The Montgomery Village Museum at 142 Clinton Street
The Museum in the front of the museum
The museum sign welcomes you
Village memorabilia on display
The display on the local church’s
The Montgomery Village Museum in Montgomery, NY is a village run museum that tells of story of the town and its development. The museum of filled with wonderful displays of all aspects of the town. The history of the town is displayed in an organized way display by display with plenty of signage and docents to explain things to you if you want more information. You can tour the museum at your own pace.
The front gallery of the museum
The front display of the Veterans and the VFW of the Village of Montgomery, NY
Display of Armed Forces memorabilia
The gallery of Town Council, Downtown merchants and Veterans items
The Downtown Merchant’s display
Some of the local merchants have been in town for over a hundred years
The artifacts on the Town Council and the Chamber
The 100th Anniversary of the Town of Montgomery, NY shows a diagram of the town and its historical past
Some of the items of the rural home past
What I thought was interesting about the museum was the discovery of dinosaur bones in the area. The skull of a Mastodon and other bones were found in digs between here and Newburgh.
The Mastodon skull at the museum
The skull and bones and the site
The Importance of the Mastodon story
The write up on dinosaur bones
The display on the Montgomery Fire Department
The museum has an extensive collection of items from the County Fire department telling its own story of the fire service in this community. The Orange County Firefighters Museum is right across the street with all the larger equipment and gear but here we get to see the pictures of the department over the years and some of the small artifacts.
Display on the Montgomery Fire Department
The display on the Montgomery Coronet Band display
The Textiles industry in Montgomery
The display from Montgomery High School from sports to the marching band
The museum has an extensive collection of memorabilia from Montgomery High School over the past one hundred years that include marching band and sports to the way the school teaches. It is amazing that in many ways it does not change much.
More artifacts from the schools
Displays of the schools and libraries in the county
The Montgomery High School band and sports
A old school house display
The Girl Scout and Boy Scout display
The original fire department display that sits across the street
The Montgomery Grange display
The Picture Display of old photos of the past of the Village of Montgomery, NY
The Toy and Doll Display will delight any young child
The Art display in the back part of the museum
The afternoon I was at the museum, they had an outdoor concert in the garden of the museum. It was warm night so sitting outside enjoying the music was really nice.
The large paintings above the front door as I was leaving that evening.
One last look at all the galleries at the museum gave me a glimpse of the extensive collection of artifacts at the museum and the story they tell of the community of Montgomery, NY.
The back gallery
The front gallery
The side gallery
For such a small museum, the displays really give an interesting look at the county and how it has progressed over the years. What have been new to us in the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s , 80’s and forward has now become the past to newer generations. The Montgomery Village Museum tells that story in detail.
A visit here is a nice way to spend the afternoon. Then take a tour of Historic Montgomery, NY. There is a lot to do and see.
The Bay Head Historical Society & Museum at 1643 Bay Avenue in Point Pleasant, NJ during the Summer
The Museum was also decorated for the Christmas holidays
The bay at Bay Head, NJ
The lake views near the historical society
I took a detour over the weekend to Bay Head, NJ to visit their wonderful historical Society. What an interesting museum whose collection shows the town’s nautical past and present. The museum has something for everyone. For the kids, the museum has a wonderful dollhouse with interesting furnishings that any kid would want to play with everyday. across from that is a Bottle Collection of old milk and soda bottles found in the town showing its retail past.
The historical doll house on display
The Bottle Collection
The museum delves into the town’s Native American past with a small collection of artifacts found in the area when tribes used the area during the summer season for fishing, hunting and recreation. One of the members of the community contributed her experiences to the museum as well. Several items have been donated on permanent loan from other museums and the museum displays them beautifully.
The Lenape exhibition
The Native American exhibit
The Native American exhibit
The highlight of the museum is its latest exhibition ‘Maps: A Journey Through Time’, which is an extensive collection of old maps of the State of New Jersey. This was fascinating in the the collection starts even before the creation of the state when it was under the control of Lord’s Berkeley and Carteret, two English nobles who according to the Society President never stepped foot in the state but collected money from it.
The sign for “Maps: A Journey Through Time” exhibition
The map collection shows the progression of the State of New Jersey through population growth and development. With the advent of the railroads and then through automobiles, transportation has changed the entire state of where we live and play.
The Historical Map exhibition
The Historical Map exhibition
The pictures of Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret who once split the State of New Jersey East and West
History of the split of the State of New Jersey
Old maps of Bay Head, NJ
The Exhibition during the Holiday season was “Victorian Christmas” where parts of the museum was decorated for the holidays of the late 1800’s in post Civil War America. The museum had their Christmas tree up laden with antique ornaments from all eras decorating the tree.
The “Victorian Tree” decorated with antique ornaments
The museum was also decorated with vintage toys and all sorts of garland and decorations
The furniture in the museum as well as the rest of the museum was decked with all sorts of holiday decorations.
The “Victorian Christmas” display was very nice and created a very festive environment for the museum goers. The Christmas tree was a blast from the past as I saw decorations from my Grandmother’s tree on their tree. It brought a lot of memories from Christmas’s past.
The last part of the tour I had was of the Slade Dale Nautical Cottage, a local boater and fisherman’s collection of items from his dock cottage. Here I saw an extensive collection of nautical tools and boating items including displays of sailing items. The collection shows how important the boating and pleasure sailing industry is with the town.
The museum is a wonderful place to visit on an afternoon out when you tire of the beach and you want to know more about the town of Bay Head. It also on the edge of their quaint downtown filled with interesting stores, restaurants, bakery and parks. The small historic downtown is very nice to walk around in the summer months.
It was a bit more gloomy in during the holiday season as the rains came right after Christmas. Still I liked the decorations in this festive and very active downtown.
The church decorated for Christmas on a gloomy Saturday
The downtown businesses decorated for the holidays
The bridge over the canal was beautifully decorated for the holidays
The Bay Head Fire Company One decorated for the holidays
Santa guarding the firehouse in Bayhead, NJ
Bayhead really got into the Christmas spirit during the holiday season. It put me back into the holiday spirit even though it was drizzling the whole time. It must have looked really nice on a sunny afternoon.
The Bay Head Historical Society & Museum information:
(from the Museum website)
This 1867 farm home with outstanding interior woodwork has been restored to its former glory. The museum is home to memorabilia and history of life in this part of the Jersey Shore. An exhibit of turn-of-the-century photographs of the area plus artifacts and heirlooms donated by local residents are on permanent display during the season. The front salon is a gallery for changing displays of local art and special area exhibits. The Victorian garden, the sea grass garden, and the lilac memorial garden are outstanding. Completing the complex is the Dale Cottage, which celebrates the maritime heritage of the area.
The History of the Loveland House (home of museum):
The Loveland Homestead built in 1867, addition in 1887 Slade Dale Cottage 1925:
When members of the Loveland family settled in this area around 1837, the land at the head of Barnegat Bay was sheltered from the sea by high sand dunes covered with sea grasses where bay berries and beach plum bushes grew in abundance. There were cranberry bogs, marshlands and fresh water lakes which provided a habitat for the birds and migratory fowls that later attracted gunners to the region.
The Loveland House
The Loveland Homestead historical plaque
The first purchasers of this land, which later became the hamlet known as Lovelandtown, were Judah Allen, who came here from New England in 1685, and John Hance. At the time this area was part of Shrewsbury Township, County of Monmouth, Province of East Jersey under the reign of King James II of England.
As the Loveland family grew, the family steadily increased its land holdings in the area. The members married into prominent local families from Point Pleasant and Brick and continued to develop their neighborhood throughout the late 1800’s.
Inside the old Homestead of the Loveland family
At the same time in the mid-1800’s three land developers from Princeton, Messrs. Howe, Mount and Harris arrived and bought the land eastward that was to become Bay Head. Developed from the beginning as a resort community for the upper middle class, Bay Head attracted many affluent families from both New York and Philadelphia, thanks to the developers attracting two railroad lines to the town. The Jersey Central arrived from New York in 1882 while Pennsylvania Railroad came across the bay through Trenton and Toms River. Last stop for both was Bay Head.
John W. and Samuel Loveland were the largest landholders in the area. They were joined by other early settlers, notably the Cook family and the Stout family, and were linked to these through marriage. In 1867 the Loveland Homestead, currently the home to The Historical Society Museum, was built by Charles Stout for his daughter Lorah Stout upon her marriage to Charles Cook. By 1887 the family had grown and the back part of the house was added on to accommodate their 7 children.
The Loveland family acquired the house in the early 1900’s and continued to live here until the Bay Head Historical Society purchased the property in 1997. At that time the house had fallen into disrepair and after a two year renovation (mostly exterior), the homestead opened as The Historical Society Museum in 1999. The Dale building was acquired by The Historical Society and moved to the property in 2001.
The Loveland Homestead houses artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, furniture, decoys and other treasures from the early Bay Head/ Mantoloking/Lovelandtown years. Worthy of note are the original Gerald Hardenbergh paintings and the carved Kenneth Loveland and Birdsall decoys. All three off these local artists have gained recognition in many areas outside New Jersey.
The photo collection contributed by William Schoettle is equally noteworthy for its comprehensive look at the area as it was in its heyday (mid-1880’s to about 1940). The collection is part of the museums archives and is exhibited frequently.
The Slade Dale Cottage history:
(from the museum website)
The Slade Dale cottage is, in part, a celebration of the sailors of Barnegat Bay. It is also an homage to the man who, as a young man, was a noted sailor in the area and who continued throughout his life to engage in truly memorable sea voyages and bay races. He built his dream marina, the Dale Yacht Basin, through his foresight of bringing outboard motors to the area. He then promoted boating of all kinds throughout the years from the 1940’s to mid-1960’s. For many of those years he lived in his cottage at the end of the dock at the marina.
The Slade Dale Shed
The historical plaque for the Slade Dale Cottage
The Slade Dale shed during the Summer months
The Slade Dale shed decorated for Christmas
The Slade Dale Gallery
Boating equipment in the Slade Dale exhibit
The pictures of Slade Dale
The boating exhibit at the Slade Dale exhibition
The gardens on the property represent a typical Victorian garden, a lilac memorial garden, an herb garden, a sea grass garden and a resting patio.
The gardens at the Bay Head Historical Society
The gardens at the historical society
The Bay Head Historical Society is a nice way to spend the afternoon when you really want to get to know the community.
The Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum is right on the lake
The museum sign inside the park
I recently visited the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum and learned so much from this lake community with its resort past and development from a artist colony to a hotel and amusement resort from the late 1880’s to WWII to the residential community it has become today. It really does show how transportation has shaped and developed vacation resorts not just in New Jersey but in the Metropolitan area.
The development of the railroad lines into the area bringing visitors from the large urban areas to the development of the automobile and it developed the hotel industry to modern jet travel which led to the decline of the area as a resort and becoming the lake community it is today, the museum guides you through the early history and the important visitors that became part of the community. While there are still traces of the old resort here and there, the rich history of the Lake Hopatcong shows us how time marches on in all places.
On the first floor is the Lenape Native American display and the description of the first residents of the area. There was all sorts of household and fishing items on display at the museum when Native Americans lived in this area in the warmer months.
The Lenape settlement in the Lake Hopatcong district
As the area settled and Dutch and English settlers pushed out the Native Americans, the area became settled with farmers and fisherman and with the opening of the Morris Canal as part of the lock system, a transportation head. The opening of the Morris Canal brought new business and new opportunities to the area.
The Morris Canal display at the museum and the development of the shipping industry in the area
The Morris Canal in its years of use
It was after the Civil War and the affluence of the Industrial Age transformed this area with the advent of the railroads passing through the community. Five day work weeks and weekends off for pleasure opened up this lake community first to boarding houses and then the building of luxury hotels for longer stays. Residents from the urban areas would come to the ‘country’ for fresh air, swimming and recreation.
The Hotel and Resort development of Lake Hopatcong
The development of the lake region for hotels
The hotel industry at Lake Hopatcong
The resort development signs
The advent of WWI
The aftermath of WWI
The growth of the resort community
The resort displays
With people staying at the resorts, they needed more to do than just swimming, boating and fishing. Families would arrive and from there was the development of the amusement industry. This would start with pleasure gardens, carousels and games which led to the creation of Noland’s Point and Bertrand Island Amusement parks. Noland’s would be the victim of the Depression as such a small area did not need two amusement parks and Bertrand Island would continue on until 1983 as times and tastes changed and investment was not put into the park. In its day though, it was a place of fun and merriment.
The history of Noland’s Point
Bertrand’s Island became the center of amusement and fun and the park remained a mainstay of the area for almost 100 years. With the building of bigger and more elaborate parks such as Great Adventure and the growth of shore communities, these inland smaller parks were bypassed by time. While still popular, they did not hold the attention of the Baby Boom and Gen X crowds who wanted new parks to visit. Still the memories of warm summer evenings and our first Miss America from New Jersey, Bette Cooper, the former Miss Bertrand’s Island, still hold true today.
The Bertrand Island Amusement Park display was the most interesting in the museum
Bertrand’s Island display
Prizes won at the park
Part of the rides and games at the park
Games and rides
The Miss Bertrand Island Beauty Contest
Miss Bertrand Island, Bette Cooper, Miss America 1937
The museum tells many interesting stories of the lake district and the displays are very detailed and interesting to read. There is a treasure trove of artifacts and historical items at the museum to admire and reminisce about for those who had visited in the past. The museum is a wonder book of a time between the wars before air travel changed everything that a trip to the lake region was a place for vacationing and for long days of relaxation.
Plan about two hours to really visit the museum and share in its rich history.
Mission Statement
(from the museum website)
Our mission is to collect, house and preserve artifacts and documents relating to the civil, political, social and general history of Lake Hopatcong and to encourage the education and dissemination of information about Lake Hopatcong’s history.
The historic plaque for the house
History of the Museum:
(from the museum website)
Since 1955, our organization has housed, cared for, and displayed items relating to the unique history of New Jersey’s largest lake. With some 750 members, it is one of the largest historical groups in the State of New Jersey. Our four major programs regularly sell out at 200 attendees and our museum has been recognized as one of the finest small museums in the state.
The front of the museum. This is the former Lock Keepers home
The concept for a historical organization at Lake Hopatcong took shape in spring of 1955 when an article in the Lake Hopatcong Breeze declared “It has been suggested that we have a museum at Lake Hopatcong to house the many interesting treasures pertaining to the history of our lake and vicinity….” The July issue reported much interest in the idea of a museum and the Lake Hopatcong Businessmen’s Association asked Alice Apostolik, editor of the Lake Hopatcong Breeze newspaper, to continue investigating the concept.
The front of the museum from the parking lot of the park
The interest fostered led to the formation of the Lake Hopatcong Historical Society on August 10, 1955. With eight people in attendance, an organizational meeting was held at Langdon Arms (where Gatwyn’s Restaurant is now located on Route 15). Dues were established at $2.00 per year with life membership set at $20.00. Langdon Arms was set as the society’s official headquarters, but it was agreed that the monthly meetings should be rotated to other areas of the lake, such as the Hopatcong House, a hotel formerly on Lakeside Boulevard in Hopatcong where The Liquor Factory’s building is now located.
Part of the lock equipment at the lake
The first regular meeting of the newly formed historical society was held in September 1955 at the Ehrlich’s “rathskeller,” which originally served as famed inventor Hudson Maxim’s observatory and ice house and is the small stone tower which still stands off Sharp’s Rock on the west shore of the lake. From the beginning, the goal was to establish a museum for the lake. In the late 1950’s, a group of members had dreams of buying Hudson Maxim’s house shortly before it was torn down. Alas, the plan to purchase the property for $11,000 failed by a single vote of the officers and trustees. In the early 1960’s, an effort was made to buy the old Landing Post Office building, an odd octagonal structure which once sat near the traffic light at Landing. This plan also failed and while the Lake Hopatcong Historical Society was an active organization during these early years, it would take some ten years from the organization’s founding before a suitable building could be located and agreement reached.
Artifacts and mementoes from the museum at the entrance
In the early 1960’s the State of New Jersey moved forward with plans for a new administration building at Hopatcong State Park. The park had been founded on land which was previously owned by the Morris Canal and Banking Company. When the canal was abandoned in the 1920’s, the 98 acres around the Lake Hopatcong dam were set aside as a state park. The Messinger family which had long operated the Morris Canal lock at this site, lived in the stone house just above the lock and dam. With the removal of the canal lock in 1924 and the construction of a modern dam, Rube Messinger became the first dam and park superintendent. He and his family continued to live in the same house. Following World War II, the park began to be more formally developed. Cottages along the lakefront were removed, the beach was greatly expanded, and a new entrance and parking lot were added. The old lock tender’s house was converted into an office for the state park, but as the popularity of the park grew, it became apparent that a larger and more modern building was needed for administration. In July 1963, plans were announced for the construction of a new $125,000 administration building.
The first floor gallery of famous residents and of the resorts
At first it appeared that the old lock tender’s house would be torn down. The Lake Hopatcong Historical Society swung into action to acquire use of the building for a museum. After a prolonged negotiation, agreement was finally reached on a lease with the State of New Jersey in the spring of 1965. Volunteers from the Lake Hopatcong Historical Society then gave the building the tender loving care it desperately needed and set about collecting memorabilia and artifacts from the community to fill their new building. On September 11, 1965, the dream of a museum at Lake Hopatcong was realized as the public was invited to an Open House celebration. Over the ensuing years, the museum collection has grown through wonderful donations and acquisitions so that it now totals over 11,000 images and several thousand other items of memorabilia.
The Bertrand Park display of the amusements on the lake
Before the museum opened, the Lake Hopatcong Historical Society held frequent meetings at local restaurants, hotels, and community rooms. There were also outings and trips for members. Once the museum opened, the organization began hosting many events in their new building. As the organization grew, outside venues were once again needed. In the early 1990’s the museum settled on four major programs per year with featured venues over the years including the Jefferson House, The Arlington, Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, St. Jude’s Church, and the Palace Theatre. Programs started selling out in the late 1990’s and have continued their popularity since. One thing that has changed is the cost. Dinner programs in the early 1970’s were $6.00 per person!
The lake homes from the park
From the eight individuals who attended the first meeting in August 1955, the society had grown to some 150 members by the time the museum opened. Today, with some 750 members, the organization remains loyal to its mission “to collect, house and preserve artifacts and documents relating to the civil, political, social and general history of Lake Hopatcong and to encourage the education and dissemination of information about Lake Hopatcong’s history.”
Major Archival Topics
(from the museum website)
The Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum maintains collections on the following topics and individuals relating to Lake Hopatcong’s history:
Ans Decker & Decker Fishing Lures
Barnes Brothers Boats
Bertrand Island Park
Bertrand’s Park Amusement area
Bette Cooper, Miss America 1937
Miss Bette Cooper, Miss Bertrand Island and Miss America 1937
Breslin Park
Central Railroad of New Jersey
Cornelia Gilissen
Florence Morse Kingsley
Francis Himpler
Fred Jacoby & Jacoby Boat Works
Garret Hobart
George G. Green
Hopatcong
Hudson Maxim
Ice Houses & Harvesting
Joe Cook
Lackawanna Railroad
Lake Hopatcong Angler & Breeze Newspapers
Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club
The Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club
Lakeside Theatre
Landing
Lenape
The Lenape Display of life around the lake region
Loretta Montez
Lotta Crabtree (Miss Lotta)
The actress Lola Crabtree display
Morris Canal
Morris County Traction Company
Mount Arlington
Nolan’s Point
Nolan’s Point Amusement Park
The Noland’s Point Amusement Park
Northwood
Ogden Mine Railroad
Owen McGiveney
Palace Theatre, Netcong
P.J. Monahan, Illustrator
Rex Beach
River Styx
Sam Goodman, Lifeguard
Shanna Cumming
Shippenport
Skate Sailing Association of America Archives
Thomas Walsh
William J. Harris, Photographer
Woodport
The History of the LakeRegion:
(from the Museum pamphlet)
Located in a rustic 19th century building which served as a lock tender’s house on the Morris Canal, the Lake Hopatcong Historical Society Museum offers an entertaining and enlightening look at the history of New Jersey’s largest lake.
The beach section of this lake park
Step back to a time when the lake was actually two bodies of water and the Lenape lived along the shores. Learn about the building of the famous Morris Canal and the forming of modern day Lake Hopatcong, its main source of water.
Lake Hopatcong
The Morris Canal display at the museum
Travel back to the era when the Lake was a tourist Mecca and some 40 hotels and rooming houses graced its shores.
The hotel display
Relive the days when thousands flocked to Bertrand Island Amusement Park for dancing and ‘nickel nights’.
Bertrand Island Amusement Park
In the age before jets, before air conditioning and before super highways, Lake Hopatcong was a major northeast resort. Within easy reach of large cities to the east, the Lake’s size and setting at over 900 feet above sea level made it the perfect destination. From the 1880’s through the 1930’s, the Lake welcomed thousand each year, including leaders of government, industry and entertainment.
The history of the Hotel Breslin
Low daytime temperatures and cool evenings made Lake Hopatcong a welcome respite from the urban centers to the east. Although other northwestern New Jersey towns were developed as resorts during this time, Lake Hopatcong quickly outdistanced its rivals in popularity.
The popularity of Bertrand Island
While these other resorts shared Lake Hopatcong’s proximity to the urban centers of the East, they could not match the lake’s size or the ease with which to reach it by rail. The museum is located on the grounds of Hopatcong State Park on Landing, New Jersey. The museum’s hours are seasonal so please check the website for hours.
The museum and the grounds of the Randolph Museum, home to the Randolph Historical Society in Randolph, NJ
The sign that welcomes you to the park
The Randolph Museum is the old farmhouse of this once hundred acre farm
The museum’s gardens just outside the door
The side view of the museum from the street
I visited the Randolph Museum for the museum’s ‘Peach Festival’, where they had a very nice Open House and a series of tours around the house. We were greeted with a dish of fresh Jersey peaches, peach ice cream and pound cake. They also had peach punch for us as well with a warm welcome. The clouds broke and the sun came out so it started a very nice day at the museum.
The delicious Peach Shortcake we were served when we walked into the museum for the “Peach Festival”
Each room in the museum tells a story of rural life in Randolph, New Jersey from the era of the Dutch and English farmers through the era of farms developing into resorts and the growth of rural towns in New Jersey after WWII, automobile transportation and the rise of middle class suburban living.
This description of life in Randolph, New Jersey is a reflection of life all over the rural United States
The museum is broken down in different themed rooms. When you first enter the house, you can see the history of Randolph as a resort town. The growth of the farms as boarding houses developed in resorts catering to Jewish patrons who were banned from the Catskills and Hamptons. These resorts continued until after the war until transportation and religious laws changed after WWII.
The resort artifacts from the old hotels
The old Lieberman’s Hotel once catered to a large Jewish crowd from Newark, Jersey City and New York City
Items from the old hotels
The hotel industry flourished here until just after WWII when air travel opened other options and racial and religious barriers broke down after the war. All of these hotels have since been torn down and have now been replaced by other town buildings. The town is more suburban with the opening of the Garden State Parkway and Route 287.
The Brundage House history
The museum’s history in the Brundage Farmhouse started in the late 1700’s when the Trowbridge moved to this area from England and started farming here. Generations farmed this land and the house stayed in the family until the 1920’s. The museum moved here in 2005 when the last member of the family moved out and the farmland was donated to the town. The farmhouse became home to the Historical Society.
The museum’s rooms in the old farmhouse have different aspects of life in Randolph and New Jersey in general and each tells a story of the town’s history. The first room was dedicated to education and the growth of the school system in this part of Randolph.
The displays show how a classroom was set up and how the one room school houses of that period of time operated.
The old schoolrooms have not changed much from today’s classrooms
The exhibition showed that education in New Jersey has not changed that much from the years as a farming community. From the classroom set up to the way summer break works, which was created because of the crops being attended to in the summer and fall months. Children of all ages were expected to work on the farm and education did not go as far as it does today.
The timeline tree of important dates in the town is in the schoolroom exhibit
In the next room was the history of the farming community in Randolph, New Jersey. From fruits to dairy everything was farmed in Randolph and the farms were sustainable communities.
The Apple industry in this part of the State’s crops and still is today but not like back then
The Dairy industry flourished in rural New Jersey as it does today. Milking cows and creating butter, cream and milk were the whole family’s responsibility.
The Ice Industry flourished because of the lakes in the area
The Ice Industry was also very important in the area. Ice from the lakes was tested for thickness and then measured and cut for use of ice boxes. The ice would have to be planned for smoothness and then covered and stored for sale. The advent of modern electric refrigeration after WWII made this obsolete.
The Ice Industry and the equipment used for the business
The equipment used on the farm
Farm equipment in the early years was used by hand until more updated equipment with horses as crop processes went from supplying just the family to selling it on the open market and more production was needed. These crops were sold in Newark, NJ and New York City.
The Blacksmith shop equipment
The Blacksmiths role was from everything from shoeing horses and donkeys to producing equipment for the farms. To this day some form of this is still being done.
The Blacksmith shop
This exhibition was on the Blacksmith shop and the making of early farm equipment.
Early farm and Blacksmith equipment
Early equipment for the mines
The Iron Mining industry was also part of the development of this area
Large deposits of iron ore and coal were discovered in this area. This led to the development of New Jersey’s place in the Mining industry. This supplied our war efforts and the manufacturing industries in New Jersey. As the mines emptied of ore, it became cost prohibited to continue and the last of the mines closed after WWI.
The equipment from the blacksmiths operation used in the mines
The Mining Display in the museum you can enter by way of a curtain
Home life for families in New Jersey between the mines and the farms was hard as well. The farms needed tending to which was everyone’s job including children aged five and up. All hands were needed and this is how the modern summer vacation from school was developed. It coordinated with the tending of the crops.
The main gallery of the museum and the former Living Room of the farmhouse:
The former Living Room of the old farmhouse shows life on the farm
Home life in rural New Jersey was not easy before Industrialization
Household items and furnishings
Beds, sewing machines and bathing items in the farm home
Items used in the home to everything from making clothes and shoes to home remedies
The kitchen was the center of family life as it was the warmest room in the house during cooler months
The kitchen and household equipment on the farm
The hearth was the center of cooking and socialization on the farm
Life on the farm was not all work as there was down time for parents to socialize and children to play. Since transportation was limited and time was of the essence with everything that needed to be done on the farm things like trips to the general store, church services and town meetings were the biggest part of socialization. Meals were eaten as a family and family conversation was at the dinner table.
Toys and games used in rural New Jersey
Toys of this era have not changed much to today except they are not made of wood or handmade
A trip to the General Store was a chance to shop, pick up mail and socialize with your neighbors
Church was an important part of rural life before WWI
Kitchen items for tending the home
The museum did a nice job not just explaining the development of the Town of Randolph, NJ but society as a whole and how the American lifestyle was developed. In our modern times, we still refer back to references of these times with habits, quotes and sayings like ‘sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite’ and ‘pop goes the weasel’ and ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’. These hark back to our rural past.
In someway, we have progressed with modern equipment and machines (think of how our I Phones have changed everything in the last sixteen years) to others where we still bake and preserve food, cook ‘farm to table’ meals and attend our gardens. The museum shows us how life has progressed but habits and methods that worked then still work now. We have not changed that much but more adapted to modern times. This wonderful little museum gives us this glimpse into our past.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 