The Mahwah Museum

201 Franklin Turnpike

Mahwah, NJ  07430

(201) 512-0099

Home

https://mahwahmuseum.org/the-museum/

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

Fee: Non-Members $5.00/Members Free

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46590-d9819566-Reviews-Mahwah_Museum-Mahwah_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

 The front of the Mahwah Museum at 201 Franklin Turnpike

I visited the Mahwah Museum over the weekend and found a very engaging suburban museum that had interesting exhibitions on the subjects of Women’s Rights, Mahwah history, Les Paul memorabilia and train sets that would delight any child or the child within. There were a lot of small children that were getting a kick out the trains in the basement going around and around. For a small museum, it is packed with information both on local history and state history as well.

The Mahwah Museum is open during the Northwest Bergen History Coalition Weekend

The staff is very nice and very engaging with the visitors. They will walk you through some of the exhibitions, explain the concepts and make up of the exhibits. You can see most of the museum in one day but there is a lot to read so try to make a few trips to this interesting little museum in the middle of Mahwah, New Jersey.

Les Paul Exhibition is one of the most famous exhibitions of the artist’s work

The Mahwah Museum history:

(This information comes from the Mahwah Museum website)

The mission of the Mahwah Museum Society is to preserve and present the history of the community and its connection to the region. Museum exhibits display information about the history of Mahwah and the surrounding community. The Museum’s collection of artifacts, photographs, historical records and documents is carefully preserved, documented and cataloged and is available by appointment to historians and researchers. By encouraging discovery, understanding and appreciation of the region’s heritage, the Museum provides perspective for the present and the future.

The History of Mahwah and its Business District exhibition.

The Society is comprised of the Mahwah Museum at 201 Franklin Turnpike and the Old Station Museum and Caboose at 1871 Old Station Lane. The Mahwah Museum opened in 2001 and hosts several permanent exhibitions and a main exhibit on two levels. Permanent exhibits include: Les Paul in Mahwah, The Donald Cooper Model Railroad, the Who’s Who of Mahwah, the Lee Vold Gallery and a topographical model of Mahwah Township. The main exhibit changes periodically.

The Caboose sits in the back of the Old Station Museum in Mahwah

The Old Station Museum and Caboose opened in 1967. The restored Erie cupola caboose shows the daily operations of train crew life. The Old Station Museum was the original Erie Station in Mahwah built in 1871. Many Erie Railroad artifacts and photos related to passenger trains are displayed. The Museum is a great resource for adults and children. Educational programs are offered frequently.

The Old Station Museum is part of the Mahwah Museum

The historical sign of the Old Station Museum

The Trains of the Mahwah Museum:

The Mahwah Museum has an extensive collection of model trains representing all scales. This collection has been made possible by generous donations from the Cooper-Darboe and Margolis families.

The Donald Cooper Model Train Railroad

The Donald Cooper Model Railroad:

Located in the lower level of the museum, the Donald Cooper Model Railroad is a DCC powered, 28″ x 13″ operating HO gauge model railroad. Designed as a walk-in layout, the visitor can experience the sights and sounds of a real operating railroad.

The Model Train collection display

The collection that makes up the railroad was donated to the museum by Renee Cooper-Darboe of Mahwah, New Jersey. Donald Cooper lived in Mahwah on Island Road. He went to work for the Erie Railroad in Buffalo, New York as a Yard Supervisor. He was employed by the railroad until the 1960 merger with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western. After he left the railroad, he moved back to Mahwah and began installing security systems.

The detail work on this collection is amazing!

It was during this time he met and married his wife, Renee and learned his electrical skills. After retiring, he and Renee decided to construct a model railroad representing the trains that went through his yard in Buffalo. From 1990 to 1995 Don worked constructing the tracks and doing the electrical work while Renee built the buildings and carefully placed the people in the railroad cars. Sadly, Don passed away in 1998 and the railroad sat unused for 8 years. Renee contacted the museum in 2006 and asked if we would like a “train set”. The rest, as they say, is history.

The railroad consists of four levels, a subway, two mainline tracks and a fully operational train yard. We also have a logging railroad and a trolley line. The Donald Cooper Model Railroad is a permanent exhibit of the Mahwah Museum and open during its regular operating hours on Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are always welcome. No experience is needed. Please visit our museum website for more information.

Jerome Margolis Lionel Collection:

Jerome Margolis was an avid collector of Lionel “O” gauge trains. He was also the owner of one of the most popular pizza restaurants in the area, Kitchley’s Tavern. People visiting his restaurant were treated to three large display cases filled with his trains. What they didn’t know was that he had many more stored away. Thanks to his son, George, they are no longer out of view.

Kinchley’s Tavern at 586 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey, NJ

https://www.kinchleyspizza.com/full-menu.html

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46762-d540429-Reviews-Kinchley_s_Tavern-Ramsey_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Our museum was the lucky recipient of the remainder of this collection. Currently they are in static display in out layout room for our visitors to enjoy. The collection represents many of Lionel’s most popular models from the 1970’s through 2005. The famous Santa Fe, red and silver “War-Bonnet” F7, Union Pacific “Big-Boy articulated locomotive and Pennsylvania “Mountain” steam locomotive are just a few pieces in the collection. Come and enjoy this wonderful collection of some of America’s best known locomotives.

The Les Paul Collection:

Musician Les Paul

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

The Les Paul display

The Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit showcases many of Les’ innovations in solid body electric guitar design and multi-track sound recording.  Les called Mahwah home for nearly 60 years and is the only person to be elected to both the Inventor’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Les Paul exhibition of recording equipment

On display are items from Les’s home studio where many of his and Mary Ford’s hits were recorded.  The Mahwah Museum is honored to house this landmark equipment which includes his recording console, an Ampex eight track stack, an Ampex 300 deck, the “Wally Box” and part of the studio wall that was expressly designed to create an echo chamber.   Also on display is Les’s disk-cutting lathe used to record sound onto acetate disks.  Among Les’s guitars on display are one of his “Klunkers” and a replica of “The Log” (an early prototype of the solid body guitar).

The Les Paul recording equipment display

Visitors may play many of the guitars through our Play a Les Paul Guitar program.  (Reservations are required.)

Ramapough Legacy ~ Heritage Exhibition:

The Ramapough Lenape exhibition

The Ramapough Lenape people have a long and complex history in the Ramapo River Valley communities of Mahwah, Ringwood, and Hillburn. Explore and learn about this Indigenous people’s history, folklore, art, craft, tools, herbs and medicines, costume, and culture.

The Native American exhibition

The Native American display

The Palisades Amusement Park exhibition:

The Palisade Amusement Park sign

This miniature depicts the legendary Palisades Amusement Park as it would have looked in the mid 1930s. The scale of this model is 1:12, a common dollhouse scale. The original builder of the model was Joe Prisco, a longtime park employee. His estimated cost for the initial build was $40,000. Over 3,700 light bulbs and 15 power transformers were used to illuminate the rides and attractions. It was displayed at several locations in Ocean County, New Jersey in the 1990s. Prisco died in 2006.

In 2018, Vince Gargiulo, Executive Director of the Palisades Amusement Park Historical Society, traced the whereabouts of the model. The Prisco family donated what was left of the model to the historical society. To date, twenty-five pieces have been restored, including as seen in this exhibit, the Tunnel of Love, the World’s Largest Outdoor Salt Water Pool, the Ferris Wheel, the Carousel, the Free Act Stage, the Bumper Cars and much more.

The Palisades Park mini display at the Mahwah Museum

The Mahwah Museum Society is a nonprofit corporation under the laws of New Jersey and has qualified as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt entity under the Internal Revenue Code. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees.

The Palisades Park display

*This information was taken from the pamphlets provided by the museum on my visit. Take the full afternoon to explore this interesting museum and their exhibitions.

*Please contact the museum for any changes in exhibitions or schedule of times.