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Irvington Historical Society 131 Main Street Irvington, NY 10533

Irvington Historical Society 131 Main Street Irvington, NY 10533

Irvington Historical Society

131 Main Street

Irvington, NY 10533

(914) 591-1020

https://www.instagram.com/irvingtonhistoricalsociety/

https://www.facebook.com/IrvingtonHistoricalSociety/

Irvington Historical Society

Open: Sunday-Wednesday Closed/Thursday 1:00pm-4:00pm/Friday Closed/Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm

Admission: Free but donations are accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47953-d32814098-Reviews-Irvington_Historical_Society-Irvington_New_York.html

The Irvington Historical Society at 131 Main Street

The Society building in the Fall

The Mission Statement of the Irvington Historical Society:

(From the Society website)

The Irvington Historical Society was founded in 1972 as a direct result of renewed interest in the history of our village during the Irvington Centennial Celebration. The mission of the society is to discover, collect, organize, preserve and make accessible all variety of material which serves to illustrate and explain the history of the village and its people. Through lectures, programs, publications, and exhibits, we attempt to share that history with residents and friends. The Society is also dedicated to the preservation of the historical, architectural, and cultural heritage of the Village.

The ‘Collections’ exhibition on residents of Irvington, NY personal collections shown at the museum

The museum decorated for the holidays

The History of the Museum’s McVickar House headquarters:

(from the Society website)

The McVickar House, a Greek Revival frame house, stands on land that was originally part of the farm of William Dutcher.  In 1812, Justus Dearman, a New York City merchant, purchased the southern half of the Dutcher farm, 144 acres extending eastward from the Hudson River.  In 1849, Dearman sold his property to Gustavis Sacchi for $26,000.  Sacchi immediately resold the property to Franklin C. Field, a partner in the firm Jay and Field in New York City. Field had the property sub-divided into individual building lots establishing the village of Dearman.  On April 25, 1850, these lots were publicly auctioned at the Merchant’s Exchange in New York City. 

The museum decorated for the holidays

(From the Society website)

Building Lot #246, along with several others, was ultimately sold to the Rev. John McVickar.  McVickar was born in New York City on August 10, 1787, into a wealthy merchant family.  He was considered a brilliant student, graduating from King’s College (now Columbia) at the age of 17 in 1804. 

In 1811, he took orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church and became a dynamic leader in the Episcopal Diocese of New York for over fifty years.  He married Eliza Bard in 1809, and they had nine children, only three of whom survived McVickar’s death in 1868.

In 1817, McVickar was appointed professor of moral philosophy, rhetoric and belles-lettres at Columbia.  He was superintendent of the Society for Promoting Religion and Learning in New York, served twice as acting president of Columbia, authored several books, and served as chaplain to the United States forces at Fort Columbus, Governor’s Island from 1844 to 1862.  McVickar moved to Irvington in 1852 becoming a neighbor to his good friend Washington Irving.

Two of the lots McVickar purchased, along with several lots donated by McVickar’s cousin, John Jay, were to serve as the site of a chapel school, later to become St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.  McVickar’s son, William Augustus McVickar, was appointed Missionary to Dearman in August of 1852, and on the August 17, 1852, the cornerstone was laid for the chapel school. 

The Church of St. Barnabas was incorporated in 1858, and Reverend William A. McVickar served as the Rector of the Church until 1867.  In 1870, William A. McVickar, who had inherited Building Lot #246 after the death of his father, sold the property to John Dinkel, a local merchant.

Dinkel was a grocer who in the 1870’s had a store on the corner of Main Street and Broadway.  Dinkel sold the McVickar property in 1872 to Patrick Cannon whose daughter Mary later owned the property.  Mary married Chester R. Doremus who owned Doremus Carriage Factory located next door to the McVickar house.  In 1935, Mary sold the McVickar House property to John Fallon who in turn sold the property to Con Edison in 1957 so that they could build a small substation behind the house.  The house was rented until 1992, but after the last tenant moved out, it fell into disrepair. 

In 2002, the Village of Irvington acquired the property for the home of the Irvington Historical Society.  A major fundraising effort was undertaken by the Society to support the renovation and restoration project.  The Irvington History Center at the McVickar House opened in November 2005, and the McVickar House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main gallery of the Irvington Historical Society . The ‘Collections ‘ exhibition is to the front and the small permanent collection is towards the back.

The “Collections” exhibition was very interesting exhibition. Each display is unique to each of the residents who donated their collections for the exhibition. There was sets of china, artwork from the Hudson River Valley, items like duck decoys, a collection of hats, a collection of minerals and a selection of books. There was even a collection of Star Wars items. It was a nice exhibition of unique items. The exhibition will be rotating with other collections.

The collection of Hudson River art by a local resident gives a glimpse of the romantic side of the Hudson River Valley before development

A collection of English Staffordshire China

A collection of Duck Decoys

The Duck Decoys are from all eras

One resident’s Hat Collection which represents many different eras of style and change of function

One resident’s collection of Minerals and Stones

One resident’s collection of Anchor paperback covers

An extensive collection of ‘StarWars’ memorabilia

A collection of area Maps

A collection of the works of Black Women Writers

The back part of the Gallery holds the Permanent collection of artifacts on display. This is a road map of the development and the colonialization of Irvington. It has from its place as home to the Lenape Indians to the Dutch trade settlements and then the prominent residents who have lived in the area. It is a fascinating look at the community and how it is evolving.

The Permanent Collection of the Irving Historical Society

The latest exhibition that I visited was on The Irvington Gazette, their local paper.

The museum is always so beautiful during the Christmas holidays

When I returned to the museum in December of 2025, the new exhibition that was on display was the history of The Irvington Gazette Gazette, the local paper. It is a testimony to the power of local news. This is the importance of local newspapers.

The Irving Gazette exhibition

The exhibition up close

The first issue of The Irvington Gazette in color

The collection of different stories

The collections of stories

The collection of stories

The story of the Town of Irvington, NY:

(from the Society website)

I took these pictures of the Irvington when I visited around both Halloween and Christmas. People in the downtown area love to decorate for the holidays.

The Town of Irvington, NY during the Christmas holiday season

The beautiful decorations of the residents of the Downtown in Irvington, NY

Downtown Irvington NY during Christmas

The houses decorated for the Christmas holidays

The declarations downtown in 2025

The Village of Irvington, resting on the Eastern Shore of the Hudson River twenty-two miles north of New York City, has a rich history. Originally the home of the Wecquaesgeek, an Indigenous people of the Wappinger Tribes, it later became farmland during periods of Dutch and English control. Irvington and its local residents played a critical role in the Revolutionary War as part of the Neutral Grounds between English and Colonial forces.

The beauty of Downtown Irvington, NY during the Fall

The decorations for the Halloween holidays

The arrival of the Hudson River Rail Road in 1847 led to the founding of the Village, the breakup of the traditional tenant farms, and a growing population. Because of its physical beauty and proximity to New York City, Irvington became a favored place for country estates in the latter half of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century. As those estates began to be sold off for development before World War II, Irvington evolved into the scenic, beautiful, and vibrant residential community it remains today.

Downtown Irvington, NY in the Fall looking over the Hudson River

Downtown Irvington, NY during Halloween

Halloween decorations in Downtown Irvington, NY

The paper’s first color print for Christmas

Irvington, NY is a beautiful

Place to visit during both the Halloween and Christmas holidays. The town and its residents know how to decorate for the holidays.

Downtown Irvington at Christmas

City Hall decked for the holidays

Toy soldiers wink and smile all through the holidays

Downtown Irvington decked out for Christmas

Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey 632 Lafayette Street Cape May, NJ 08204

Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey 632 Lafayette Street Cape May, NJ 08204

Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey

632 Lafayette Street

Cape May, NJ 08204

Open: Sunday 2:00pm-4:00pm/Monday-Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm (Check the website for the seasons)

My Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46341-d23550005-Reviews-Harriet_Tubman_Museum-Cape_May_Cape_May_County_New_Jersey.html

The entrance to the Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey

The History of the Museum and House it is located in:

(From the Museum website):

Lafayette street and Franklin Street: the center of abolitionist activism in Cape May

The Harriet Tubman Museum building is located on a block that anti-slavery activists called home in Cape May. Lafayette Street and Franklin Street became a center of abolitionist activity centered around three important buildings developed in 1846.

The Stephen Smith House stands at 645 Lafayette Street, across from the site of the Harriet Tubman Museum, where Stephen Smith built his summer home in 1846. Smith was a founder of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.

The Banneker House was next to the Stephen Smith House. The Banneker House became a first-class hotel and one of the only summer resorts for free Black people in the country and was developed by James Harding, a friend of Stephen Smith.

The white Baptist Church was located directly across the street from the Stephen Smith House and Joseph Leach frequently preached there. Leach was a political leader and editor of the Ocean Wave newspaper, where he often wrote accounts of enslaved people that fled to Cape May. The congregation of the church issued a strong condemnation of slavery.

The sign that welcomes you

The Museum at Christmas time

Santa greets you at the door

Cape May: A nexus between North and South

(from the museum website):

Cape May played a pivotal role in the fight to end slavery. Several historic figures critical to the fight against slavery spent their summers in Cape May.

The children’s dolls at the entrance

I visited the Harriet Tubman Museum when I was in Cape May and this small museum tells two different stories. It tells of Harriet Tubman’s time living in Cape May as a cook before her return down South and about the Free Black community in Cape May that built their own Society within the community. Their businesses catered to both Black and White residents of Cape May.

The museum tackles several different topics including the life of Harriet Tubman in Cape May when she lived here as a cook, earning money and probably developing a strategy for helping enslaved people reach their freedom through the Underground Railroad. It discusses the success many Black residents found as business owners in Cape May and the surrounding towns.

The last topic the museum discusses in the affects of Integration and Segregation on society in general and its causes and results. There is no one solution to this as we as a society cause this by our own actions.

The History of Business’s owned by Blacks in that era of Cape May

The freed black population settled in the Cape May area and opened many businesses that contributed to the whole population. This developed into many successfully run businesses by Free Slaves and residents of New Jersey.

The history of Harriet Tubman in Cape May

(From the museum website):

Harriet Tubman’s life and work in Cape May

Harriet Tubman lived in Cape May in the early 1850s, working to help fund her missions to guide enslaved people to freedom. After her initial journeys conducting freedom seekers to Canada, her friend and abolitionist leader Franklin Sanborn wrote, “She returned to the states, and as usual earned money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and brought away nine more fugitives.” The New Jersey Historical Commission says she spent two other summers in Cape May.

Life of Charles Sumner in Cape May, NJ

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

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Sumner

The history of Abolitionists in Cape May and in New Jersey. Being so close to the border, New Jersey was a big part of the Slavery Underground. Even during the Civil War, Delaware was a more neutral state of the South.

The story of the Abolitionist Movement and William Furness

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

History of the war years and the people who shaped it

The progressions of Blacks in that era

The affects of Segregation and Integration in a society that does not always see eye to eye. This attitude unfortunately still survives into today. There is the history of Harriet Tubman’s life as a child into adulthood.

The stories of Integration and Segregation in that era

Harriet Tubman, Activist and Transporter

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

Many voices told at the museum

The museum offers many voices and stories about life before, during and after slavery and its part in the shaping of New Jersey. Since New Jersey was the last Northern state to abolish slavery on January 23rd, 1866.

The History and End of Slavery in New Jersey:

(From the website of the New Jersey Department of State-Historical Commission website)

New Jersey, The Last Northern State to End Slavery

Image collage: Peter Lee who may have been illegally enslaved as a young man by the Stevens Family in Hoboken, NJ, and Lockey White’s 1860 census entry indicating that she was a 'slave for life'.
Image collage: Peter Lee who may have been illegally enslaved as a young man by the Stevens Family in Hoboken, NJ, and Lockey White’s 1860 census entry indicating that she was a “slave for life.”

By Noelle Lorraine Williams,
Director, African American History Program
The New Jersey Historical Commission

This year forty-seven states including New Jersey will observe Juneteenth (also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day) as a state holiday—a holiday that commemorates when enslaved Blacks in Galveston, Texas learned that they were, in fact, freed by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation two and half years earlier. The date was June 19, 1865. Juneteenth then is a holiday of celebration and a mournful remembrance of deep injustice and loss. It reveals the injustice of slavery and the legal repression of African American freedom, extending beyond the nineteenth century.

But we must remember that there were still enslaved Black men and women in New Jersey even after Juneteenth. Imagine, New Jersey’s death grip on slavery meant that until December 1865, six months after enslaved men, women, and children in Texas found out they were cheated of their freedom, approximately 16 African Americans were still technically enslaved in New Jersey.

But Why and How?

While there were many Black, mixed-race, and white people in New Jersey who fought against slavery, most legislators refused to condemn the institution. Profits from slaveholding organizations had built and maintained the state’s major cities and regional centers like Newark and those in Bergen County.

Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation did not free enslaved African Americans in the Northern States; it freed only those in the mostly southern “rebellious states.” Two years later, New Jersey bitterly refused to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, the United States Constitutional Amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude across the country.

Slavery’s final legal death in New Jersey occurred on January 23, 1866, when in his first official act as governor, Marcus L. Ward of Newark signed a state Constitutional Amendment that brought about an absolute end to slavery in the state. In other words, the institution of slavery in New Jersey survived for months following the declaration of freedom in Texas.

To understand this historical development, one needs to take a step back to 1804 when New Jersey passed its Gradual Abolition of Slavery law—an act that delayed the end of slavery in the state for decades. It allowed for the children of enslaved Blacks born after July 4, 1804 to be free, only after they attained the age of 21 years for women and 25 for men. Their family and everyone else near and dear to them, however, remained enslaved until they died or attained freedom by running away or waiting to be freed.

In a period when the average life expectancy was 40 years old, the 1804 law essentially took more than half of these people’s lives to satisfy the economic and political demands of New Jersey enslavers.

In essence, Juneteenth, not only marks the day African Americans in Texas realized that they had been robbed of two years of their freedom, following the Emancipation Proclamation. It also commemorates all of our ancestors here in New Jersey who were the last Blacks in the North to be ensnared in that bloody institution.

The New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC), a division of the New Jersey Department of State, is a state agency dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history.

The creation of the Harriet Tubman Museum

Alloway Township History Museum 49 Greenwich Street (Room 216) Alloway, NJ. 08001

Alloway Township History Museum 49 Greenwich Street (Room 216) Alloway, NJ. 08001

Alloway Township History Museum

49 Greenwich Street (Room 216)

Alloway, NJ 08001

(856) 981-9388

Museum / History Room
Open: Sunday-Friday Closed/Saturday 9:00am-12:00pm (Last Saturday of the Month)

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g29741-d32722951-r984660264-Alloway_Township_History_Museum-Alloway_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The front of the museum building. The museum is located on the second floor

History of Alloway Township History Museum:

(from the museum website)

Dating back to our origins in 1767, Alloway Township is rich in history and heritage. Ocean going vessels were built in our shipyards. The Wistarburg Glassworks’ was the first successful glassworks of the early colonies. Patterned brick houses can still be spotted around town.

Our museum is filled with a collection of interesting artifacts from our past including: class plaques, the original bell from Alloway High School, early glass, a miniature recreation of the area back in the 1700’s Lenni Lenape Indian Arrowheads and much more. Everything in the museum has been donated by visitors also interested in preserving Alloways history. Our latest project is recreating an early classroom including a collection of historic school desks.

The Alloway Township Senior Building at 49 South Greenwich Street

The history of the Alloway Municipal Building

The town Christmas tree in the front yard

Our Mission:

(from the museum website)

The Alloway Township History Museum’s mission is to preserve the history and memories of Alloway, NJ. What is now Alloway was originally inhabited by Lenni Lenape Native Americans and its name is thought to be derived from Allowas, a local Lenni Lenape Chief. Located in Salem County, NJ, Alloway Township was formally incorporated as Upper Alloways Creek Township by a Royal Charter granted on June 1767.

The public is invited to come in and enjoy or collections, share your stories, photos, objects and ephemera to help maintain the history of Alloway. We welcome researchers and provide them with any available material.

The main gallery of the museum

The main gallery of the museum

When you enter the museum, it showcases the rich history of this small community. Each of the show cases tell the story of the small New Jersey community.

As you enter the museum, the displays describe the rich history of the building

The local businesses of the town are emphized

The museum displays many aspects from the community from its Native American past to its prominence in ship building, farming and agriculture and then localized manufacturing and glassworks.

Some of the businesses noted in the community

The Train display and the advent of changes this community saw with the rail system in New Jersey

The Train display

The museum displays lots of interesting artifacts from the community past from Military items to school related artifacts

The contributions of the communities Military past. The case offers so many interesting items to see

The local glass works display with glass and dish ware items

Glass works items

The Military drum

The interesting collection of toys that the museum displays

Tools and equipment from the communities agrarian past where farming made up a big part of the economy

The museum has an extensive collection of buttons, pins, pens and other artifacts from local business and community functions

The Glass works and dish ware display at the museum

The museum has an extensive collection of the first residents of Alloway which is the Native American Lenape tribe who farming and ship building set the tone for the first community. They trained those who came after them and built a system of trading and business.

The display case of Native American artifacts

The Native American past of the Lenape Indians

A closer look at the artifacts of local tribes

A closer look at the artifact

The Educational and Town display

An old bell surrounded by town artifacts

Artifacts from around the town

ld lard containers manufactured in town

Painted rocks in the museum

Office equipment and old signs from the town buildings

Funeral dress from the past

An old smock from a local company

Military items that were donated to the museum

Glass works and other artifacts

The other room of the museum across the hall was geared to education and the classroom with artifacts used in schools over the last 100 years. It shows the progression of the school system in Alloway, NJ and for the rest of the State of New Jersey from an agricultural community to a cosmopolitan community.

The history of the building over the years was on displa

The sign of the schools of the area

The class room set up with desks used in schools from the past

The classroom display with lessons from the past and present

Examples of desks used in the classroom over the years

Lunch boxes from the 1970’s

Pictures of the classroom over the years

A map of the region from the past

After the museum, I explored around Alloway and you realize what a small community it is. Most of the businesses in the small downtown have been shuttered but you can see have lots of potential. Alloway, NJ is such a pretty community and so beautifully decorated for the holidays, both Halloween and Christmas.

The old General Store that closed in the 1990’s

What looked like an old hotel in the area

The sign for the old Alloway Tavern

The old Alloway Tavern

The make up of Downtown Alloway, NJ

Homes decorated for Christmas in Downtown Alloway

A house the was on the Salem Christmas walking tour

There is a lot of potential for cottage industries in this small town for restaurants and retail. The are such unique buildings dotting this small farming town rich in history. I saw this when touring the town the after visiting the museum.

House decorated for Halloween

House decorated for Halloween in Alloway, NJ

Cohanzick Zoo Mayor Aitken Drive Bridgeton, NJ 08302

Cohanzick Zoo Mayor Aitken Drive Bridgeton, NJ 08302

Cohanzick Zoo

Mayor Aitken Drive

Bridgeton, NJ 08302

(856) 453-1658

Open: Sunday-Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm

Admission: Free but donations are accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46324-d1425883-Reviews-Cohanzick_Zoo-Bridgeton_New_Jersey.html

The Cohanzick Zoo is part of the Bridgeton Park system and can be found inside the parks grounds.

The main entrance to the zoo.

The zoo has an old fashioned feel with smaller rescue animals and equally not too large cages. The zoo is mostly comprised of smaller animals who were rescued from either being poached, illegally transported or had been used as pets, many of them being neglected and abused.

The sign that welcomes you to the park

Throughout the park amongst the cages of wildlife are strolling gardens and animal related statuary.

The pathways and gardens were still in bloom the afternoon that I was there and it is a nice way to spend do the afternoon.

The Elephant statuary at the entrance of the zoo

The status of how some animals found their home here

The first resident I finished was the Raccoon House, where it looked like the raccoon was taking a snooze. He really looked out of it when J passed the cage.

The Raccoon House

The Raccoon Crossing sign

This poor little guy was out like a light

The zoo is one of the smaller more localized ones that I have visited so you can see the whole zoo in about an hour. Then you can walk leisurely around the paths and revisit the exhibitions again. Some of the animals like the peacock family, just wonder around the park and do their thing.

This gorilla sculpture that greets you in the back part of the zoo

Following the walkway to the back pens where a lot of the small animal and bird displays were located

The next exhibition that I visited was the Sand Hill Crane and I read that the poor little guy had been injured. He seemed a bit more optimistic when I passed the cage. I think that the animals just want some attention.

The Sand Hill Crane display

The Crane was watching all of us as we passed his cage

The next small animal that I visited was the Fennec fox and the two that I saw were fast asleep on this warm afternoon. They must have had a busy morning.

The Fennec fox cage

The foxes that I saw that day were fast asleep

While I was walking around the back part of the zoo, there was a peacock family walking around the cages. The father peacock had two small birds with him and they just meandered amongst the cages.

The male Peacock walking around the zoo with his children. They were allowed to walk around on their own without being locked up. They looked like they were having an adventure as a family.

The Ring Tailed Lemur display

I visited the Ring- Tailed Lemur pens and these little monkeys looked like they were plotting an escape. They stayed in a bunch the whole time I watched them and they just stared.

The lemurs just stared back at me as I watched them

The back part of the museum was beautiful in the early fall

The tiger sculpture along the path at first freaked me out that he had gotten out and just looked at us. He looked real.

The Totem Pole Garden

The river running through the gardens in the Fall 2024

The leopard looked bored in his cage. He justly walked aimless around their cages. They are not being given enough space to move around.

The serval cage

The Serval also looked bored. It just walked in circles around the cage. I was not sure if he was bored or just confused.

The zoo is such a nice way to relax and enjoy a warm afternoon. The animals here are not shy but need to have more space to move around. I think we as humans visiting them amuse them more.

The History of the Cohanzick Zoo:

(from the zoo website)

The Cohanzick Zoo is privileged to hold the title of New Jersey’s first zoo, and to this day remains one of the only municipal-ran zoos in the state. It all began back in 1934 when the City of Bridgeton found itself in possession of a small herd of deer which the citizens thought should be exhibited. And thus… a zoo was created!

The Zoo is part of the Department of Recreation and Public Affairs. Located in Bridgeton’s city park, which spans over 1,100 acres, the zoo is home to over 100 different mammals, birds, and reptiles. Over 45 different species from all around the world are represented here.

The Zoo, originally named the “Bridgeton Zoo”, was later named the Cohanzick Zoo in 1972. “Cohanzick” coming from the band of Lenape Indians who resided in the area alongside the Cohansey River, which resulted in the band of the tribe being named the Cohanzick Indians. This river flows through and around the park, adding a unique water feature.

Up until about 1970 the Zoo was a fairly small operation, running more like a petting zoo than a modern zoological care facility. This change was facilitated by Jerry Alden, who became Director of Parks and Recreation for Bridgeton. Knowing a local with a love and talent for taming wildlife, Henry R. Ricci was offered the position of curator, which he happily accepted. His defining point for change was, “Close it up, or make it a zoological garden and educational center,”.

Between 1970 and 1973 big changes came to the small zoo. Part of this is thanks to a visit to the Governor’s office in Trenton by zoo resident, Maggie, a jaguar. Her visit was rewarded with a $25,000 gift to the Zoo from the state government, per Gov. Cahill. A sanitation program was put in place, proper care and diet programs were developed for the animals, and more natural habitats were built. Dr. Ernest Zirkle, a local veterinarian who up until then had cared for the animals as a public service, was made a formal member of the zoo staff. Another big change, was the formation of the Cohanzick Zoological Society. The Society, which still exists today, comprised of local volunteer citizens, has the mission of supporting the Zoo through driving public awareness and fundraising efforts.

Since then, the Zoo has been on an ever-evolving mission to better its experience for both its animals, and its visitors. Thanks to funding from both local government and public donations, the Zoo is able to provide free admission to visitors, maintain necessary renovations, and keep up appropriate care for the animals.