When I was in Cape May, NJ recently and came across the Cape May Fire Department Museum when walking around the town. It is interesting little museum that tells the history of the Cape May Fire Department.
The museum decorated for Christmas 2022
The museum showcases the history Cape May Fire Department since its creation in the late 1880’s. There have been some serious fires over the years that have destroyed sections of the Cape May resort community.
Hotel fires displayed at the Cape May Fire Museum
Some of the resorts oldest and grandest hotels that were made of wood have been leveled by spectacular fires. The department has framed the articles around the building.
The inside of the Cape May Museum
There is also large collection of patches from fire departments all over the country, displays of equipment from all eras of firefighting and some displays that are dedicated to retired firemen from the department with their equipment.
Patches and Bunker gear
Some fascinating old fire equipment is on display as well. All of this is marked accordingly along the walls. In the middle of the museum there is an antique pumper to admire that has been fully restored. All the pieces of equipment are dated and described so that you can see the transition in fire fighting over the years.
The Chief’s desk
Cape May Fire Department News:
The museum is open and free to the public. Please come and enjoy the history of the City of Cape May Fire Department. Shirts can be purchased inside the Station. The career personnel on staff will be happy to assist you. The antique Fire Engine is a 1928 American La France and is house inside our museum.
The 9/11 exhibit at the Cape May Fire Museum
The back of the historic engine in the museum.
Disclaimer: I credit the Cape May Fire Department for this information, and I give them full credit on it. Please call the Department for hours of their museum.
The Cape May Fire Museum in front of the new Firehouse in Cape May
Located inside the Boonton New Jersey Firemen’s Home, The New Jersey Firemen’s Museum is an 8000 square feet, two story museum that houses steamers, ornate hose carts and antique fire trucks from all eras.
The museum was established in May of 1985 and is home to many fire department in New Jersey’s memorabilia. It seems like everyone fire department in the State of New Jersey is represented here with old fire department pictures, patches from the fire companies, fire trucks from all eras and pictures of department fires from all over the state.
Filling the cases is antique fire equipment, badges from officers in many departments, figurines of fire equipment and ribbons from conventions of the past. There are old fire buckets from the beginnings of the fire service, horns to sound the alarms from the turn of the last century and helmets that retired chiefs from many departments donated with much honor.
Many companies donated their department pictures from fires of their past that were fought with much bravery. People forget that this job is very dangerous and we have to watch ourselves in every step.
The fire trucks are from every era from the carts that were dragged by hand to horse drawn engines to the original steam engines that were introduced with the advent of technology. All of the equipment has been carefully restored and shined to almost new. Much care has been taken to show the transition of the fire service over the years.
The tours are on your own and the admission is free. You don’t have to be a fire fighter or visiting a resident here to visit the museum. If you are a serious fire buff or have children that are really into fire fighting or being a fireman, this museum will give you all sorts of perspectives on the fire service and its development not just in New Jersey but all over the county as well.
Don’t miss the memorial to the victims of 9/11 off to the side. It is very touching and shows the support of the fire service to the members of the FDNY and their families.
9/11 is still fresh in all our minds
It is a nice afternoon out. The museum is free to the public. These pictures are just a glimpse of the collection of the NJ Firemen’s Home Museum. It is two floors of donated equipment, memorabilia, awards, dedications and department antiques that are so well preserved. If you love the history of firefighting, this is the museum for you.
The Aviation Hall of Fame Museum at 400 Fred Wehran Drive
The Wright Brothers display
The Welcome display when you walk into the museum.
The Aviation Hall of Fame Museum of NJ is a very unique museum if you are interesting in everything aviation from the history of flight starting with the Wright Brothers, the World War drama and battles and the influence of the NASA and members from New Jersey who have made a difference in the department.
NASA Display featuring Montclair, NJ resident Buzz Aldrich
There is a lot of interactive displays during “Open Cockpit Days” at the museum and equipment that you can walk into and explore from planes and rescue trucks. There is even a First Class section of a TWA flight. I was impressed that the airline even had a standard of dress for the flight.
The front of the TWA Flight plane
The TWA Display of items from the ‘Golden Era’ of flying
The History of the Museum:
(from the museum website)
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two century aviation and space heritage. The men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought world-wide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
The Aviation Hall of Fame in the main part of the first floor
The inductees in the Hall of Fame
The Kelly Brothers from West Orange, NJ
Some of the most famous inductees
The recently expanded museum offers visitors an opportunity to view historic air and space equipment and artifacts, photographs, fine art and an extensive model collection. The library has more than 4000 volumes and hundreds of aviation video tapes. The New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum offers education programs for individuals or groups. Participants learn history and science.
The “Flying Aces” display
Our Aeronautical History Hunt is available to groups that visit the museum. By seeking the answers to historical New Jersey aviation questions, students develop problem solving, logic and communication skills. Our ‘Dare to Fly’ program, developed for children ages 7 to 15 focuses on ballooning and powered flight. Participants design, build and fly their gliders. Organize a small group and call for dates.
(Information from New Jersey’s Aviation Museums)
Museum Guide: A companion virtual tour for your electronic device is available free at http://www.njahof.org/
Welcome to the First State Aviation Hall of Fame in the Nation!
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey (AHOF-NJ) is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished aviation and space heritage. The men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought world-wide acclaim to the state are enshrined in the AHOFNJ.
The set-up of the Museum:
Raymond R. Wells Theater
The first stop on your self-guided tour is in our 60 seat theater where you will experience the saga of NJ aerospace history in our information and concise nine-minute film “Flight”.
The Naval Display in the Flight Theater
Buzz Aldrin Exhibit:
Jersey boy makes good on the first mission to the moon. The story of his life and his time with the space program
The NASA Display with Buzz Aldrin
The full display
NASA Display
Hall of Fame:
Enter the heart of our museum and meet the men and women who embody NJ’s rich heritage of flight.
The NJ Aviation Hall of Fame
Dehmel Room:
See the world’s first electronic flight simulator built by legendary Curtiss-Wright, at one time the Garden State’s biggest aerospace company. The room also contains information about barnstormers, Tuskegee Airmen, flying aces, Flying Tigers, Enola Gay, etc.
NASA Hall of Fame
New Jersey Women in Aviation display
The Curtis Wright equipment
The Great Room:
History comes alive with air and space equipment, artifacts, photographs, fine art, multimedia displays, hands-on exhibits and interactive simulators.
Exhibits are:
*The worlds first hover craft
*Women in Aviation
The Amelia Earhart display
The New Jersey Women in Aviation display
*Aircraft and rocket engines built in NJ
*International Space Station Exhibit
*Dassault Fundamentals of Flight Exhibit
*Scorpion helicopter
*Actual fragments from the ill-fated German Zeppelin, The Hindenburg
The Hindenburg disaster
The artifacts from the Hindenburg disaster
*Hot-air balloon basket
*Working jet engine
*”Touchable parachute
*Curtis-Wright display
*Rutan “Quickie” home-built experimental aircraft
*Overhead Gallery
Outdoor Displays:
The outdoor plane display
Our outdoor displays incorporate a Martin 202A airliner from the 1950’s. Bell Cobra attack helicopter that flew actual combat missions during the Vietnam War. Bell 47-one of the first practical helicopters. Coast Guard Sikorsky helicopter. Lockheed LASA-60 bush plane. Grumman OV-1A Mohawk. Walters Airport Rescue & Firefighting Vehicle. Convair 880 Jetliner Cockpit (during open cockpit weekends.)
The helicopter display
The Jeeps and planes
The TWA display
Second Floor: From the balcony, enjoy the view of The Great Room. Sit in the cockpit of our “Little Cut Up” make-believe airplane and make things move on the wings and tail.
View from the second floor
The Teterboro Airport display
The area also includes: Newark Airport Diorama, B-52 ejection seat, Richard E. Byrd Exhibit, barnstormers, model airplane collection, Peoples Express exhibit, the NJ designed “Para-Plane”, a working airport beacon and Clarence Chamberlin Exhibit.
The Jump Seat display on the second floor of the museum
Silvio Cavalier Research Library: This library contains over 3,500 volumes and videos on aviation and space history.
Gift Shop: Don’t forget to visit the gift shop, brimming with aviation related gifts, books and mementos for yourself, family and friends.
Tours-Parties: We offer group tours, birthday parties and our educational Dare-To-Fly program for young groups. Call for details.
Special Events: Four times a year we have Open Cockpit Day where you and your family can sit in the pilot seat of airplane and helicopter cockpits. In December, Santa will fly over the museum in a helicopter, then visit with the children.
The vehicle display on the first floor
The Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey (AHOF) reserves the right to use for promotional purposed any photograph/video taken at AHOF or any AHOF event. By visiting AHOF or participating in any AHOF event, you are permitting AHOF to use these images.
This is such a great museum for families and especially for children.
(Information from the AHOF Museum Guide)
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the AHOF pamphlets and I give them full credit for the information. Please call the museum for any further information.
The Carlstadt Historical Firehouse Museum at Division & Sixth Street
The Carlstadt Historical Firehouse Museum is run by the Carlstadt Historical Society houses a remarkable collection that includes archival photographs, written documents, new articles, clothing and other items that bring the borough’s colorful history to life. You can find everything from 1930’s era school pennants to early 20th Century fife and drum corps uniforms to a vintage breathalyzer used by the police department. The collection is housed on two floors of the town’s old firehouse from 1919.
The museum’s Pipe & Drum Corps display on the Second Floor Gallery
The first floor of the museum is dedicated to the War effort with memorabilia from residents who fought in WWI and WWII, articles from both the Carlstadt Police and Fire Department, pieces of artwork from buildings around the town and mementos from residents of the town. It also houses a series of collectables that are displayed on the shelves.
The First Floor Gallery with Police, Fire and Military displays
First Floor Collectables display and artwork
The First Floor Gallery with Military displays and collectibles
The second floor is dedicated to the school district with pennants from school graduations and parties (Carlstadt is home to the oldest continuing school picnic in the county), pictures of classes of the schools (I even found my aunt and uncle’s pictures from when they attended school here) and high school yearbooks.
It also displays items from old businesses that were in town and a series of hometown items such as awards and plaques that have been donated to the collection by people in town. There are still boxes of items that have not gotten out on display yet.
The Second Floor Gallery with the schools, businesses and special events of Carlstadt, NJ.
Second Floor Gallery of Fire Department Memorabilia
If you are an alumnus of the school system, you will get a kick out of the second floor of the museum. Not only does it have the school archives but lots of pictures that were donated by alumni of the schools of their experiences. Years of school pennants line the ceiling from the annual picnic that is the oldest continuous school picnic in the United States.
Carlstadt School Exhibit
The museum can be seen in one afternoon but you will spend more time just looking at all the pictures and getting lost in the experience. Don’t miss the displays from the Carlstadt Fire and Police Departments.
Carlstadt Pipe & Drum history
History of Carlstadt, NJ hometown businesses
The Carlstadt Glass Industry display that was once in town.
The Business display has a collection of glass bottles that were once manufactured in the town for local businesses. One of the curators told me that people find them buried in their yards and donate them to the museum. There are also signs, menus and display items from old restaurants and stores that once dotted the town.
There is a vast array of items that cover every aspect of the community of Carlstadt, NJ on the walls and tables of the museum.
Disclaimer: Some of the information was taken from the Bergen County Historical Society and some from my recent trip to the museum. The museum is open only on the 4th Sunday of each month and by appointment only so you need to plan accordingly.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 