I took an extensive tour one weekend of historical sites of southern New Jersey to see how the lower part of the state was impacted by the Revolutionary War and one of the most important sites was the Hancock House. The family was extremely prominent not just in Salem, NJ but in New Jersey politics as well.
The Hancock House and grounds during the early Fall 2022
The house once stood on an very busy road between Salem and Bridgeton and where most commerce passed by. When I was taking the tour, you could see that the house was built in two parts. When I was listening to the lecture I found that the side of the house that faced the road had once been a leased space for a tavern.
The tavern section of the house that faces the road
This commercial enterprise brought in income for the family. Later on when the Hancock family sold the house in the early 1800’s, they sold it to the tavern keeper. After he and his family sold the house, it went on to various owners before the State of New Jersey bought it in the 1930’s.
Recreation of the Tavern section of the house
A copy of the old menu at the Tavern
There are no family heirlooms in the house and while some of the rooms have period pieces and are decorated to show how the family might have lived at the time as well as how the tavern functioned, many rooms in the house needed some direction on what they wanted to say about living at the time. There needed to be more artifacts to complete the look of the room.
The Downstairs at the Hancock House:
The example of the main bedroom downstairs was used for business as well. The room was furnished with period furniture.
The downstairs bedroom at the Hancock House. The built in shelves are the only thing from the Hancock family
The Kitchen area was set for dinner and functioned as the Dining Room as well,
The kitchen set for lunch
The kitchen area for entertaining
The old kitchen at the Hancock House
The Dining Room at the Hancock House:
The Living Room
The Living Room at the Hancock House
The Gallery at the Hancock House with artifacts from the era.
The Gallery at the Hancock House
The Upstairs at the Hancock House:
The upstairs bedrooms were an example of that. One of the rooms was fully furnished to look like a period bedroom while the other had a mish-mosh of decorations and furniture. There needed to be more to capture the time period of the house.
The upstairs bedroom is the only one furnished upstairs
Still, the house was steeped in history and it was fascinating to hear what the tour guide said about the goings on during the war years to the family. Many of the rooms also could have used a good plastering and painting to bring them back to life.
When I visited the Hancock House in October of 2022, they were having a Halloween festival with pumpkin patches, face painting, watching the film “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow” by Disney films. The kids were engaged with all sorts of activities and there would be Trick or Treating on Halloween day.
Halloween festivities at the Hancock House
The pumpkin patch at the Hancock House for Halloween
Halloween festivities at the Hancock House
History of The Hancock House:
(from The Hancock House Pamphlet)
The story of the Hancock House begins in 1675 when John Fenwick, a lawyer and Quaker from England, arrived in West Jersey (now Salem Country), With land purchased two years earlier, he established the first permanent English Settlement here, called “Fenwick’s Colony,” and founded the town of Salem. Eager to populate the area with skilled, industrious individuals, he advertised the area’s assets by stating, “if there be any terrestrial “Canaan” ’tis surely here, where the Land floweth with Milk and Honey.”
The Hancock House sits on property that was purchased from John Fenwick in 1675 by William Hancock, an English showmaker. Upon his death, the property passed to his wife and then to his nephew, John Hancock.
John’s inheritance of approximately 500 acres made him a major landholder in Fenwick’s Colony. he contributed to the development of the area by building a bridge across Alloways Creek in 1708. Now known as “Hancocks Bridge,” it permitted passage on an important highway between Salem and Greenwich and gave the settlement its name.
The site of the Hancock Bridge
When John Hancock died in 1709, he left his property to his son William. William became a Justice of the Peace for Salem County and served in the Colonial Assembly for 20 years.
The site of the historic Hancock Bridge
In 1734, William and his wife, Sarah built the Hancock House. Their initials (WHS) and the construction date (1734) can be seen in the brickwork on the house’s west elevation.
Upon his death in 1762, William left his house to his son, William who succeeded him in the Assembly and became His Majesty’s Judge of the County Court for the County of Salem. It was this William who figured in the massacre of March 1778.
The Hancock House remained in the family until 1931, although the extent to which the house was used as a private residence and the property farmed is uncertain. There is evidence to suggest a section of the house was leased for a tavern during the 18th & 19th centuries.
A recreation of the old Tavern section of the home
The State of New Jersey acquired the Hancock House for $4,000 in 1931 and opened it as a museum in 1932.
The Smoke House at the Hancock House property:
The Historic Significance of the house:
Historic Marker at the Hancock House
The Architectural Significance:
The Hancock House earned a place in history on the fateful day in March 1778.
The Hancock House
Yet the story of its architecture also is important. With its distinctive patterned and wall brickwork, simple lines and little ornamentation, it reflects the building traditions of the Quaker’s English Homeland.
The land around the Hancock House
Other elements of this architectural style include Flemish bond brickwork; a pent-roof that wraps around the front and back of the house; simple entrance steps; interior paneling and the use of such local materials as Wistarburg glass.
The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue
I have been a member of the Museum of the City of New York for almost twenty years and what I love about the museum is that its concentration is to be everything about New York City and what makes the City so great. Its development from a Dutch Colony to the Modern Metropolis that it is today. It covers the history so well that they created a permanent display entitled “New York at its Core”, an extensive history of the City from its start as being colonized by the Lenape Indians as a fishing and hunting set of villages on the island.
The “New York at its Core” exhibition (MCNY)
Each display takes you through a different point in the history of the development of the City and how each era brought dramatic changes to the fabric of the City from immigration over the years to the fires that leveled the original City and the raise of Wall Street and the Arts to make New York City the Capital of the World. The almost bankruptcy of the City in 1975 to the attacks on 9/11 have really shaped the direction and change in the City to the COVID-19 pandemic reshaping it again. We see how New York City continues to survive. The exhibition is now updated to add the COVID pandemic to the fabric of what is happening in New York City now. This exhibition will continue to evolve over the coming years.
The entrance to “Timescapes”
The film “Timescapes” in the basement theater again tackles the issues of a changing City since its development and the City continues to morph over time. The movie narrated by Stanley Tucci tells the story of New York from the time of the Dutch settlement to the attacks of 9/11 and like “New York at its Core” the issues that come about after every event. The film is shown five times a day and do take the time to see it when visiting the museum.
A tiny clip of “Timescapes” from the Museum of the City of New York
Just recently I attended a special event at the Museum to honor the Founding Members of the “Talking Heads” Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and their groundbreaking film “Stop Making Sense”. I was lucky to get tickets because the second I saw this on the museum listing I bought the tickets immediately. The event sold out quickly.
‘Talking Heads’ founders Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth
The event was discussion with the creators of the group and how the Talking Heads emerged as a popular group through the 1980’s and 90’s. I have to admit that the two of them have not changed much but looking a bit older. They enchanted the audience with their time with the group and some new things they have in the works. After a quick Q & A, we watched their popular concert film “Stop Making Sense”.
We had such a good time at the event, the I wrote about it for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”:
Day Two Hundred and Eight: Private Members nights at the New York Museums:
On another recent trip, I visited the exhibition “New York New Music 1980-1986” which was an exhibition on the development of the music scene after the Disco era was over and the rise of MTV. You had a combination of Club Music, Hip Hop, New Wave and the English Wave from Australia and New Zealand coming into the United States plus a resurgence of Rock and Roll after years of the “Disco Duck”. The exhibition highlighted the music of Debbie Harry and Blondie, Run DMC, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna and the rise of music videos. The exhibition brought me back to my last years of high school and my college years as I remembered all these groups.
The “New York-New Music 1980-1986” exhibition
Over the years I have seen exhibitions on everything from the Bankruptcy exhibition of New York City and the rise of crime, the Gilded Era with Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt’s “Electric Light” dress that she wore to Alva Vanderbilt’s famous ball and the wonderful toy exhibitions of early playthings. I have also been to many lectures at the museum with guests such as former Brooklyn President Marky Markowitz.
In 2023, I visited the museum for the first time in months and was able to see the “Gingerbread House Bakeoff” exhibition of well-known and amateur bakers in New York City. The exhibition was a hold over from Christmas and it was interesting to see the detailed gingerbread houses that were on display.
There two that I really liked. One was of Madison Square Park at Christmas time and looked like the pictures I had just taken of the park.
Bryant Park at Christmas time in gingerbread
Christmas scene in New York City
The next exhibition I wanted to see before it closed was the “Food in New York” exhibition. It could have been a little more detailed than what I saw. I thought it was going to have more of the development and history of food in New York and how it pertains to today. It was more artwork related to modern food industry trends. It was interesting but not what I thought it was going to be.
‘Food in New York’ exhibition
Some of the artwork really stood out on the display. I like the Hispanic Ice Carts which you see all over Washington Heights and East Harlem during the warmer months.
Ice Cart “Pimp My Piragua” byt artist Miguel Luciano
Artist Miguel Luciano
“Twilight” by artist Suzanne Anker
The effects of pollination of crops and the loss of bees shown here.
Artist Suzanne Anker
The latest exhibition that I visited on a Members walking tour was the “New York Now: Home” exhibition that opened in the Spring of 2023. The exhibition is based on what the photographers perspective of what a ‘home’ is and how you live through it. There were photos of family events, life outside the home, what a family is, is it your birth family or friends that have become family? There were also some great shots of people taken during the COVID lockdown and how the home became the center point of their lives and sanity. Each photographer gave a different way of looking at these points.
‘New York Now: Home: A Photography Triennial’
The exhibition write up
There were many terrific artists displayed in the exhibition but these are the five that I thought stood out the most:
Photographer and Artist Anders Jones work on the loss of bodegas in his neighborhood due to gentrification.
Artist Anders Jones work at the Museum of the City of New York
I think the museum was looking for a more political and environmental view of food in New York City as opposed to the history and development. It still was an important issue. It also showed all the urban, community and roof gardens that are becoming part of the urban landscape. It is interesting how people are using space to grow food for the benefit of everyone. It was an interesting perspective.
The museum is really all things New York.
The museum also has a series of talks in movies shot around or about New York City. On a recent trip to the museum I attended the retrospect of director Walt Stillman and his 1998 film “The Last Days of Disco”, which had been a huge hit when it came out. The director talked about the change in times from the 1970’s to the 1980’s and the shift in behavior of the population. There was a moment of time when “Disco was King” and going out was all the rage after years of Vietnam era. Studio 54 led this charge and when it closed in 1980, the party was over.
In conversation with director Walt Stillman the night of the retrospect.
The original trailer for the film.
The Q & A at Lincoln Center for the 20th anniversary of the film.
The series of films deal with the subject matter of New York City and what makes it a special place.
I recently went to see the new Art Deco City-New York exhibition on a private tour. The curator for the show toured us through the era after WWI and during the Depression. Things got more simplistic and cleaner.
You had a youth revolution that wanted to get away from Victorian values and with the lack of resources and money during the Depression, everything became more clean lines, less embellishment and more modern looking.
The exhibit ‘Art Deco City New York’
The bulk of the exhibition came from the collection of Cosmetic owner, Ronald Lauder, who contributed his Art Deco post card collection. Years of collecting showed all of us the changes not just in architecture but attitudes in travel and living. Gone were the bulky and elaborate in was simplistic and clean designs with a fresh approach.
The main gallery with Art Deco post cards
This perspective was shown in the 1939 World’s Fair, where a look to the future showed optimism and a look at new possibilities.
The 1939 World’s Fair
The outfits of that era also represented women and their freedoms from the Victorian era and the excesses. Gone were the days of corsets and bustles and in was the freedom of movement to the modern working woman who have to work to support her family. This reflected in the social life too.
Dresses from the 1930’s
Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building were the big projects of that era. It showed the optimism and show of the possibilities of the modern era during the Depression and kept people working.
Models of Rockefeller Center
The exhibition was very interesting and informative and shows up in the modern era today.
The latest exhibition I attended was “Songs of New York”, a tribute to the rich music scene of the five boroughs through the ages.
The Exhibition sign for “Songs of New York”
The exhibition delves into the rich history of everything from New Wave to Hip Hop to Rock and Jazz. The interactive exhibition has you stepping on a Borough symbol and you hear its rich history of music.
The interactive display on the third floor
The opening remarks from the curator at the opening night
The reception with drinks and snacks for members
Pictures from ‘Look Magazine’ from the collection
Photographs from Allan Tannenbaum
The career of Allan Tannenbaum
The photos of Janette Beckmann of the ‘Hip Hop’ scene with the start of the careers of LL Cool J and Run DMC
The exhibition packs a lot of information into a small space where the members were able to enjoy the music of New York City.
I went to an Educator’s Night for the new ‘Above Ground’ exhibition on the street art collection of Artist Matin Wong. The artist collected the street art of the 1980’s after the Crash of 1987 slowed the demand for this art.
The ‘Above Ground’ exhibition
The sign from the exhibition
The works in the exhibition
The work ‘Futura’
The sign for ‘Futura’
The works by artist Keith Haring
The works in the galleries were creative and colorful. These artists sending a message with their works.
The art of the exhibition
The art of the exhibition
The gallery displaying the works
The work by artist Quik
The artist’s write up
The exhibition works were from the period of the mid to late 1980’s and these works Martin Wong bought after the Crash of 1987 to help sustain his artist friends whose sales dried for street art. The collection was donated to the museum after the artist’s passing in 1994 (Museum pamphlet).
I recently returned to the museum for a special evening event for photographer Ebet Roberts
The special event for music photographer Ebet Roberts
The evening was a discussion of the artist’s works from the 1970’s and 80’s. What I thought was interesting is how she seemed to fall into it as an artist with newspapers interested in seeing her photographs.
The photographer, Ebet Roberts with the museum curator
The photographer discussing her work
One of her well known works of a musician couple from the 1970’s
The talk was very interesting as she fell into the profession of just taking pictures of bands while attending the events as reporting. Then the papers wanted to see what pictures she had taken. Liking how she captured the groups in a more human fashion, she continued to take more pictures. This led to private sessions and behind the scenes works, capturing the events before and after a concert. It was a very interesting talk.
These are the types of events that make the museum unique and special.
The History of the Museum of the City of New York:
(From the Museum of the City of New York website/Wiki):
The Museum of the City of New York is a history and art museum that was founded in 1923 by Henry Collins Brown. The red brick building with marble trim was built between 1929-30 and was designed by architect Joseph H. Freedlander in the neo-Georgian style with statues of Alexander Hamilton and DeWitt Clinton by sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman, which face Central Park from niches in the facade (Wiki).
The museum was originally located in Gracie Mansion, where available space was limited. One of the first exhibitions was “Old New York” in 1926. This took place in the Fine Arts Building on West 57th Street. The success of the project led to a search for a new, permanent headquarters for the museum (Wiki).
A design competition was held between five invited architects and the Colonial Revival design by Joseph H. Freelander was chosen. The City donated the site on Fifth Avenue and the funds for the construction of the museum was raised by public subscription. The original plans for the museum’s building were scaled back as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The building was finished and dedicated in 1932.
In 2000, there was talk by then Mayor Rudy Giuliani to move the museum to the historic Tweed Courthouse near City Hall but that was over-turned by the incoming Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. In protect the museum director, Robert R. McDonald resigned.
In coming new museum director, Susan Henshaw Jones, planned an extension to the museum and it was completed in 2008. The extension including renovating the existing gallery spaces and adding a new pavilion. New displays and a remounting of valuable artifacts were done to give the museum a refreshed look. In 2011, the Museum of the City of New York temporarily took over operation of the South Street Seaport Museum which itself reopened in 2012 (Wiki).
The museum has a collection of over 1.5 million objects including many items from the 19th and early 20th centuries including paintings, prints, costumes, decorative objects, furniture and an extensive collection of toys. There are also extensive collections of police and fire items as well as shop models, rare books and manuscripts (Wiki).
The Museum of the City of New York in the early Spring
Don’t miss this two-day event in the first weekend in May when Morris County, NJ showcases all the ‘hidden gems’ that it has to offer. It was a great weekend!
I had been sent the notice that the County of Morris, New Jersey was having a two-day Open House of many of their historical sites for touring and for special events for a program entitled “The Pathways of History: Museum and Site Tours of Morris County, NJ”.
The “Pathways to History” event takes place every May
The weekend event spread to small museums, historical homes and cemeteries all over the County with walking tours and lectures at various sites. Having never been or even heard of many of these sites, I was interested in visiting as many as I could for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” which is here on WordPress.com as well.
I plotted my two days of the event and tried to organize the trip so that we could see as many sites as we could. The event asked the sites to open one of the two days as…
On my last stop of touring Historic Morris County for the “Pathways for History ” event, I visited the Whippany Burial Yard at 325 Route 10 in Whippany.
The entrance to the burial grounds
The old cemetery is steeped in history as one of the oldest cemeteries in New Jersey and home to many Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. As we learned on the tour later on, the only people that can be buried there now are former Mayors of the Town of Whippany who have died.
The sign of the historical burials
The historical marker
The town historical plaque
Two of the founding families of the town have many family members buried here, the Tuttle’s who still have relatives living in the area and the Kitchel’s. The guide for the afternoon took us on an hour tour of the cemetery, pointing out prominent members of the war years including Timothy Tuttle (died 1754), a founding judge of Morris County, Keturah Tuttle Platt (died 1850), who was a Charter member of the First Presbyterian Church, Captain Timothy Tuttle (II of III-died in 1816), who was a member of George Washington’s First Regiment in the Continental Army, Samuel Tuttle (died in 1762) and Colonel Joseph Tuttle, a blacksmith and Deacon at the Presbyterian Church who served in the French & Indian War.
Joseph Tuttle’s gravesite
Joseph Tuttle’s grave
The historic marker
Joseph Tuttle Jr.’s gravesite
The Tuttle family plot from before and after the Revolutionary War
The Tuttle family plot after the Revolutionary War
The Kitchel family was prominently represented as well with Abraham Kitchel (died in 1741), who was one of the six original judges of Morris County and his wife Sarah, whose family was claimed to date back to Charlemagne, Emperor of France, Abigal Kitchel (died in 1768), Uzal Kitchel (died in 1813), a Militiaman in the American Revolution and his wife, Anna (died in 1815). Many of these people as well as their ancestors made major contributions to the growth of the surrounding community.
The graves by the old entrance
We were also given a lesson in the construction and care of the old tombstones, some of which were beyond repair. Some of the original grave sites were made from sandstone, marble and granite with granite becoming the popular choice later on. Here and there some of the tombstones were decorated with winged skulls or cherubs. These show morality images of the dead (Whippany Burial Yard pamphlet).
The Post family plot
We were also walking by the river that the graveyard sits on and were told that current erosion is affecting some of the grave sites. These might have to be moved in the future and the tour guide was not sure if any have been lost over the years. The old Presbyterian Church that sat on the site (built in 1718 and removed in 1755) has since disappeared and there is no trace of it now.
The Whippany Burial Yard has many different types of tombstones. This part of the cemetery faces the old Tuttle homestead
At the end of the tour, the guide explained to us that the old Tuttle House, dating back from the late 18th Century was just left to the town by its last owner to be preserved as a museum for the community. The Tuttle house will need a lot of work in the future.
The back of the cemetery facing the Tuttle Homestead
I ended my tour of the cemetery here as the graveyard was closing for the evening but planned on coming back in the future. There are more interesting things to see amongst the tombstones.
The Tuttle Homestead on Route 10 will be a museum in the future
The Tuttle House historical marker
History of the Whippany Burying Yard:
(From the Township of Whippany website/The Township of Hanover Landmark Commission):
The Brokaw Family tablet for care to this cemetery
The Whippany Burying Yard is the oldest graveyard in North Central New Jersey. It contains the oldest dated colonial artifacts in Morris County. It was established in 1718 before the United States was conceived before New Jersey was a state and before Morris County was founded. Two of Morris County’s first governing judges and many Revolutionary War soldiers are buried here.
The Tuttle family homestead
The three and a half acres of land was donated by John Richards for a “meeting house, schoolhouse, burying ground, training field and for public use. Mr. Richards was the first one buried here when he died in 1718. His grave is the oldest in Morris County, NJ.
The Mary Sheldron historical burial site
For the next 200 years, the burying yard was maintained by the members of the Presbyterian Church with which it was closely associated. In 1914, the Presbyterian Church elected trustees for a group that would be known as The Whippany Cemetery Association. They maintained the yard for the next sixty-one years.
The burial ground marker in the cemetery
The graveyard is legally, publicly owned but no particular entity or institution in named in the deed. The grantee is interpreted to be the “Christian friends and neighbors in Whippanong”. It was formally maintained and administered by the Whippany Cemetery Association until its maintenance and administration was transferred to the Township of Hanover in 1976 as an historical site. The Township gave the responsibility for the Burying Yard to its Landmark Commission, where it remains.
The back part of the Whippany Cemetery
The Burying Yard holds about 450 graves that include 11 veterans of the American Revolution, nine Civil War veterans. In 2011, the Burying Yard was listed on both the State and the National Register of Historic Places. When visiting the Yard, you can see that the gravestones are made out of three different materials: sandstone, marble and granite. Visitors can see a 300-year time span of various commemorative styles. The Burying Yard is also home to two prominent families in the area: The Tuttle’s and the Kitchel’s.
The family plots at the Whippany Cemetery
Some of the prominent members buried here are John Richards who was the schoolmaster who donated this land for public use, Abraham Kitchel who was an early settler from Newark, NJ and one of the six original judges of Morris County. Joseph Tuttle Sr., who was a blacksmith, had served as a Colonel of Morris County militia in the French and Indian War and Timothy Tuttle who was a Sergeant of the First Company under Captain Joseph Morris in Lord Sterling’s First Battalion of New Jersey’s First Regiment in Washington’s Continental Army.
The Tuttle House will be the future museum for Whippany, NJ
This 1796 National Register site is the house of Samuel Tuttle, the grandson of Joseph Tuttle, a Colonel in the Morris Militia. The Tuttle’s were among the first to setting in Hanover and they played an important role in its development.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 