Tag: NJ Historical Societies

Lambert Castle/Passaic County Historical Society 3 Valley Road Paterson, NJ 07503

Lambert Castle/Passaic County Historical Society

3 Valley Road

Paterson, NJ 07503

Phone: (973) 247-0085

Fax: (973) 881-9434

info@lambertcastle.org

http://www.lambertcastle.org

https://lambertcastle.org

Hours:

Museum Wednesday-Sunday-1:00pm-4:00pm

The Castle closed for a five year renovation starting January 2020.

Library & Archives Wednesday-Friday-1:00pm-4:00pm/2nd and 4th Saturday of each month 1:00pm-4:00pm (Memorial Day through Labor Day: 12:00pm-4:00pm)

Admission: $5.00 Donation

My TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46718-d1880569-Reviews-Lambert_Castle-Paterson_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

I have visited Lambert Castle a few times, most recently to see the Christmas decorations before they were taken down for the season. I found out from one of the director’s that they had not been put back up since their Holiday Bazaar back in November. I had seen them the year before and they had been very impressive.

Lambert Castle during the renovation in 2025

Right now the Castle is decorated for the Annual Christmas Craft Bazaar and it is just loaded with handmade crafts for the Christmas holidays. There are three floors of crafts and then on the third floor, there is a small restaurant to relax and look over the court of the house. After the bazaar in 2019, the Castle will close for a much needed five year renovation.

The Lambert Castle Christmas Bazaar 2019

I had a chance to visit the floors when they were not decorated for the holidays . The first floor is set up as if the family still lived there with the Billiards Room, Dining Room, Sitting Room, Music Room and Atrium still set as the family resided there. There is period furniture and decorations in all the first floor rooms to give a feel of what it must have been like to live there at that period.

The view of Lambert Castle from the second floor

The second floor galleries hold the collection of the Passaic County Historical Society with all sorts of objects, signs and historical items from all eras of the collection. You are able to see the footprint of the living quarters of the family.

The stained glass windows

The third floor at the time I was there was dedicated to the work of an Italian stone worker and artist who migrated and lived and worked in Paterson.

It is a very interesting way to see life at the turn of the last century in Paterson and the home offers a beautiful view of the City of Paterson and New York in the distance. I have never seen the grounds in the Spring but I am sure that they are quite lovely.

The view alone is worth the visit.

Don’t miss this virtual tour of the Castle and await until the renovations are done to visit again.

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. commercial on Lambert Castle in 2019.

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Project: “Take me back to Paterson, NJ”.

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.

History of Lambert Castle:

Catholina Lambert and his Castle:

Catholina Lambert was born in 1834 in Goose Eye, England. In 1851 at the young age of 17, Lambert left home to seek his fortune in the “Land of Opportunity” that was America. After several successful ventures in the silk industry, Lambert decided to build a home that would be reminiscent of the castles he recalled from his boyhood in England. In 1892, he built his own castle on Garret Mountain in Paterson, NJ, then known as the “Silk, City of the New World.”

Catholina Lambert

Lambert’s home was built to showcase his elaborate art collection of fine European and American paintings and sculpture. At one time, his collection was so vast that it was considered to be “the nucleus of an American Louvre.” In 1913, Lambert fell into debt and his fortune started to dwindle. As a result, he was forced to mortgage the Castle and eventually sell much of his art collection. The proceeds allowed him to live comfortably in the Castle until his death at age 89 in 1923.

After Lambert’s death, his son, Walter sold the Castle to the City of Paterson, which later sold it to the County of Passaic. Today the Castle is still owned by the County and serves as the headquarters of the Passaic County Historical Society. The Society, a private not for profit organization, owns the historical artifacts and works of art.

Catholina Lambert and Company

The home and the museum, exist as a reminder of a bygone era and as a tribute to the great accomplishment of the Castle’s creator. Although most of the furnishings today are not original to the Lambert’s home, they represent period furnishings that would have been found in the Castle during the Lambert era.

For more information about the rooms and decor, visit The Lambert Castle Blog at:

https://lambertcastleweb.wordpress.com/museum

Passaic Historical Society:

The Society & Museum:

The Passaic County Historical Society is a private non-profit educational organization founded in 1926 and dedicated to cultivation of interest in the history and culture of Passaic County and former home of silk magnate Catholina Lambert was built in 1892. The Castle is owned by the County of Passaic and has been the home to the Society since 1934.

Library & Archives:

Located in the lower level of the Castle is the Elizabeth A. Beam Memorial Historical Research Library, operated by the Passaic County Historical Society. Here scholarly researchers, genealogists and historical enthusiasts may find books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, genealogy records and other information that reveals the history of Passaic County. Access to the library is included with regular admission to Lambert Castle.

Membership:

The Society depends upon the support of its membership as well as museum admission to sustain its important mission. Please consider becoming a member and helping to preserve the history of Passaic County.

The Second Floor Galleries:

The Castles’s second floor has several exhibition galleries, each presenting a different historical display from the Society’s collections. To the right of the fireplace on the walls of the second floor balcony is an exhibition of works by noted Paterson artist Julian Rix. On the opposite side are portraits of notable Passaic County residents and a collection of historic engravings of the Passaic Falls. Behind the fireplace are the Lambert’s private rooms. To the left, in the former sitting room and bedroom of Mr. Lambert, are the Curiosities and Local Folk Art galleries and the famous Brass Dog Sculpture that served for many years as an advertising sign for a tinsmith’s shop in nineteenth-century Paterson. In the adjacent room, the former bedroom of Mrs. Lambert, is the Local History Gallery which features historical images of prominent businesses and people.

The Third Floor Exhibition Gallery:

The Third floor of Lambert Castle is reserved for changing or seasonable exhibitions.

Disclaimer: This information comes directly from the Passaic County Historical Society & Museum pamphlet and I give them full credit of it. Rather than transcribing the whole pamphlet with the description of rooms, I attached their website and blog on WordPress.com for more detailed viewing.

Maywood Station Museum 269 Maywood Avenue Maywood, NJ 07607

Maywood Station Museum

269 Maywood Avenue

Maywood, NJ 07607

(201) 845-3323

http://www.maywoodstation.com

http://www.maywoodstation.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MaywoodStationMuseum/

Open: Times Vary; please check their website

Admission: Free

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46608-d2661796-Reviews-Maywood_Station_Museum-Maywood_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Maywood Railroad Museum at 269 Maywood Avenue

This National Registered restored 1872 New York, Susquehanna & Western railroad station, one of oldest in New Jersey, is located in the heart of Maywood, NJ. Restored by the Maywood Station Historical Committee and opened in September 25, 2004, it contains an extensive railroad museum and collection. The site also contains a restored caboose and engine.

The museum sign welcomes you

The side of the museum where materials are dropped off

I visited the Maywood Station Museum when it was open recently and found a fascinating collection of railroad memorabilia, Maywood fire department history and early maps of the town of Maywood. It is a treasure trove of articles for people who like to study railroad history especially its growth in small towns, early stages of industry in the town and in New Jersey.

The inside of the station museum

There is a lot of items that show the history of rail service not just on the train but in the station as well. There are antique desks, phones, ticket takers, mailboxes, benches and pictures all from the turn of the last two centuries.

The train ticket collection

The Maywood Station Historical Committee (MSHC) division of New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society operates the Maywood Station Museum and is chartered as a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 non-profit, educational and historical organization with a mission to preserve our railroad and cultural heritage through restoration and preservation, historical awareness, archiving and interpretation, museum open houses, meetings and special events (Maywood Station Museum Committee).

The train artifacts

The History of the Museum:

(From the Museum website)

The museum is operated and staffed by the volunteer membership of the Maywood Station Historical Committee. The main focus of the museum is concentrated on the history of Maywood Station and the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad and the roles they played in the development of the Borough of Maywood and the surrounding area. The museum collection contains hundreds of photographs, displays, documents, maps and artifacts covering the histories of Maywood Station, the NYS&W and local railroads, the Borough of Maywood and the local region, which are changed periodically and designed to entertain and educate visitors of all ages as well as offer a virtual timeline to these subjects.

The Museum and Railroad Car

Maywood Station Museum is also the official site of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society’s (www.nyswths.org) archive, which contains thousands of drawings, maps, track diagrams, photos, timetables, documents and records covering the history of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad (Wiki).

Train documents and other artifacts

For those interested in historical buildings, meticulous care has been taken by the Maywood Station Historical Committee to show the museum in a historical context. The museum features the original woodwork painted and stained in the original colors and original Maywood Station furnishings have been restored and displayed such as the potbelly stove, station agent’s desk, chairs, telegraph keys and freight scale. Victorian-period original light fixtures and sconces adorn the ceilings and walls. Additional items have been painstakingly reproduced to the exact original specifications of over one hundred years ago including the station benches and bay window area (Wiki).

The Station Master’s desk

The Maywood Station Museum collection includes a former Penn Central/Conrail N-12 class caboose, which was restored by Maywood Station Historical Committee members. Visitors to the Maywood Station Museum are invited to come aboard Caboose 24542 and view additional displays and an operating model train layout. The Maywood Station Museum collection also includes original New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad ALCO Type-S-2 Locomotive #206, which has also been restored by Maywood Station Historical Committee members (Wiki).

On September, 10, 2009, NYS&W S-2 #206 was placed on the State of New Jersey Register of Historical Places. The locomotive was placed onto the National Register of Historical Places on March 19, 2010 (Wiki).

The History of Maywood Station:

The Museum Logo

In 1871, the New Jersey Midland Railway, predecessor of today’s New York, Susquehanna & Western (NYS&W), began constructing a rail line between Newfoundland, NJ and Hackensack, NJ. The line was part of a plan to connect with the New York & Oswego Midland (later New York, Ontario & Western) in Middletown, NY and provide rail service from the Great Lakes to New York Harbor. The residents of what would later become Maywood, which at the time was part of an area called Midland Township, saw the advantages of the new railroad and requested a stop be made.

At the time, approximately 13 homes with nearly 90 residents were in the boundaries of today’s Maywood. Soon afterward, construction of Maywood Station began. On March 11, 1872, the New Jersey Midland commenced operating trains on the new line and Maywood Station formally opened in the same paint colors you see it restored to today. Six passenger trains a day in each direction initially stopped at Maywood. It should be noted that for a brief period after that station opened, the station sign said “West Hackensack” but this removed due to the requests of local residents who wanted the station named “Maywood”, as the immediate area surrounding the station had then become known (Maywood Station Museum).

A station agent was employed and it is believed that the first agent was name George Sipley. The station agent handled passenger baggage, freight shipments to and from the station, passenger ticketing and general functions in addition to performing the job of postmaster. In the 1872 to 1910 period, Maywood Station served as Maywood’s post office at various times when it wasn’t housed in a local merchant’s store. Another station agent/postmaster was Charles M. Berdan, who held this position in the late 1890’s into the early 1900’s. Mr. Berdan’s home was located directly across Maywood Avenue from the station and exists today. Maywood Station was also equipped with a telegraph so that the railroad could communicate between their stations and local residents could send messages around the world. The station also offered Wells Fargo and later, Railway Express Agency delivery services. These services lasted into the 1960’s (Maywood Station Museum).

The Railroad buckles

When Maywood Station was built, it originally located on the south side of the current tracks. In 1893, the station was moved to its present location on the north side of the tracks due to the addition of a second set of tracks being constructed and a purchase of additional land by the railroad. At the time, several additional NYS&W stations along the line were similarly moved for the same reason. When the station was moved, it was jacked up onto the rails, the rails greased, spun around and slide approximately 30 feet closer to Maywood Avenue, then jacked up again and moved to its present location. A new foundation was also added. It is interesting made at this time including the addition of a freight platform at the “new” rear of the station.

The Maywood, NJ Railroad Museum

The spot where Maywood Station was moved to originally included a passing siding where steam locomotives were stationed to be added, when necessary to help heavy freight trains on the several grades encountered heading west on the line. When the station was moved, the passing siding was cut back and one of the two switches was removed. The remaining trackage was then used to store freight cars, which were unloaded at the station. The siding started to the west of the station and ran 440 feet to near the rear freight platform of the station. The siding was last used in the early 1970’s and remnants of it can be seen today (Museum Station Museum).

The train sections on displays in the back of the museum

In 1894, the approximate 1.1. square mile area that included Maywood Station, formerly part of Midland Township was incorporated as the Borough of Maywood. Also that year, the NYS&W expanded into western New Jersey and through its Wilkes-Barre & Eastern Railroad subsidiary, into the coal fields in the Pocono region of northeastern Pennsylvania. The rail line could now take a passenger from a ferry at New York City to a connection at Jersey City, NJ to almost Scranton, PA on its own rails. The added ease of transportation began to attract manufacturing to Maywood as well as a demand for new homes. In 1894, the total residents living in Maywood numbered approximately 300 but this was about to change (Maywood Station Museum).

The rails next to the museum

New manufacturing and homes sprang up in the area surrounding the station and included such industry as Schaefer Alkaloids Company, Maywood Chemical Company and Maywood Art Tile Company. As these companies expanded so did Maywood’s population and by 1920 it numbered nearly 3000 (today Maywood has approximately 9,500 residents). The 1920’s also marked the height of passenger service provided by the NYS&W at Maywood Station. Thirteen passenger trains in each direction stopped at Maywood Station on a daily basis. Freight shipments continued to be delivered to the station and most of the local industry had their own rail sidings serving their plants. The NYS&W was enjoying a period of posterity and in 1920, a freight house addition was added to rear of Maywood Station and the exterior walls received a stucco finish over the existing boards and battens.

Station equipment

Stucco was in-vogue in the 1920’s and the NYS&W applied this material to several other stations on their line as well. In 1926, another round of various improvements were made at Maywood Station including the addition of interior men’s and women’s bathrooms, an 8-inch concrete floor installed to replace the wooden floor planking plus electrical and heating improvements. Unfortunately the Great Depression stuck in October 1929 and lasted well into the late 1930’s and the growth slowed dramatically. In 1937, the NYS&W declared bankruptcy and shortly thereafter was spun off from its parent, the Erie Railroad, which had controlled it since 1898. Around the same time, Maywood Station’s bay window was removed due its deteriorating condition (Maywood Station Museum).

The newly independence NYS&W fought hard to survive and cut back certain services but at the same time tried innovative concepts like streamlined, self-propelled, rail passenger cars as a way of cutting costs while boosting efficiency. The railroad also quickly retired its steam locomotives and replaced them with more efficient diesel locomotives stating in 1941 and completed the program in 1947. During World War II, the fortunes of the NYS&W did improve with the wartime demands placed on America’s railroads. As in World War I, many of Maywood’s servicemen departed through Maywood Station, some never to return. By 1953, the NYS&W was solvent once again but only for a few more years. Faced with mounting losses from the passenger services it offered and America’s love affair with the automobile and a new interstate highway system, the railroad once again embarked on a period of reducing their passenger train schedules.

The Station Master Desk

Losses continued and on June 30, 1966, the last passenger train called on Maywood Station as well as on the entire NYS&W, however the railroad continued to utilize the tracks at Maywood Station for their freight operations, which continues to prosper to this day. Shortly after the end of passenger service, the station was closed and was used by the NYS&W as maintenance base and for storage. Bill Spence served as Maywood Station’s last station agent. In the late 1970’s. Maywood’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) leased the station from the NYS&W to be used as a meeting hall. The VFW made a number of improvements including repainting the station, repairing cracked stucco, repairing the roof and maintaining the grounds. In the early 1990’s, the VFW moved out of the station and it remained unoccupied until June 2002, even thought the NYS&W attempted to lease it to another tenant during this period.

Faced with a pending order of demolition by the Borough of Maywood in early 2002 due to the deteriorating conditions of the station, a volunteer, 501C3 non-profit group named the Maywood Station Historical Committee Division of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society Inc. was formed on May 29, 2002 with a plan to restore the station and turn it into their museum.

The back of the museum

After several years of volunteer work to restore the station and create a museum, the group has successfully achieved their objectives and more, including placement of the station on both the National Register and State of New Jersey Register of Historic Places. The station now enjoys the notoriety as being one of the most impressive restoration projects and museum efforts to date in the State of New Jersey’s historical community (Maywood Station Museum).

Train lanterns

I want to the thank the Maywood Station Museum for this interesting information and please check out their website at http://www.maywoodstation.com.

https://www.facebook.com/MaywoodStationMuseum/

The front of the museum where materials

The Hopper-Goetschius Museum 363 East Saddle River Road Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Hopper-Goetschius Museum

363 East Saddle River Road

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

(201) 327-8644

Open: Please check website for seasonal openings

http://www.usrhistoricalsociety.org

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hopper-Goetschius-House/131274536912683

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46882-d14048029-Reviews-Hopper_Goetschius_Museum-Upper_Saddle_River_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Hopper-Goetschius House Museum

Northwest Bergen History Coalition History Day/Summer Open House 2026:

I visited the Hopper-Goetschius House Museum during the 8th Annual Northwest Bergen History Coalition History Day. I had never been here before and it is a real treat. There are many buildings on the property to visit on top of the house and the fact that this was someone’s house into the 1980’s is pretty interesting.

The historic marker in front of the house

The Hopper property in July 2026 for the Weekend Open House

The Gris Mill wheel

The historical tree stump

The historical plaque

The property in the Summer of 2026

Christmas Open House December 2019:

The house still holds many secrets. The best part of the tour of the house is the secret stairs in the kitchen that lead to the old second floor. This can only accessed behind a panel that leads to a narrow set of steps. You can see it from the new second floor from the top floor.

I attended Holiday Celebration on December 8th, 2019 and it was a beautiful sunny day for an outside event. It was a really nice afternoon. They had a visit with Santa at the Dutch barn which was decorated with trees surrounding him and presents and a decorated Dutch sleigh. In the schoolhouse, there were all sorts of games and talks to enjoy.

Santa in the Dutch Barn at the Hopper museum

In the outside kitchen, there were chestnuts and fresh popcorn being made that you could munch on while walking around enjoying the festivities and the smells of the cooking food were mouthwatering. The gentleman doing the cooking was doing a demonstration on how the food was cooked and the amount of time it took to make things.

The outside buildings still had a bit of snow left

The inside of the house was decorated for the Victorian holidays with a nicely decorated tree in the Living Room and garland all over the place. There was a Victorian music box playing songs and a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” being read on the hour.

In the kitchen of the oldest part of the house, they served hot cider and homemade Christmas cookies of all kinds. They were also selling fresh homemade jam that one of the members made. The kitchen was decorated for the holidays as well. There was an open tour of the house and it was fun to see the upstairs decorated with all sorts of Victorian toys and dolls. The fee was a $5.00 donation and it happens every first week of December at the site.

The Hopper House kitchen

The house is a treasure trove of period furniture and family items and on the property there is a schoolhouse, a barn, a blacksmith shop and an outhouse. During the Summer months, the house is open for special tours on the weekends and in the Fall, they have a Harvest Festival and Christmas holiday events. The house is run and operated by the Upper Saddle River Historical Society.

The antique toys in the upstairs bedroom

In April of 2023, I returned to the Hopper-Goetschius House for the Northwest Bergen History Coalition Day for the event. It was a gloomy day with mist and rain but that did not put a damper on the event. There were lots of activities going on in each of the buildings.

My first stop was at the barn where the ladies were doing a demonstration on spinning thread and we had a conversation of where the expression “Pop goes the weasel” came from (from the spun threat reaching its max and then the machine made a ‘pop’ sound). The ladies were demonstrating the way women spun yarn and made clothes and the work that it entailed.

The yarn spinning demonstration at the Hopper Barn

The ladies explaining how the spinning works

‘Pop goes the weasel’, the weasel at the Van Riper-Tice Barn

When I left the barn, I went over to the school house building to see what was going on. A very bored volunteer took up all my time and would not leave me alone. She had to read from a script and take me all over the house. I just wanted to get out of there. Thank God another person walked in so that I could escape and see the rest of the property.

The Ramsey House was moved to the property to save it from destruction and the society has done a good job transform it to a turn of the century classroom. This is a surprising display in many historical societies as I am sure that people have donated so much of their childhood mementos.

The Ramsey House schoolroom

The schoolroom

The teacher’s seat at the school room. Nothing has really changed.

The farm artifacts at the Ramsey House schoolhouse

After the tour of the Ramsey House, I took the tour of the main house again and its secrets. The Hopper House is a very interesting home as the owner did not want plumbing in the house. Up until 1963, she still used the well. She was forced by her nephew to get a modern bathroom. I thought this was strange that the woman did not want a bathroom. She still used the outhouse into the 1960’s.

The Hopper House kitchen

The home is decorated with all sorts of beautiful antique furnishes and decorations. The house is so well organized and the volunteers do such a nice job telling its story especially at the holidays. I visited all the rooms where the volunteers explained its purpose.

The bedroom upstairs

Bedroom Two

Bedroom Three in the upstairs loft of the house

My last part of the tour was visiting the Smokehouse right behind the house.

The Smokehouse during the Summer Open House

Inside the kitchen during the Open Kitchen

The inside of the Smokehouse

The volunteers were cooking corn bread, homemade potato soup and biscuits in the fireplace. It was interesting to see how food was cooked on the farm in the days before modern kitchens.

The two volunteers working there were so happy to see someone. They told me that no one wanted any soup. On a cold rainy and misty day, I was taking them up on it and it was really good! Talk about warming you up.

The Smoke House on the Hopper estate was cooking away that afternoon

The volunteers were making breads, biscuits and soup that afternoon that warmed me up

The delicious Potato Kale Soup warmed me up on this rainy day

The delicious Corn Bread was cooked with bacon fat and tasted so good! I munched on most of this.

I finished eating and talking with the volunteers about all cooking they were doing. They told me that they were following the recipes that were from the late 1700’s that would have been cooked at the farmhouse at that time. It was a really interesting conversation we had on cooking. It was nice to eat something as well. I was starved at this point.

After the meal, I left to go to the next site. I felt for these volunteers. The Hopper House is off the beaten tract and they must have not gotten the visitors that the other homes had seen. Still it was a wonderful visit with members who care so much about the house and its grounds.

The Hopper estate with the barn, school house and ice house in the distance during the Northwest Bergen Historical Coalition Day

The Hopper House entrance hall

The Hopper-Goetschius house on the corner of Lake Street and East Saddle River Road dates back to 1739. Built by the Hopper family, it is the oldest remaining house in Upper Saddle River. We know it existed in 1739 because it was recorded in surveyor Charles Clinton’s journal and possible it is older.

The picture of Steven Goetschius and his wife,

The other family pictures on the table in the parlor

Rosalie Fellows Bailey in her book on pre-Revolutionary Dutch houses, says it was marked as the home of Gerrit Hoppa on a rough sheepskin map made about 1713.

The Goetschius family, the second owners of the house

The house underwent several changes in the mid 1800’s. The large central chimney with back to back fireplaces was removed. Probably, with more modern forms of heating available such as wood stoves, the fireplace seemed a bit old-fashioned and the owners took it out. Besides, they wanted to use the entrance hall as a room, so the stairway along the east wall was removed and a central staircase added where the fireplaces had once been. The dormers were added in the Victorian era.

The Hopper house in 2023

The Hoppers farmed the land and had a lot of it by today’s standards. The property extended from the Saddle River (Lion’s Park) up the hill almost to Montvale and up the East Road to where Creative Gardens was located.

The antique dolls at the Hopper House bedrooms

(From the Society website)

In 1814, the house became the home of the Reverend Stephen Goetschius of the Old Stone Church. It remained in the Goetschius family for a century and a half, always a place of central importance in town as Stephen Goetschius, the great-great grandson of the Reverend Stephen, served as the borough clerk for over 40 years and conducted his town business from the east room of the house (SRHS.com).

The Hopper House Living Room

The house was without running water until Stephen’s death in 1962. Until improvements were made at that time, Steve’s wife, Lizzie, as those before her, carried water from the well for washing, cooking and shoveled coal for heat (SRHS.com).

The Hopper House Kitchen

The kitchen in the new section of the house

In 1985, the Hopper-Goetschius house was presented to the Borough of Upper Saddle River by Clinton and Grace Carlough. Lizzie Goetschius, the last resident of the house was Clint Carlough’s aunt. The house today serves as a museum, run by the Upper Saddle River Historical Society and offers the public historically related events throughout the year (SRHS.com).

The Hopper House Living Room

The back bedroom Dutch wardrobe

The Patriotic Display for the ‘Bergen 250’

(Upper Saddle River Historical Society)

The Hopper House property also contains:

*The Privy or Outhouse that was in use at the Hopper-Goetschius House until 1962 when plumbing was installed in the house.

The Outhouse

Hopper House estate with all the important buildings in the Summer of 2026

*The Ramsey Sayer House was moved to the grounds in 1999 to become part of the museum complex. This is the oldest existing from house in Upper Saddle River, a good example of a tenant house common on farms in this area. The Ramsey Sayer house belonged to William Ramsey, the grandfather of Kate Fisher Goetschius, mother of Steve Goetschius, who lived in the Hopper Goetschius house for many years.

The Ramsey-Sayre House now serves as the makeshift schoolhouse

The schoolhouse at the turn of the last century

The Native American artifact collection at the Schoolhouse

*The Van Riper-Tice Barn was erected about 1800 by the Van Riper Family on their farm on West Saddle River Road (near the Cultural Center). It was later owned for many years by Harmon Tice.

The Dutch American barn in the Summer of 2026

Sleighs and buggies and outdoor equipment

In 1989, it was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a development, the Historical Society dismantled it, moved it to the Museum ground and had it restored and rebuilt on its present location.

The inside of the Van Riper-Tice Barn at the Hopper House estate

Winter transportation at the barn

Transportation and farming equipment

The farming equipment display

More farming equipment

The displays of wool at the Van Riper-Tice Barn

The display of waffle irons

The Apple Cider Press that the Tice and Van Ripper families were so well known for making especially at Thanksgiving

*Snake Fence: a zig-zag fence of split rails once common in this area was added in the property north of the Van Riper Tice barn. The project was completed in 2001 with the help of Will Mazzuto and the vision of John Kroner and Joanne Lombardo.

The Hopper House estate

The Blacksmith Shop

The blacksmith doing a demonstration

The Upper Saddle River Historical Society:

The Upper Saddle River Historical Society was organized in 1977 to collect, preserve and distribute the history of the Upper Saddle River area. The Society is also responsible for the management and restoration of the Hopper-Goetschius House Museum located at 245 Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

The Historical Society has over 500 members and is host to nearly 2000 museum visitors each year. The Society holds program meetings throughout the year along with special events such as a Spring Concert, a wonderful Harvest Fair in the fall and an Old Time Holiday Open House in December, featuring mulled cider with chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

The Museum is open for tours every Sunday during July & August from 2:00pm-4:00pm or by appointment. For group or individual tours contact: Althea Gardner @ (201) 327-7807 or Kay Yeoman @(201) 327-2236.

Hopper-Goetschius House Museum Restoration Fund Drive

USR Historical Society.org

Hopper Genealogy Info. http://www.reetree.com

(Upper Saddle River Historical Society)

Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Upper Saddle River Historical Society website. Please check the site for the hours and days it is open.

Pascack Historical Society Museum (John C. Storms Museum) 19 Ridge Avenue Park Ridge, NJ 07656

The Pascack Historical Society Museum (John C. Storms Museum)

19 Ridge Avenue

Park Ridge, NJ 07656

Phone: (201) 573-0307

Open on Sundays from 1:00pm-4:00pm; Admission is Free. Gift Shop hours are when the museum is open. (Holiday Excepted).

http://www.pascackhistoricalsociety.org

http://www.facebook.com/pascackhistoricalsociety

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46713-d12610386-Reviews-Pascack_Historical_Society_Museum-Park_Ridge_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Pascack Valley Historical Society is now celebrating their 75th Anniversary.

The Pascack Historical Society Museum (John C. Storms Museum), headquarters of the award-winning Pascack Historical Society, is located in the 1873 church building that was dedicated by the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher. The building and all the exhibitions have gone through an extensive renovation and have been reinstalled with more signage and information. Please check out their new displays.

The sign that greets you in the front of the building.

The Historical Marker in front of the building.

As you enter the building, you are welcomed to a comfortable spot.

The extensive exhibits include a general store, colonial kitchen, a Victorian Living Room, dolls, clothing and other displays of American life in the Pascack Valley. The front gallery as you enter serves as a classroom and lecture hall for the society. There you can see a variety of artifacts in the collection from china to guns and clothing.

Artifacts in the front room.

Artifacts in the first gallery.

A collection of antique guns in the front gallery.

A selection of hats in the front gallery.

There is also a special exhibition that features the world’s only wampum drilling machine as well as a collection of early colonial currency.

The Wampum Machine sign and how Wampum is made.

Their early Colonial Financial exhibits include an early wampum machine that the tour guide had said that it was the only one of its kind that made a type of rolled wampum from the inner section of a conch shell. Early New Jersey currency is well represented in the collection with several types of dollar bills at a time when states printed their own currency for its citizens. Really take a look at the early detail work of these bills.

The Wampum display of shells and tools.

The uses of Wampum and how it is made.

The oldest working Wampum machine in the world.

The Van Ripper General Store exhibition features many types of early Colonial artifacts that include weights and measures, food items found in an early grocery store, turn of the last century bottles and many types of appliances for cooking. Several treasures are tucked here and there to create the mood of shopping at the turn of the last century in Bergen County. There are classic groceries, weights and measures to weight groceries and several artifacts from the Van Ripper and Stockdale Farms which used to be located in the area.

The General Store sign

The General Store display.

Stockdale’s Dairy Farm was a popular farm in Park Ridge before the 1960’s.

Tools need on the farm and in the home.

The Tool display at the General Store.

The Toy Collection is extensive and covers several time periods. They have a interesting collection of dolls over the ages that include cloth and china dolls that would cater to children from different economic status. There are also games, wooden and metal pull toys and hobby toys such as marbles and jacks.

The Early Dutch Farmhouse Kitchen & Dining Room features one of the first beds that has no mattress but constructed by a series of ropes that are tightened. The tour guide explained that this might be where the expression “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite” might have come from as the ropes needed to be tightened each evening before the family went to bed.

Early Dutch life sign.

The exhibit also had early furniture hatches, chamber pots, a butter churner, various chairs that were manufactured in the area and several detailed decorative pieces.

The Early Dutch Kitchen and Living Space

The Victorian Dress of the church visitation.

The Victorian Living Room features many plush pieces of furniture, decorative knick-knacks that used to dominate the décor and a graceful piano with mother of pearl keys and decorative carved sides. This model was one of maybe a hundred made for a very elite client. The display also featured one of the early record players that still works.

The ‘Victorian Afternoon’ exhibition in 2024:

The sign for the Victorian home:

The ideal Victorian Home ‘Parlor’

Early Edison products

Early Edison recording equipment was not just musical but decorative.

The horse display.

The new exhibition 2025: ‘Collignon Chairs’

The exhibition is on the Collignon Chair factory of River Vale, NJ and the selection of chairs that the factory once manufactured.

The sign from the exhibition

Some of the collection of Collignon chairs on display including the popular deck chair used on streamlines.

The popular folding rocker from the collection

The display of chairs and a drawing of the old factory

Off to the side, there is an early sleigh and horse display, an exhibit of typewriters and carbon paper as I found out the area was once the leading manufacturer for carbon paper and a complete workshop with tools from all eras.

Typewriter collection at the museum.

Early Electronics

The schoolhouse desk of the school master.

The workshop is a very detailed in its artifacts with early saws, hammers and items that even I could not figure out what they were.

In the main room, there are more cases of toys, Revolutionary items and Native American artifacts to explore.

Native American Artifacts

The Lenape display

The Native American display.

A small gift shop is off to the side selling items donated by members.

Become a Friend: From the Friends of the Pascack Historical Society Museum pamphlet:

Pascack Historical Society Information and History:

The Corner Cupboard of early American china.

(From their pamphlet):

Membership Benefits:

Become a member of the Pascack Historical Society, a 501C3 organization. Dues are modest and membership has its privileges!

One year of free admission to the museum and most of its activities.
A one year subscription to the Society’s award-winning quarterly newsletter, RELICS.
10% discount on museum gift shop items (Sale items and new books excluded).
50% discounts on programs for children and adults.
You will receive Members Only advance notice mailings and emails about upcoming events and activities.
Members only “behind the scenes tours” of the museum. (By Appointment Only).
You will have the satisfaction of knowing you have joined the ranks of the area’s most passionate historical preservationists, who have a commitment to educate and enrich their neighbors’ lives-young and old.

The Military embellishments

In 2026, the museum was celebrating the ‘250th Anniversary’ of the Revolutionary War and had an exhibition of artifacts from the Pascack Valley.

The ‘250th Anniversary’ of Revolutionary War

This included all the stops that General Washington made in Bergen County, battles and confrontations with British soldiers and family battles by members who were loyalists and patriots.

The currency of the war years

The exhibitions shows New Jersey’s contributions to the war effort. This part of the exhibition has Colonial currency from New Jersey.

New Jersey Colonial Currency

The full exhibition of the ‘250th Anniversary’ of the Revolution War

Uniforms and accessories of the War years

The Baylor Massacre attack

The Tarlatan Calvary helmet

The Lenape artifacts from that era

Membership Opportunities:

Preserving and disseminating local history is a labor of love when you become a PHS member. It is a partnership between you and your fellow members. We encourage you to think about volunteering at some level at the museum or its events. Check out the volunteer opportunities below and give us a call if you would like to participate in any of them.

Docent: Act as a guide when people visit the museum. A simple one-day training session is all it takes.
Researcher: Do you like to wander through books and archives searching for answers to questions?
Archivists: Preserve and catalog the history of the Pascack Valley.
Educators: Work with youngsters and licensed teachers at Society events.
Tech Savvy: Volunteer your time to help with our website or graphic design.
Handy Helpers: Do you like to repair things? Can you sew, do carpentry? This might be for you.

*Disclaimer: Information on Volunteer and Membership opportunities are taken directly from the Pascack Historical Society Museum pamphlet. Most of the descriptions of the displays is what I was able to see in my short time visiting. The museum has a treasure trove of items to look at in detail.

The Reformed Dutch Church with its Colonial cemetery and the Wortendyke Barn is right down the road so take a few hours to explore the area. The members of the Wortendyke family are buried in the church’s cemetery.

Visit from Bergen Community College for the Bergecco- Parc Consulting Inc. on April 9th, 2025: for the ‘Bergen 250’ project:

The project we created for the “Bergen 250: the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War” that was created:

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/bergen-250-the-250th-anniversary-of-the-revolutionary-war-in-bergen-county-nj/

As part of my International Marketing class, I took my students to visit the three sites for our project on the ‘Bergen 250’:

The students toured the museum with the assistance of the Museum’s Board members

As part of the assignment for our ‘Farm to Table Dinner’, the project starts here with a Cocktail Party and tour of the museum. The back room of the museum was where the party takes place and then the guests would tour the museum before heading to dinner at the Wortendyke Barn down the road.

Peter Meany, the First Vice President of the Board explaining the Wampum machine to the students. This form of Native American currency is the only machine in the world like it and is a rare artifact.

Our Team group picture at the Pascack Valley Historical Society with members of the Museum’s Executive Board Peter Meany, Ralph Donnell Jr. and Christopher Kersting.

We want to thank the Board for taking time out of their busy schedule to support the students on this project.

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Spring 2026 Team Project: “Bergen 250-Touring and Marketing the Pascack Historical Society for Tourism”:

The Proposal for “Bergen 250: Touring the Pascack Historical Society Museum”:

BCC-Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. 2026 Touring the Pascack Valley Historical Society Download

I presented the project to my students after the Spring Break and then the next week took my students on a mandatory field trip to the Pascack Historical Society Museum in early April. The Board members of the Museum led us on a tour of all the exhibitions, then discussed their plans for the “Bergen 250” and then discussed some of the challenges that the museum faced with attendance.

Touring the museum

The students on their part took pictures and notes about the museum and their displays. Many would make various trips back to the museum to crest the QR codes for the displays and map the museum’s backyard for the Farm to Table fundraiser and a proposed afternoon tea.

Touring the museum

Touring the museum

Touring the museum with the Board of the museum

The museum’s Board members could not have been nicer and more helpful to the students and myself. We got a lot of insights on what direction the Board wanted to go.

Our Team picture at the museum

The tour of the museum took about an hour. We then had a Division Team Dinner at Pompilio’s Pizzeria in Downtown Westwood, NJ:

https://www.pompiliospizzeria.com

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46923-d4643410-r1053567938-Pompilio_s_Pizzeria_Restaurant-Westwood_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

Dinner with my Divisional Team

I find that these Team dinners and lunches are very helpful in getting the students together to get to know each other and we share a nice meal as a Team should. We asked the Board to join us so we could continue the conversation.

Dinner with both the Board and my Team

For the next five weeks the three Teams broken into Marketing, Historical and Foodservice created their ideas and game-plans to help the museum increase traffic by trying to bring a younger and tech savvy visitor into the space.

The Pascack Historical Society PowerPoint:

https://onedrive.live.com/personal/de20296acb6718c2/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7Bbc38ac22-58a7-444e-8a3d-919c9e880890%7D&action=default&redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL3AvYy9kZTIwMjk2YWNiNjcxOGMyL0lRQWlyRGk4cDFoT1JJbzlrWnllaUFpUUFXUktobTlXakl2R3NEUUZhQ0k5OFA4&slrid=f6a013a2-4017-1000-b492-bb60994c6fcb&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9vbmVkcml2ZS5saXZlLmNvbS86cDovZy9wZXJzb25hbC9kZTIwMjk2YWNiNjcxOGMyL0lRQWlyRGk4cDFoT1JJbzlrWnllaUFpUUFXUktobTlXakl2R3NEUUZhQ0k5OFA4P3J0aW1lPW1yVHgtT3V4M2tnJnJlZGVlbT1hSFIwY0hNNkx5OHhaSEoyTG0xekwzQXZZeTlrWlRJd01qazJZV05pTmpjeE9HTXlMMGxSUVdseVJHazRjREZvVDFKSmJ6bHJXbmxsYVVGcFVVRlhVa3RvYlRsWGFrbDJSM05FVVVaaFEwazVPRkE0&CID=35417700-9c90-4764-923b-3c9c9a5a6ca3&_SRM=0%3AG%3A58&file=The%20Bergen%20250%20-%20Promoting%20the%20Pascack%20Valley%20Historical%20Society.pptx

The Pascack Historical Society Corporate Website:

https://ekucevic4.wixsite.com/bergecco-parc-consul

The Pascack Historical Society YouTube Presentation:

The video of our Presentation to the Board of the Pascack Historical Society Museum on the evening of April 29th, 2026

On the evening of April 29th, the Board members of the museum joined us for the Presentation of ideas the students came up with including setting new QR codes for all the displays, a revamped Marketing plan to showcase the museum, a new historical walking tour, one aimed at adults and one to children and the ideas for the fundraising dinner, a children’s birthday party concept and a Afternoon Tea fundraiser.

After the Presentation, we had a Q & A on the ideas and after the Presentation was over, we had a reception for our guests and for the student consultants. Then we took our Corporate Team picture.

My Divisional Team the night of the Presentation

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