum, they are greeted with the Journey Wall, a custom art installation created fro the main lobby of MOCA’s space by Maya Lin.
The wall is composed of bronze tiles through which Chinese Americans can honor and remember their family roots. Each tile is inscribed with an individual’s or family’s name and place of origin with their home in America. The complete wall will highlight the expansiveness of the Chinese American diaspora.
To become a permanent part of the Museum epic narrative, your family can place a tile on the Journey Wall.
For more information or to make a reservation for a tile, please contact the Development department at (855) 955-MOCA or email development@mocanyc.org. All gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Collections:
MOCA’s ever-expanding archives and permanent collections are comprised of more than 65,00 artifacts, letters, written records, oral histories, textiles, photographs and videos. The collections highlight the varied threads of the Chinese American diaspora, exploring how they intersect and diverge, illuminating the ways in which they are intimately interwoven within the broader multicultural fabric of the United States.
Galleries at the museum
Research services are available by appointment on weekdays at MOCA’s Collections & Research Center, located at MOCA’s original site at 70 Mulberry Street, which is housed in a historic public school building dating back to the 19th century. MOCA continues to make the museum’s resources available to researchers around the world through its Collections Online. Currently, researchers are able to search more than 10,000 item records and archival finding aids online via PastPerfect and Archives. Space.
Galleries at the museum
MOCA’s Commitment:
*Presenting relevant historical and contemporary exhibitions.
*Collecting and preserving Chinese American history.
*Transforming how our audience learn, engage and use technology to explore history, identity, culture and community.
*Creating curricula and educational programs for students and teachers and offering resources for researchers.
*Cultivating community-based projects and collecting oral histories.
*Hosting films, festivals, performances, readings, workshops and conferences on topics relevant to MOCA’s mission.
Book your group visit today! (855) 955-6622.
Visit MOCA:
Our beautiful 16,000 square foot space at 215 Centre Street is designed by artist and designer Maya Lin. It is a national home for the precious narratives of diverse Chinese American communities and strives to be a model among interactive museums. MOCA brings to life the journeys, memories and contributions of the enduring Chinese American legacy.
Support MOCA:
MOCA relies on the generosity of private individuals, corporations and foundations to fulfill its mission to preserve and present Chinese American history and culture. Funding from donations and memberships provides critical support for our collections, exhibitions, educational initiatives, public programs and operations. To learn more about supporting MOCA or to make a specific gift, please visit https://secure.mocanyc.org/donation/or contact the Development department at development@mocanyc.org.
Membership Benefits:
MOCA members see it first! Enjoy exclusive benefits, including free gallery admission, invitations to exhibition openings, opportunities to meet curators, artists and performers and discounts at the MOCA Shop, as well as at select community partners. To join or renew your membership, please visit mocanyc.org/membership or call (855) 955-6622.
Interns & Volunteers:
MOCA is always seeking dedicated individuals to assist us in our work. Please visit our website for more information.
Transportation:
N,Q,R,J,Z and 6 trains to Canal Street, M9, M15, M103 buses. The nearest parking lot is located at Centre and Hester Streets. Citi Bike station on Howard and Hester Streets.
MOCA Free First Thursdays: Free gallery admission first Thursday of each month except on major holidays. Made possible through the generosity of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and J.T. Tai & Co. Foundation.
Access & Accessibility:
MOCA is committed to making its collection, buildings, programs and services accessible to visitors of all abilities. For more information, please visit mocanyc.org/visit/accessibility.
*Disclaimer: This information is taken directly from the MOCA pamphlet. Things are subject to change by the organization so please call-in advance for any special services.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 