Historical Society of Old Randolph
630 Millbrook Avenue
Randolph, NJ 07869
(973) 989-7095
https://www.randolphnj.org/499/Randolph-Museum
https://www.facebook.com/RandolphMuseumNJ/?_rdr
Open: Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm/Monday-Saturday Closed
Admission: Free but donations accepted
My review on TripAdvisor:
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 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 All of these hotels have since been torn down and have now been replaced by other town buildings.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 