The Belskie Museum, a tax exempt non-profit corporation, was founded in Closter, New Jersey in 1993 to save, restore and exhibit the works of Abram Belskie (1907-1988), one of our country’s most accomplished sculptors and one of the most eminent medical of times.
Mr. Belskie was a resident of Closter his entire adult life.
The museum’s 3,900 square feet modern building was built entirely by the Closter Lions Club and donated to the Borough of Closter upon its completion in 1994.
The Memorial Statue “Adoration” outside the museum.
In addition to housing the many works of Abram Belskie, the museum also hosts monthly art exhibits by local, national and international artists and as a result, has become one of Bergen County’s leading forum for the arts.
The Belskie Collection of Art:
The entrance of the Belskie Museum with the works of Mr. Belskie
Past exhibitors include the estate of world famous photographer Andre Kertesz and Italian painter/sculptors Emilio & Ugo Baracco. A featured exhibit of photography in March 2003 was by Academy Award and Tony Award winning actress Ellen Burstyn. The museum also hosts exhibits from the local schools and colleges and many local artists.
In January of 2024, the museum hosted the exhibition ‘Confessions Two’, featuring the works ten Korean artists displaying varied media including oil, watercolor, pastels, mixed media, photography and sculpture.
The “Confessions Two” Exhibition of Korean art.
The Gallery featuring the exhibition “Confessions Two”
The museum is operated entirely by volunteers under the direction of a six-member Board of Directors (also entirely volunteer) appointed by the Borough of Closter, The Closter Lions Club and the Closter Public Library Trustees. Funding is from grants, memberships, fundraising exhibitions and donors. The museum has new art, history and science exhibits throughout the year. Open on Saturdays, Sundays and by appointment.
The works of Abram Belskie are in the back gallery.
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from The Belskie Museum of Art & Science Inc. pamphlet. Please call the above number or email them for more information of hours of operation. The museum does change their exhibitions almost every month.
The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse is a stone lighthouse built by New York City in 1872. It is at the northeast tip of Roosevelt Island in the East River in Lighthouse Park. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on March 16th, 1972, and was designated a New York City Landmark on March 23rd, 1976 (Wiki).
Blackwell Island, which was called Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973 and is now known as Roosevelt Island was purchased by New York City in 1828. Various facilities on the island were built including a penitentiary, almshouse, city hospital, the New York Lunatic Asylum and the Smallpox Hospital (some of these buildings still exist).
In 1872, the City of New York built a lighthouse. The supervising architect was James Renwick Jr., who also designed several other buildings on the island for the Charities and Correction Board as well as more famous works such has St. Patrick’s Cathedral. (Wiki)
Legends abound about the construction of the lighthouse. Two names, John McCarthy and Thomas Maxey, are associated with the various legends. The 1870 report of the warden of the lunatic asylum that an industrious patient had built a seawall near the asylum that had reclaimed the land. The legends indicate that he had incorporated Civil War cannons.
The park in the distance on Roosevelt Island
The legend indicates that the builder was bribed with bogus money to demolish the fort for the construction of the lighthouse. For many years, a saying was inscribed on a stone near the lighthouse:
This is the work
Was done by
John McCarthy
Who built the Light
House from the bottom to the
Top All ye who do pass by may
Pray for his soul when he dies.
Lighthouse Park from Carl Schulz Park on Manhattan Island
The lighthouse was operated by the City instead of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. In its 1893 annual report, the Lighthouse Board generally praised the operations of Blackwell Island Lighthouse but indicated that the Board has unfairly criticized because of the City’s occasional failure to keep the light in operation. The Board advocated banning private lights. The 1917 U.S. Coast Pilot indicated that there was a private light at the north end of the island. (Wiki)
The light was operated until about 1940. In the 1970’s, the lighthouse was partially restored. The restoration was completed in 1998. (Wiki)
The lighthouse is approximately 50 feet (15m) tall. It is constructed of gray gneiss, rough ashlar that was quarried on the island by inmates from the penitentiary. It has an octagonal base and an octagonal shaft. There is an entrance on the south side under a projecting gable and a pointed Gothic arch. Two south-facing slit windows in the shaft light the interior. At the top of the shaft there is a band of ornamented corbels below the gallery, which is surrounded by an iron railing. The lantern is octagonal with a shallow conical roof. An 1893 photograph and a 1903 movie show that it probably had a much taller, steeper conical cap when it was built. The optics were provided by the U.S. Lighthouse Board (Wiki).
Lighthouse Park in the winter months
Lighthouse Park is located on the northernmost section of Roosevelt Island and can be seen from Carl Schurz Park. On a beautiful sunny day, it is a very picturesque view from the park.
Lighthouse Park from Carl Schulz Park
The sculpture “The Girl Puzzle”:
Next to the lighthouse is a monument of faces dedicated to Nellie Bly and to women who have faced hardship entitled “The Girl Puzzle”. The sculpture was dedicated to journalist Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, pen name Nellie Bly, who wrote about the abuses in the mental asylum on what was known as Mental Island at the time. She wrote the full report “Ten Days in the Mad House” on the abuses of patients.
“Girl Puzzle” by artist Amanda Matthews (Artist Bio)
The piece was created by American born artist Amanda Matthews. Ms. Matthews graduated with a BA in Studio Art from the University of Louisville and had studied abroad in Europe. She is known for her work that honors women and celebrates diversity and inclusion (Wiki).
The history sign on Nellie Bly
Each sculpture is a interpretation on Nellie Bly. It really is an interesting sculpture.
The Girl Puzzle One:
The Girl Puzzle Two:
The Girl Puzzle Three:
The Girl Puzzle Four:
The Girl Puzzle Five:
Disclaimer: this information was taken from Wikipedia site and the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. This little ‘gem’ of a park can be seen by walking to the most northern part of Roosevelt Island by way of the Main Street which runs through the island.
The First Reformed church of Hackensack at 43 Court Street
Due to their national historic significance the church, cemetery and the adjacent Hackensack Green were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Green dates back to 1696 and is one of the oldest public squares in NJ.
The church and its interesting cemetery.
A strategic point during the American Revolution, Hackensack was a small village centered on The Green, a public meeting place where public notices were posted. In the 18th century it was where punishments were inflicted on criminals and where the local militia trained.
The Hackensack Green
The Hackensack Green
General Washington headquartered here in November 1776, while he surveyed the local roads and bridges. On November 20, 1776, he led his army into Hackensack. The army camped on The Green as Washington made the important decision to continue the retreat from overwhelming British and Hessian forces. On March 23, 1780, the British raided Hackensack and burned the courthouse that stood on the Green at that time. Since 1715, a Bergen County courthouse building faced The Green in Hackensack, the County Seat since 1710, making it the historic heart of Bergen County (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic Courthouse of Hackensack, NJ facing the cemetery at the Church.
The Cornerstone
The First Dutch Reformed Church congregation was organized in 1686, the oldest Reformed Dutch congregation in Bergen County and second oldest in NJ. (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic marker outside the church.
The historic marker
During the first ten years, churchgoers worshiped in a private home outside the limits of modern-day Hackensack. The official name of the congregation was the “Dutch Reformed Church of Ackensack” and comprised thirty-three residents from Hackensack, New Barbadoes and Acquackanonk. All three of these townships made up most of northeastern New Jersey. Acquackanonk was located in the northern portion of modern Essex County. New Barbadoes was comprised of land west of the Hackensack River, while Ackensack was located to the east. In April of 1696, Captain John Berry (1619-1712), the proprietor of a large portion of land in northeastern New Jersey, donated two and three-quarter acres of his property to the congregation to support their efforts to build the church. Most of present-day Hackensack at that time was called “New Barbadoes Township” and Hackensack is thought to have gotten its unofficial name when the Church relocated to New Barbadoes and brought the name “Ackensack” with it.
The historic church and cemetery in the back.
The emergence of the Dutch Reformed Church in America developed from Dutch colonization of New York and New Jersey during the 17th century. Dutch settlement was prominent in these areas before the British took control of the area in the late 1600’s. Still, the Dutch were freely allowed to practice their religion in America, even under British sovereignty. The Hackensack First Reformed Church would become the second oldest Reformed Church in New Jersey and the first in Hackensack. Construction of the church was completed in the latter part of 1696.
The historic cemetery at the church
John Berry’s donation of land was appropriately dubbed, “The Green” and the church soon became known as “The Church on the Green”. The first sermon was preached on November 15th, 1696, based on Psalm 26:8 “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth.” Although the first church was largely completed in 1696, the steeple was not built until 1708. The entire structure was rebuilt in 1728 on the same site. These two early church buildings were thought to have been octagonal structures.
The Schuyler Family marker
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the British invaded Hackensack. They burned the courthouse and jail and threatened to destroy the Church on the Green, which was located adjacent to the aforementioned buildings. Fortunately, the church was spared. Dutch Colonial architecture with sandstone walls being the prominent feature of the building. Some aspects, especially the arched and pointed windows, appear to have Gothic elements.
The Zabriskie Family plot
The front of the church has three sets of double doors with similarly arched doorways and transom windows. This style was a precursor for many of the Reformed Dutch churches that were eventually build in New Jersey. Although the present-day building dates from 1791, the church was enlarged in 1847 and again in 1847 and again in 1869, thus containing newer elements.
The Demarest Family plot.
The attached cemetery is original to the first building’s construction in the late seventeenth century but during the renovation in 1847, it was also enlarged. The neighboring service house was built in 1867 and was used as a Sunday school, lecture hall and chapel.
The Van Riper/Kipp Family plot
The churchyard cemetery features simple stone tablets and obelisks that are surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Some notable burials include General Enoch Poor (1736-1780), Colonel and New York Mayor Richard Varick (1753-1831), Congressman George Cassedy (1783-1842) and Congressman Adam Boyd (1746-1835). General Enoch Poor’s burial is especially noteworthy as he served alongside George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
The General Poor statue on the Green
Plaque on the side of the statue
Additionally, both Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance at Poor’s funeral. Enoch Poor’s gravestone reads: “In Memory of the Hon’ble Brigadier General Enoch Poor of the State of New Hampshire who Departed this Life on the 8 day of Sept: 1780 aged 44 years/Washington, Lafayette and a portion of the American army attended the burial of Gen. Poor. In 1824, Lafayette visited this grave and turned away much affected, exclaimed, “Ah, that was one of my Generals!” Poor died in 1780, before the close of the Revolutionary War, so this gravestone is clearly not the original.
The cemetery at the Dutch Reformed Church
The Reformed Church was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 1983. Included in this nomination was the “Green”, which is one of the oldest public squares in New Jersey. This area encompasses the Churchyard, the cemetery, the church outbuilding and the green area that is adjacent to the Bergen County Courthouse. There are a few monuments that occupy this space, including a statue memorial to General Enoch Poor, which was dedicated in 1904 and the Hackensack War Memorial, which dates to 1924. The church continues to be a prominent feature of the history of Hackensack through community and self-guided walking tours. In addition to this, there are yearly Memorial Day commemorations, where a wreath is placed over General Enoch Poor’s grave and a tour of the church is provided to the attendees of the celebration.
Surrounding the Green, there are a few other historical buildings:
*The Peter Zabriskie Mansion site at 50 Main Street.
*Archibald Campbell’s Tavern Site at 41 Main Street
*The Hackensack War Memorial
*Site of the Burned Jail
*The Annual Christmas Tree on the Green
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Bergen County Historical Society pamphlet and the Clio Website on the First Dutch Reformed Church of Hackensack and from visiting downtown Hackensack. Please call the church at (201) 342-7050 for details on visiting it. Please remember this is a resting place.
The historic marker for the Teaneck Historic Burial Ground for slaves in Bergen County.
Located on Pomander Walk Road near the Hackensack River, this land was in use as a burial ground by the Native Americans prior to the arrival of the European settlers. This site might have been used for hundreds of years as a burial site for the Native peoples.
African slaves, who worked the farmland of the early European settlers, like the Zabriskie’s who owned the 125 acre farm that surrounded it, were subsequently buried at this location as were some of the early settlers. In 1663, the great elder, Oratam, was the Chief Sachem for the Ackingsacks, who lived along the Hackensack River. Oratam promised to give Sarah Kiersted a parcel of land between the Hackensack River and Overpeck’s Creek called “Neck of Land”.
The location of the site on the side of the Hackensack River
The site of the graveyard in Teaneck, NJ
It consisted of 2,260 acres which included Teaneck, Bogota and Ridgefield Park. The original patent was dated October 21, 1667. On March 25, 1685, the East Jersey Proprietors conveyed 183 acres of this patent, located on the Hackensack River in what is now Teaneck, to Albert Sabboresco (Zabriskie) of Bergen, a planter/farmer.
The Zabriskie House on Cadmus Street one block over is not open to visitors (privately owned)
The Zabriskie Homestead in Teaneck, NJ
Albert Zabriskie, his descendant and later Henry Kip, owned the enslaved African American men, who were used to work the farmland and build the early colonial sandstone houses. Even though slavery was outlawed in 1804, the last slaves were not freed until 1865 making New Jersey the last of the Northern States to abolish slavery.
The Zabriskie-Kipp Homestead in Teaneck, NJ is not open to the public. The historic Zabriskie-Kip Farmhouse (now a private residence) is located around the corner from the site on a buff on River Road facing the Hackensack River.
The site is right by a cove in the Hackensack River
To prevent the loss of this sacred ground, the ‘Coalition to Preserve Teaneck’s Native American/African Slave/Settler Cemetery’, was organized. With the Coalition’s encouragement, in 2006 Teaneck bought this open parcel of land on the banks of the Hackensack River. It can be visited during daylight hours and is designated with a Blue Historic Marker erected by the town of Teaneck, NJ.
The historic site by the Hackensack River in Teaneck, NJ.
The gravesite today along the Hackensack River
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the handout from the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. There is no fee for this site but be warned, there is not much to see. There will be plantings and a small memorial is being planned (the above plaque from the town of Teaneck, NJ).
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 