Category: Small Museums and Galleries in New Jersey

Van Houten Family Cemetery 108 Delaware Lane Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

Van Houten Family Cemetery

108 Delaware Lane

Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1598327/van-houten-family-cemetery

https://www.myheritage.com/names/john_vanhouten

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/VANHOUTEN

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Van Houton Family Cemetery at 108 Delaware Lane on what was once the family farm

The historic Marker from 1822

The family plot from the entrance of the cemetery

About five generations of Van Houton’s have been buried in this spot, with an impressive list of family members who have served in all the nation’s wars.

From the Revolutionary War up to World War II, the family’s contribution extends not just to Bergen County but our entire country.

The family extends to other older ‘first families’ of Bergen County, such as the Snyder’s, the Demarest’s, DeBuan’s and the Van Ripper’s.

History of the Cemetery:

https://www.interment.net/data/us/nj/bergen/vanhouten/van.htm

(From the research of Richard Hrazanek)

This multi-generational cemetery is still used today by the descendents of John Van Houten, who left the property in his will. The grounds of the cemetery are well maintained. A metal fence around the property could use some minor repairs. Unfortunately a couple of the obelisk markers have fallen off their bases.

In the August 1992 Cemetery Inventory Booklet, published by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, they listed Andrew Schaaf as a contact person for the cemetery, with an address of 749 High Mountain Road, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. The same publication mentions that an inventory of the cemetery was done by John Neafie in 1911.

The oldest tombstones in the center

The History of Franklin Lakes:

(From the Franklin Lakes Town website):

https://activerain.com/blogsview/238626/franklin-lakes-new-jersey-history

In the 17th century, Lenape Indians traveled the land we now call Franklin Lakes. They made winter camp in the “Clove” near Buttermilk Falls and fished in Micharagrape Pond ( now Franklin Lake).

Slowly, the Dutch settlers made their way west from the Hudson River Valley. In 1701 the East Jersey Proprietors confirmed to Michael Hawden the land around the Pond. In 1772 Franklin Township was formed and included much of northwestern Bergen County. Farming was the major occupation of the early inhabitants, mostly Dutch with the names of Van Winkle, Van Houten, Ackerman, Pulisfelt, Van Blarcom, etc. They built solid farmhouses of sandstone and fieldstone. Fourteen of these historic homes still stand in our Borough.

Some of the original family member tombstones in the cemetery

Mills sprang up along the creeks: sawmills, gristmills, tanneries and forges. Daniel Youman’s Grist Mill on Franklin Lake was probably the first business established (it later served as a saw mill and a cider mill).

The 1876 Walker Atlas showed Franklin Lakes had about 100 residences, 5 mills, 1 tannery, 3 schools, 4 blacksmith and wagon shops, 1 church, 2 hotels, 1 store, and 2 railroad depots.

The railroad stations were built in 1869 when the New Jersey Midland Railroad was extended to Oakland. One station stood at Campgaw on Pulis Avenue, the other at Crystal Lake on High Mountain Road. Residents used the train for commuting, moving goods and mail.

Around the turn of the century, estate houses and mansions began to appear in the area. The industrial revolution brought wealth, and many of the wealthy became “gentleman farmers,” sometimes living here only in the summer. Examples of these houses include the Bartholf-Hughes house on Somerset, the Post-Terhune house on Franklin Lake Road, and the Atterbury-Brockhurst house on Ewing Avenue.

Eventually, the Campgaw section became the civic center of our Borough. In 1922 Franklin Lakes separated from Franklin Township, incorporated, and elected William V. Pulis as its first Mayor.

Edward May built three lakes and started the Shadow Lake Swim Club, which evolved into Shadow Lakes Estates. On the other side of the Borough, J. Nevins McBride purchased land around Franklin Lake and began building single-family homes in Urban Farms.

When Route 208 was extended to Oakland in 1959, Franklin Lakes became more accessible, and by 1980 there were more than 8,500 residents. The completion of Interstate 287 in the early 1990’s stimulated another boom in building. Today, the population of our Borough is 10,422.

From a sleepy rural community to an affluent metropolitan suburb, Franklin Lakes has changed extensively, continuing to be a desirable place to live and raise families.

The Franklin Lakes Historical Society was created to help preserve our Borough’s rich history, while at the same time looking to the future of our unique community and those who choose to make this their home.

courtesy http://www.franklinlakes.org 

The family still uses the cemetery into the twenty-first century

Part of the cemetery into modern times

Multiple family members are often buried together

The cemetery in modern times

The children of Ralph Van Houten who passed within a few years of one another

The grave of Abraham Van Houton and his wife, Bridget

The front part of the cemetery shows the different branches of the family and when they were buried.

The back part of the cemetery is rather old

The Snyder branch of the family

Another branch of the Van Houten family is buried together here

Members of the Ackerman and Cooper side of the family

Conrad and Elizabeth Van Houten

Jacob and Elizabeth Van Houten

Some of the modern graves of the Van Houten’s and Ackerman sides of the family

Many of these small family plots sit on buffs and have the most amazing views. It is as if the final resting place was to be a place of beauty and contemplation.

Unfortunately the family farm is long gone and the cemetery is now surrounded by McMansions. Talk about progress!

Sturr Family Cemetery 375 Pulis Avenue Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

Sturr Family Cemetery

375 Pulis Avenue

Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2227047/sturr-family-cemetery

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/STURR

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Sturr Family Cemetery sits on a bend of the driveway of the Chabad Jewish Center of Northwest Bergen County and is a small cemetery that once sat on the edge of the J.H, Sturr farm.

The Sturr Family Cemetery

The farmhouse of the Sturr Family sits on the lot across the street from the cemetery property. This is located on a small buff on what was the edge of the farm.

The Sturr Family cemetery tombstones

The tombstones of the Courter and Carlouch family members

The grave of William Courter

The only visible tombstones that are left in the cemetery are an Ackerman family member, Anny Ackerman and members of the Courter and the Carlouch family’s (who must have married into the family).

The Ackerman family tombstones (the one to the right was unreadable)

The other tombstones are broken and no one is sure who is buried where in the cemetery.

The History of the Cemetery:

(From Find a Grave website)

The cemetery is located in Franklin Township, Bergen County, New Jersey, on what was once the family farm of J.H. Sturr. As of October 1991 only 6 markers were still remaining.

The Sturr Family Cemetery in full view

History of the House:

(From the Franklin Lakes Municipal Website)

H. Sturr House or Blue Meadow Farm
Built 1860
378 Pulis Avenue, Block 1510, Lot 8
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey 07417

The Sturr House – also known as Blue Meadow Farm -is a handsome and little altered example of mid 19^th century vernacular architecture which incorporates several stylistic elements such as gable returns and frieze area of the early 19^th century Greek Revival style. The Borough of Franklin Lakes lists the erection year of the house as 1860.

The façade of this 2 ½ story house consists of clapboard. The front porch has five bays with square posts and a rectangular entrance door with rectangular sidelights. Two tall 1^st story windows are on one side of the porch. A single hitching post with iron rings sits in front of the porch stairs. The building has a frieze area with linear design. Semi-circular headed louvered vents are in all gable ends. The rear of the house has a one story wing. There is a detached garage to the west side of the house as well as a round frame well. Further west of the house is a stable which has been extensively remodeled and converted into a residence in recent times. The house combined with associated structures is a significant remnant of the large farmsteads which ones dotted the Borough’s landscape prior to the recent suburban housing boom.

History of the Family:

(From the Franklin Lakes Municipal website)

This Sturr house and the nearby more altered house at 402 Pulis Avenue were duplicate structures and were probably built around the same time by members of the Sturr family. The 19^th century Sturr family was descended from Conraedt Sturr who purchased 190 acres of land in this area with John Coeter from Robert Livingston in 1793.

The non-extant homestead and mill was located at present-day 930 Old Mill Road. It is known that Henry Sturr, the son of Conraedt, had a fanning mill at this location in 1850. In a will dated 1852 he bequeathed his property and mill to his grandsons John, Henry, and Daniel (Maria Braun – 1976 page 26 & 27).

The property along Pulis Avenue upon which these houses are situated was probably included in this will since the homes were built around the mid-19^th century. Future deed research is recommended to identify the original builder and the construction date of the house (1861: H. Sturr, 1876 Estate of H.M. Sturr). Presently the house is privately owned and occupied.

Beach Haven Library & Museum 219 North Beach Avenue Beach Haven, NJ 08008

The library at 219 North Beach Haven Avenue

https://www.beachhavenlibrary.org/

https://www.instagram.com/bhpl1924/

My review on TripAdvisor:

The front of the library and museum in the Fall of 2025

The historic sign

I recently visited the Beach Haven Library and Museum in Beach Haven during the holiday season and discovered a historical library with a rich history in both the community and on Long Beach Island.

The museum on the second floor

On the second floor of the library is the history room of the Beach Haven Library that contains a collection of historic artifacts and ledgers from hotels and businesses on the island. Each of the case lines tells a different story of the community from the grand hotels that once lined the shore and have since disappeared to the lives of the families that once called the island home. When I talked with one of the librarians, she told me that estates from the area donate these items to the library and this has established their collection.

The second floor fireplace

The antique kitchen equipment

The second floor of the library has another fireplace where vintage pottery and kitchen items are on display. There are also decorative pieces of pottery lining the shelves.

Historic China inside the Emily Lloyd Wilson Secretarial desk. Her father designed the Baldwin Hotel in Beach Haven.

The historic ledger from the Parry Hotel

The library has another fireplace where extensive collection of hotel ledgers and artifacts.

Letters from Elizabeth Pharo proposing the Library in 1923

Short History of the Library:

(From the library pamphlet)

Mrs. Pharo presented to the library board a proposal to build the library entirely at her own expense. She contacted Philadelphia architect, R. Brognard Okie to design the library. He chose the model of a Pennsylvania Farmhouse. The library was completed in the Fall of 1924. The museum is now over a hundred years old.

The dedication to Elizabeth Pharo, who dedicated the museum.

The Long Beach Island House Guest Ledger and historic items from the historic Bond Hotel

The records of the past resort town Long Beach Island used to be with guests coming from New York City, Philadelphia and beyond.

Historic items from the Tuckerton & Long Beach Building Land and Improvement Association

The Engleside Hotel ledger and items from the hotel

The New Jersey Declaration towards the Declaration of Independence

Historic books and periodicals

The library has an interesting collection of vintage and antique books that have been donated to the collection.

Photo display on historic sites in Beach Haven and pictures of the original library

Some of the pictures are from the old library and the artifacts come from ships ground ashore. The library has a diverse collection of items to view.

The Compass from the historic shipwreck ‘Fortuna’ that wrecked off Ship Bottom in 1910 and historic boat

The second floor museum gallery holds the diverse collection of artifacts

The second floor of the 1928 building

The first floor of the library has all sorts of historical artifacts along the walls

The Holiday Kickoff in 2025:

I visited during the library’s Holiday Open House with games, trivia and activities. There was also live music in the afternoon. It was a way that the library gives back to the community. It was a nice family event with good food and nice conversation with people from the community.

The Holiday Open House

The fireplace was going when I was talking to the librarians

It was a very nice family event where patrons families could relax, have something to eat and play games with their children. The Liberians could not have been more friendly and engaging with the public.

The Children’s Room had a holiday challenge

The museum is a rare gem tucked not just on the second floor but along the shelves and tables of the entire historic library giving visitors a chance to see all these historic artifacts mixed in with the library book collection.

The History of the Beach Haven Library:

(from the library website)

Attempts to establish a library in Beach Haven had begun as early as the 1880’s with a gift of books for the town’s children by Dr. Edward Williams. Williams, along with Charles Parry of the Parry House and the Baldwin Hotel, was a partner in the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The library collection was first housed in the home of Samuel Copperthwaite on Engleside Avenue. It was later moved into one of the Sunday School rooms of the Kynett Methodist Church, which had been built in 1890.

After the old Quaker Meeting House was donated to the town by Walter Pharo, the Reverend Alexander Corson of the Methodist Church began work, with the help of his wife, to turn the former Meeting House into a viable library. By the time they left in 1908, it was well on its way.

In 1923, Walter’s widow, Elizabeth Pharo, presented the library’s board of trustees with a proposal to build, entirely at her own expense, a new library for the town. It would be sited two blocks away from the Methodist church on a corner lot which she owned at Third Street and Beach Avenue. The library would be dedicated to the memory of her husband’s parents, Archelaus Ridgway Pharo and Louisa Willits Pharo–the founders of Beach Haven–as well as to her late husband Walter.

Mrs. Pharo contracted R. Brognard Okie, one of Philadelphia’s finest architects, to design the new library. He chose as his model a Pennsylvania farmhouse–not an early lifesaving station, as some believed. Unlike a traditional farmhouse, however, it would be constructed entirely of brick and steel and include several stunning features: three working fireplaces, a vaulted ceiling, and an interior balcony encircling the first floor.

Tons of concrete were poured and steel girders for the new, two-story structure were already up by the spring of 1924 on the southeast corner of Beach Avenue at Third Street. Okie moved to Beach Haven to supervise every step of the construction, which was all done by local builder Floyd Cranmer. Ten railcar loads of bricks were used to build the solid outer walls and it was soon evident that the town was to have the finest library on the New Jersey coast.

As the library neared completion in the late fall of 1924, its beauty was already drawing praise. Every window in the structure was framed with long shutters of pale green, which gleamed against the white brick exterior. A sweeping, multi-dormered black roof added a grace seldom seen in a public building. Surrounded by a low, white picket fence and later, a well-kept green lawn, it added an incomparable dignity to what, in that time period, was the town’s main street, Beach Avenue.

There are two large colonial-style working fireplaces on the first floor. One is in the main room and the other is behind it in the long back room on the ocean side of the library. Today this room houses the Mystery collection and its solid, ten-foot table makes it useful as a meeting room. In the early years, however, it served a different function–it was designated as the men’s reading room, and there male patrons could sit in large comfortable chairs to read magazines and newspapers. It was well lit by two tall French windows and it opened out onto the screened porch on the north side.

The main reading room with its vaulted ceiling is encircled with a balcony reached by a spiral stone staircase, its steps topped with thick slabs of slate. The balcony flooring is of oak, as are all of the spindles in the railings. The upstairs walls are lined with books. One great window on the west side rises ten feet to the ceiling. The rest are all set into dormers. On the east wall behind the upstairs balcony there is a door where one may step down into a well-furnished little museum with high, beamed ceilings and a huge stone fireplace. It is filled with old hotel registers, deeds, diaries, photographs and other mementos of Beach Haven’s vibrant history.

The Beach Haven Public Library is a prime architectural treasure on Long Beach Island and a direct link to a colorful past that is the town’s most precious heritage. Mrs. Elizabeth Pharo’s gift to the town, itself now almost 100 years old, is as stunning as the day it was built. The taxpayers who support it are proud of its status as the only independent library in Ocean County and have chosen to keep it that way.

Shivers House Museum/Sign of Key Tavern 68 North Main Street Woodstown, NJ 08098

Shivers House Museum/Sign of Key Tavern

68 North Main Street

Woodstown, NJ 08098

(609) 216-8815

http://www.salemcountyclocks.com/the-big-red-house

Open: By Appointment Only-Please call/Special Events

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46943-d34027431-r1039569744-Shrivers_House_Museum-Woodstown_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Shivers House at 68 North Main Street in Woodstown, NJ

The front of the Shivers House Museum at 68 Main Street from across the street

I got a personal tour of the Shivers House Museum and the Sign of Key Tavern, which is attached to the main house of the Shivers Family. The first part of the tour was of the Sign of Key Tavern, which consisted of The Hearth Room, where all the cooking took place and the Cage Bar room, where meals would be eaten and used for socialization.

I could see that the family business was very popular at the time when transportation was slower and these areas in the early 1700’s were barely populated. So this became the focal point of the communities. These taverns were part of the communication and transport systems of the country up until the Revolutionary War.

Later, family members built the the main house of which the tavern would be attached and thus began the home’s transformation to modern times. The house from the outside has a more symmetrical appearance but these changes on the outside altered the historic inside.

The History of the Shivers House:

In 1668, John Shivers at the bequest of King William of England was given thousands of acres to promote the hamlet development with what was then known as West Jersey.

Upon arrival, Shivers constructed on the property, utilizing Native American labor, a dam and saw mill on what would become Woodstown Lake. From here he milled the timber for his tavern. The tavern, The Sign of the Key, operated for 65 years on the corner of what is today Routes 40 and 45. Travelers could sleep, eat meals, communicate and trade furs from the area. After Shivers death, it was moved to its present location by his son, Samuel, as an addition to the current house.

The Shivers family owned the house through marriage through the Nineteen century.

The outside sign of the house

The informational sign on the history of the home and construction

The sign of the clock repair and antique shop business inside the house

(Much of the following research comes from owner Gregg Perry’s personal research on the house and family and from the personal tour Mr. Perry gave me of the house and grounds).

The first part of the house tour I took was of the old tavern section of the house. This had once been in a different area and moved here by the family and connected to the newly built house around 1726 when Tavern owner, John Shivers died.

The Cage Bar/ Dining room

The Dining Room area

The pewter materials in the Dining Room

The tavern was open in 1669 for business. The tavern has been here open for business from 1669 to 1720 until John Shivers died. The first part of the building served as the Kitchen area with an open hearth for cooking and serving. Meals were prepared here as well as keeping the building warm for guests who might stay overnight upstairs.

The second part of the building served as the Dining Room for the old Tavern. Visitors would have their meals served here and converse and socialize in this room. There is a rebuilt Cage Bar for serving alcohol. The old Tavern section of house has since been restored and has period furnishings and decorations.

The Cage Bar in the Tavern Room

The Tavern kitchen

The Hearth of the Kitchen is eleven feet wide by three feet deep by five feet high in opening containing two mobile cranes. The back firebox bricks are laid in a herringbone style pattern. A tavern hearth of this dimension would have allowed the cook to have multiple fires going in the firebox (Gregg Perry research).

The Kitchen of the Tavern

This is the room where all meals were prepared and served. It was also used as the central heating for the tavern in colder weather. It is decorated in period furnishings and pewter ware decorates the walls. This would have been used in serving at that period in the 1700’s.

The pewter materials

For the price of a penny today, a patron could have his choice of a tankard of ale or hard cider and a plate of whatever the entree was of the day as well as have the option to spend the night on the floor of the second floor with a burlap blanket. They could also have the horse fed and boarded if needed. The tavern had been in business in one form or another until the 1930’s when it closed for business during the Great Depression (Gregg Perry research).

The Main Part of the house was build 1723. This section of the home was built by John Shivers, whose portrait sits above the mantle.

The Grand Reception Room

The Grand Reception Room was built to impress visitors to the house and for entertaining for this prominent family. As the family accumulated wealth and social prominence in the area, the house was meant to impress people with its large fireplaces and tall ceilings.

The Portrait of John Shivers in the Grand Reception Room

The Grand Room

Much of the period furniture of the room has been restored back to its original form and the woodwork to the room is from the original house. Period clocks and decorations are from that period and part of the owners collection.

The Grand Room looking into the old Tavern

In the back of the Grand Reception room is the Keeping of Family Room where things were less formal. The room had been set up for Christmas. In the Keeping Room is the portrait of Samuel Shivers, John Shivers son above the fireplace.