The Cadmus House was built in 1808 by landowner Jacob Haring and his wife, Margarat. It was originally a two room farmhouse when it was built on their extensive farm land. The Harings’ sold the house to Abraham and Harmones Van Derbeek in 1815 and they turned around and sold the house to Thomas Cadmus and his wife, Margaret in 1816 and the name stuck from there.

The Haring house originally and then it had a gable and second floor built in the late 19th century

More information on the Haring Family from the novel “A Dutch Family for the Middle Colonies” by author Firth Haring:

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Dutch_Family_in_the_Middle_Colonies_16.html?id=hAZ5AAAAMAAJ

Over the years, the house had had many owners and many uses. Before the house was moved in 1985 to its current location, it served as a real estate office at that time. When they were building new construction on the spot, the house was saved by a group of concerned Fair Lawn residents to preserved the town’s past and it was turned into the Cadmus House-Fair Lawn Museum.

The house is broken down into different themed rooms. The downstairs rooms are devoted to the Fair Lawn’s past with pictures of old homes that used to line the streets of the neighborhood. There are pictures of old farms and farm houses, relics from town such as arrowheads, farming equipment and old farm house decor such as ice boxes and apple presses for cider.

Pictures of Fair Lawn’s past

In the room that once served as a dining room, there are period Dutch items that would be needed to run a household or a business.

The apple press which was a big part of the farming community in Bergen County

The upstairs rooms have different displays. One room is devoted to Victorian living with furniture and bedroom decors along with dolls and cribs. The other room is dedicated to the history of the Fair Lawn Fire and Police Departments as well as memorabilia from Fair Lawn High School such as trophies, yearbooks and old films of football games.

There is plenty of parking in the front of the house and the parking lot is shared with the railroad station next door. The house is only open the third Sunday of each month and it is closed for the months of July and August.

If you want to take a glimpse of Bergen County’s past Colonial, Victorian, Motor Age or current, the Cadmus House will give you a perspective on living in Bergen County in the past into current times.

The house now sits by the train station in Fairlawn, NJ

The Wyckoff Historical Society The Barbershop next to the Pond Wyckoff, NJ 07481

The Wyckoff Historical Society

The Shop next to the Pond

Wyckoff, NJ 07481

http://www.wyckoffhistory.org

Hours: Please check the website above

Fee: Please check their website

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Wyckoff Historical Society was established to research, preserve and educate about the rich history of Wyckoff, NJ. The organization was founded in 1974 and is incorporated. Recent programs included a walking tour of Wyckoff.

The Society recently restored the old Wyckoff barbershop that was donated to them and now sits on the town property by the Zabriskie Pond and the historic Zabriskie Home. Inside the building houses all sorts of local artifacts, farm tools and vintage furniture along with historic photos of the town of Wyckoff, NJ.

The little building sits right on the Zabriskie Pond.

The Zabriskie Pond in Wyckoff, NJ

History of the Museum:

This 1890’s structure was recorded as being a barbershop in 1905 when it was owned by John Lawrence, who worked for the railroad by day and cut hair at night. It was also a cobbler shop for several years and again a barbershop. The building was on Main Street and Everett Avenue relocating to its current home and donated to the Wyckoff Historical Society by resident and member, Sebastian Gaeta.

The farming display at the Barbershop Museum

The history of the building

The building was neglected for several years and was restored several times, most recently in the summer of 2018 by the society including a full paint job of the interior and exterior and refinishing the bare floors.

The barber chair from the old barber shop

On display are artifacts from Russell Farms, a barber chair from longtime Wyckoff barber, Frank Muscara, a 1905 child’s dress, Lenape artifacts, a Hoosier cabinet and photographs.

The Native American Collection

Artifacts from Wyckoff’s past

Artifacts from old businesses in Wyckoff and the surrounding areas

The tiny museum has a display of its own history as a barbershop on the Main Street of Wyckoff, NJ and how the building served as a local center for its citizens. It was eventually moved as times changed and became the museum it is today telling the story of the Town of Wyckoff, NJ.

The history and movement of the building when it left its original location

The history of the barbershop

The history of the building and the barbershop and of Wyckoff, NJ

Where the building was located in Wyckoff, NJ

Please check their website for opening dates.

The beauty of the Zabriskie Pond on a fall day in 2022. The area is just beautiful.

The Zabriskie Pond in Wyckoff, NJ

Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Wyckoff Historical Society pamphlet and I give them full credit for the information. Please email them for more information.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Laboratory Complex and Glenmont 211 Main Street West Orange, NJ 07052

The Thomas Edison National Historical Park

211 Main Street

West Orange, NJ 07052

(973) 736-0550

https://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

Open: Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm/Closed Monday-Tuesday/Wednesday-Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm

Note: There are renovations going on at the site so please call ahead to check on hours and fees.

The Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Laboratory Complex and Glenmont home are a step back in time when machines were run by belts and pulleys and music was played on phonographs. Where to the passerby, the buildings betray little evidence of the industries they once started. Discover where America’s greatest inventor changed our world forever.

The Laboratory site Complex contains:

Visitor Center (Restrooms & Gift shop)
Chemistry Laboratory
Chemical Storage and Pattern Shop
Metallurgical Laboratory
Main Laboratory
Powerhouse
Blacksmith Shop
Building 11
Vault 12
Black Maria
Water Tower
Vault 32
Vault 33
Building 35 (Maintenance Facility)

Park Information:

The Laboratory Complex is open Wednesday through Sunday. The Glenmont Estate is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Glenmont tickers are limited and are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis from the Laboratory Visitor Center. Please call for specific hours.

Fees:

Entrance Fee-$10 (Under 16 years old free)

Optional Laboratory Audio Tour-$5

Park Annual Pass-$40

Inter-agency Passes Accepted

Group Reservations: Call 973-736-0550 ext. 33

Filming and Photography: Call 973-736-0550 ext. 50

Corporate Events: Call 973-736-0550 ext. 50

For more Information: http://www.nps.gov/edis (973) 736-0550 ext. 11

Calendar of Events: http://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/events/htm

*Thomas Edison National Historical Park Facebook.

Directions to Glenmont:

*Please respect the privacy of our neighbors by driving directly to and from Glenmont.

Directions to Glenmont:

*Put your pass on the dashboard of your car

*Right out of the parking lot

*Right at the first light and stop at the gatehouse

*Go up Park Way

*Right onto Glen Avenue

*Left onto Honeysuckle Road

*Right into paved parking lot

*Tour begins in front of the home

*Restrooms located in Potting Shed/Visitor Center

*Information is taken from National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Thomas Edison National Historical Park, West Orange, New Jersey.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60796-d1023095-Reviews-Thomas_Edison_National_Historical_Park-West_Orange_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

I had visited the Laboratories of Thomas Edison and it is very interesting to tour the floors of inventions. There are very innovative items that I never knew he invented, things like talking dolls and many household items for the kitchen and home.

Another room they showed was his private office where he did most of his personal work and spent his sleeping hours when working at the laboratory. Each of the rooms show how and at what stages of the invention process that each object.

Glenmont, the family home, can be a musty place in the colder months. The house smells like it is old. It needed a good airing out. The period furniture are very interesting. The house is full of Victorian elegance but it needs a good renovation. The walls and ceilings need some plastering and the home needs a good deep cleaning. Still it is interesting that for all their prestige, they still lived more like an upper middle class family.

The history Edison National Historical Park:

Thomas Edison National Historical Park preserves Thomas Edison’s laboratory and residence, Glenmont, in Llewellyn Park in West Orange in Essex County, NJ. These were designed, in 1887, by Henry Hudson Holly. For more than 40 years, the laboratory had a major impact on the lives of people worldwide. Out of the West Orange laboratories came the motion picture camera, improved phonographs, sound recordings, silent and sound movies and the nickel-iron alkaline electric storage battery (Wiki).

Edison’s home was designated as the Edison Home National Historic Site on December 6, 1955. The laboratory was designated as Edison Laboratory National Monument on July 14, 1956. On September 5, 1962, the 21 acre site containing the home and the laboratory were designated the Edison National Historic Site and overseen by the National Park Service. On March 30, 2009, it was renamed Thomas Edison National Historical Park, adding “Thomas” to the title in hopes to relieve confusion between the Edison sites in West Orange and Edison, NJ. Following extensive renovations of the laboratory complex, there was a grand reopening on October 10, 2009 (Wiki).

Historic Glenmont Mansion:

Thomas Edison resided at Glenmont, his 29 room Victorian mansion, for over half his lifetime. Its architect, Henry Hudson Holly, is considered to be the father of the Queen-Anne style architectural movement in the United States. Holly’s crowning achievement, Glenmont, was part of a working estate which presently contains six outbuildings including a barn and a greenhouse. Examples of Thomas Edison’s poured concrete structures, the auto garage and the potting shed are also still in existence. (Wiki).

Thomas Edison’s Home “Glenmont”

The interior of the fully furnished Victorian home is a rare example of Pottier & Stymus interiors, a New York decorating firm that lost the majority of its records in a catastrophic warehouse fire in the year 1888. Glenmont’s interiors display rare examples of the firm’s modern Gothic style furniture suites and also include decorative arts objects chosen by the company to outfit this home in Victorian style. The Edison family appreciated the original interiors, consequently making only minimal changes to the home’s decoration during their residency (Wiki).

Glenmont’s period rooms reflect examples of the era’s Eastlake style and Aesthetic Movement style interiors. The first floor library boasts hand stenciled walls in flat, stylized floral patterns with a ceiling of distemperment. Tall case cabinets store leather bound volumes. The decorative arts collection at Glenmont ranges from major works of art and sculpture to everyday objects. The collection, consisting of 40,000 items, includes remarkable examples of Hudson River School artists and antiques (Wiki).

Examples of more utilitarian items include the Edison china collection, still housed in the historic Butler’s Pantry, the household linen collection, family toiletry items, books and household receipts that detail purchases made by the Edison family. These vouchers reveal to us the Edison’s choice of household products and their spending habits (Wiki).

Disclaimer: The above information on the history of the house and labs came from Wiki and I give the format full credit for the information. The above information also comes from the National Parks Services pamphlet and I give them full credit for the Visitor’s information.

The Arnault/Bianchi House 111 First Street Wood Ridge, NJ 07075

The Arnault/Bianchi House

The Wood Ridge Historical Society

111 First Street

Wood Ridge, NJ 07075

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridolin_Arnault_House

Open: Please check out their website; only for special events

Fee: Donations accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46937-d17154691-Reviews-The_Arnault_Bianchi_House-Wood_Ridge_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

I recently visited the Arnault/Bianchi House for a historic lecture by an actress who portrayed Amelia Earhart. It was an interesting afternoon of listening to the actor keep in character and describe her life just before her flight around the world. After the show, the actor was available for conversation with the audience and there was a light lunch after the performance. I thought this was a nice touch to end the afternoon.

The second time I visited the house, it was for the 125th Anniversary Celebration and the Society had all sorts of artifacts out on display. They had the history of the schools, fire department and the police department. They had old council pictures as well as pictures of World War II veterans who fought in the war who lived in town.

There was a also a nice display of the Curtis Wright Plant that once stood at the edge of town and its part in the war effort. There were all sorts of pictures and documents on display of the factory when it was in full function.

After walking the three rooms of artifacts, there was a light reception with cookies, tea and coffee.

The History of the Arnault/Bianchi House:

The town of Wood Ridge, NJ, where the Arnault/Bianchi House is located has made a commitment for the house to be used for cultural events and hands on programs such as poetry readings and author visits.

The house was built in the 1880’s by one of Wood Ridge’s founding father’s, French wine merchant, Fridolin Arnault. The Frenchman used to sell his Bordeaux blends on Fifth Avenue in New York City. His relatives, Rudolphe and Annick Proust, traveled from Paris last year to visit the ‘country house’ of their uncle (The Wood Ridge Historical Society).

The second owner was designer Joseph Briggs, Louis Tiffany’s right hand man. Briggs is responsible for the stained-glass window designs at the Church of St. Paul’s and Resurrection in Wood-Ridge. He eventually sold the house to the Bianchi’s . Not much is known about the Bianchi family (The Wood Ridge Historical Society).

The inside of the house.

The backyard features gardens, meticulous landscaping, enough lawn space for a a grand social affair reminiscent of the Great Gatsby, benches, decorative stone and the exterior buildings the outhouse and carriage house. The second and third floors are not open to the public and are used for storage and the home still needs some repairs. In most of the lower floors are period furnishes and art work (The Wood Ridge Historical Society).

Please watch the papers and the town’s website for future events.

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