The Museum presents an eclectic view of local and regional history through permanent and changing exhibits of artifacts, documents, photographs, books, and videos. The West Milford Museum is the result of over 35 years of collaboration between local volunteers, donors, businesses, and municipal government. Formerly a M.E. Church, circa1860, this local historic landmark has been renovated extensively in the interior to accommodate the museum exhibits.
The entrance to the museum
The museum is located in the former Methodist Episcopalian church built during the Civil War. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style with a cedar shingled roof over hand hewn beams and a dried laid foundation. The congregation moved to a new location in 1906 and the building was deeded to the town in 1910 (museum pamphlet).
The museum sign
The inside of the West Milford Museum
History of the museum:
(From the museum pamphlet)
Following the 1976 Bicentennial, with a renewed interest in American history, the Town of West Milford, NJ decided to establish a museum in the old Town Hall Annex. Passing a resolution in 1985, the museum started the collection and archiving it and renovating the building. The museum opened in 2000 to patrons.
Maps of the early history and colonization of the town
The Farming Community display of the Dutch and English settlers
The development and population growth around Greenwood Lake
The Warner Brothers ‘Jungle Habitat’ Park of the early 1970’s that was located in the area. This drive through park was very popular in that time. The park was once filled with exotic animals. Warner Brothers moved the operation out of the area when they built Six Flags Great Adventure Park in Jackson, NJ.
The display of the old park with promotional videos
Some of the promotional items and mementos from the park
The Long Pond Ironworks display
The display on the growth of the railroad in the area
The Long Pond Ironworks display at the museum. This was a big business between the World Wars
The Long Pond Ironworks
The History of the Ironworks:
The ironworks got its name from ‘Long Pond’, the Native American translation for Greenwood Lake. The ironworks were an important business in the area serving both the Revolutionary and Civil War armies with much needed iron for equipment and munitions. Because of cheaper options in the Midwest and more abundant ore, the ironworks closed in 1882 (museum pamphlet).
The Native American exhibition
The extensive collection of Lenape artifacts in the collection
The museum has a large collection of arrowheads and other hunting and fishing artifacts
The museum has an extensive collection of reproductions of the Hudson River School painter Jasper Francis Cropsey
The reproduction works of the artist in the collection
Many of the books and notes from the artist and the locations where the works were made
They even had a resident bear as a artist
The museum has an extensive collection of textiles both clothing and quilts
This display quilt has many of the town’s historical sites that are of significance in the town
One of the sites was the Cross Castle that was knocked down years ago from neglect
Pictures of one of the local homesteads that has passed through many families hands
The Ice Industry which was a big business on the lake and the Rocket Mail business which was a failure
The resort business and the Greenwood Lake hotels were a big business until the advancement of the automobile made other areas desirable.
Local businesses had an interesting display along with community organizations
There was an interesting display on the West Milford Pharmacy
Some of the old medical equipment that you would have seen in the past
The museum is also dedicated to the West Milford school system. Their first display is a replication of an old schoolhouse, which has not changed too much in form. Desks still face the chalk board and the teacher still leads the class.
The old classroom
The old fashioned classroom has not changed much in the last 100 years
The museum gives children a glimpse of the past and a better understanding of how it relates to the future. There are all sorts of artifacts in which children can relate to and compare to today’s counterparts. It is a good place to use your imagination and think back to life in the past.
The new exhibition on the West Milford Marching Band will be opening soon
The back of the museum is filled with interesting artifacts
The gallery of Paintings and Native American artifacts
The Lakehurst Historical Society at 300 Center Street
I visited the Lakehurst Historical Society Museum on a trip to South Jersey and was taken by the depth and stories that the displays told of this community, its historical background, the influence on shore communities and the nearby site of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. They even had artifacts that people collected and saved from the disaster.
The former decommissioned Catholic Church houses the collection of the history of the community
The History of the Church as a Museum:
When the Borough of Lakehurst faced increasing population, Manchester Township started construction of the new church in 1972. The members of the Lakehurst Historical Society met with the head of the church and discussed plans to convert the church into a small museum. The request was granted through the Trenton Diocese. The grand opening was on July 18th, 1993 (Museum pamphlet).
The building is surrounded by the resting place of many citizens of the community
The surrounding cemetery of prominent families
The history of St. John’s Church:
William Torrey, the founder of Lakehurst, donated land to the Irish immigrants to build the first Roman Catholic Church in Ocean County, New Jersey. The first mass was observed in 1874 in St. John’s Church. Today this little white gem is the popular museum of the Boro of Lakehurst Historical Society (Museum pamphlet). The museum was established in 1993.
The Mission of the Museum:
Our objective is to preserve the history of Lakehurst, NJ.
The main gallery of the old church tells the different stories of this community
The beautiful and historical stained glass windows decorate the sides of the museum
The history of the air travel through blimps and how this type of travel changed transportation between Europe and the United States
A docking ladder to leave the air ship
The history of this type of air travel
The types of blimps docking in the area
The docking stations at the air field in Lakehurst, NJ
The Hindenburg disaster which happened nearby ending our international travel on the zeppelins
Some of the artifacts saved from the wreckage of the Hindenburg disaster
Another form of transportation in the region was the now defunct Blue Comet Train, which was a major form of transportation from urban areas to the shore communities.
A model of the ‘Blue Comet Train’
The model of ‘The Blue Model Train’
The History of the ‘Blue Comet’:
The Blue Comet was the dream and the folly of R.B. White, the President of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. He developed the train line with such luxury and distinction that for the classier set, there would be no other way to come to the Jersey shore. The color blue would permeate through the whole line.
The line operated like a luxury hotel and never turned a profit. At the start of the Depression, the cost of the trip became prohibitive and the shore destinations it catered to fell out of favor to the wealthy. The last run was on September 28th, 1941 (Museum pamphlet).
Community activities through the years such as the Lakehurst Baseball team are displayed in the museum.
The Lakehurst Baseball Team display
The back of the museum displays life in Lakehurst over the last century with many artifacts donated from clothes, household items and personal artifacts from many families who have lived in the community.
The every day items of a Lakehurst daily living in clothing and furnishings over the last century
One of the standout items was this beautiful Civil War era Swiss music box that was played for me
The video of the music box:
The antique music box
Many other household and personal items have been donated by community members tell the day to day life of members of all classes of the community
Clothing, toys and decorative items
Decorative items for the home, clothing and personal items
Antique toys from the turn of the last century
A display of school items used in the classroom. Not much has changed
The mapping and history of Lakehurst’s agricultural past
The farm and construction building equipment of the past
Community social routines of every day life were on display in the museum.
Local shopping and dress making in the early 1900’s. There was even old advertising from Bambergers on display
More household artifacts
The progressive history of the town over the last century
Mr. & Mrs. Torrey, the founders of Lakehurst, NJ whose land the town grew upon
The History of the Torrey family:
Samuel Whittemore turned over a mile square tract of land (640 acres) as a wedding gift to his daughter, Adeline and her husband, William Torrey in 1821. Torrey mapped out the land (now known as Lakehurst). Adeline Torrey named most of streets after trees and flowers and William lined Union Avenue with Elm trees.
William Torrey was a devout Presbyterian but donated the land in 1869 to build the old St. John’s Church. The first Mass was in 1874 (Museum pamphlet).
Artifacts from Lakehurst’s manufacturing past of Brickmaking
Telephone operators station
Artifacts from the town’s Military past
WWI military helmets
Domestic life changed when people returned from battle. Many of these items created during the war years are still with us.
Domestic items through the years
The glass bottle collection
The glass bottle collection
Artifacts from the transportation and rail industry
The jail cell from the old police station
Blogger Justin Watrel in the display
The home life of the residents of Lakehurst
The most unusual artifact in the collection, the stuffed dog, ‘Stuffy’ who used to welcome residents to the local hardware store.
The sign for the Lakehurst Hardware store
The stuffed dog, ‘Stuffy’ from the Lakehurst Hardware store
The museum does a nice job telling the story of this small Southern New Jersey community and the growth of shore towns locally.
This was the second time I visited the Morris Museum and on every trip I learn something new. The first time I had visited the museum it was right after the movie ‘Hugo’ had opened which was a story that involved the automata (moveable animals and people mechanical objects) so my dad and I toured the permanent exhibit and then toured the rest of the museum.
The Guinness Galleries of Automata
The gallery of Automata
When I arrived at the museum at 2:00pm recently, the museum was having a talk and a demonstration on the automata and musical boxes and that was very interesting. These mechanical wonders have been around since the 1300’s being perfected in the Arabic countries by clockmakers and craftsmen at the time.
The exhibition galleries
The movie “Hugo”
The lecture was on how they were constructed and perfected over time to make them more reasonable to a growing market and how they were replaced when phonographs, radios, record players and tapes gradually progressed to change the market and make them obsolete.
A old Victrola record player
We got to hear an example of each of the objects and it was fascinating that during the Industrial Revolution how paper rolls changed the cost of these objects making them available to all classes. Today’s talking dolls and music boxes are descended from these innovative items.
The Automata at the Morris Museum
The fancy music boxes
Amusing children’s toys
The beautiful French workmanship
The beautiful pieces from the 1800’s
After the talk, I walked around the Museum to see parts of it that I had not visited on my last trip. For a small suburban museum, the museum is packed with all sorts of artifacts from Native American art to dinosaur relics and fossils found in the State of New Jersey.
The Dinosaur Room
Dinosaur femur
Dinosaur eggs
In the original Frelinghuysen Mansion section of the museum, you can visit the Dodge Room which was dedicated to Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, a great patron of the Arts. The room contains vintage furniture and paintings and shows what the room may have looked like when the Frelinghuysen’s lived here.
The Dodge Room at the Morris Museum
The portrait of William Rockefeller
The museum also had really interesting exhibits from travelling shows including the Artist Alan Feltus exhibition of paintings
Artist Alan Feltus is an American figurative painter whose paintings present a series of contrived interior vignettes that simultaneously use a casual familiarity of contemporary life while arranging the figures and their surroundings with a precision and order from a bygone artistic tradition (Morris Museum website).
The Feltus exhibition in May 2025
There was another exhibition that I visited that afternoon by the Artist James Prosek “At Work”.
Some of the sculpture pieces from the Prosek exhibition
There is a lot to see and do at the museum for all ages and if none of these appeal to you there is also the theater. The Morris Museum has a lot to offer everyone.
The Museum Mission:
The Morris Museum celebrates art, science, history and the performing arts by providing engaging exhibitions and programs, all of which are designed to excite the mind and promote cultural interests. The Museum strives to educate, entertain and inspire diverse audiences of all ages, abilities and backgrounds (Museum site)
History of the Museum:
(from the Museum website)
In 1913, objects collected for display in a curio cabinet at the Morristown Neighborhood House formed the beginning of the Morris Museum Collection. Originally known as the Morristown Children’s Museum, education has been an intrinsic part of the Museum’s mission from the start. Mrs. Aldus Pierson, the Museum’s first head worker, introduced children to world cultures through the exploration of cultural artifacts. Generous donors began giving Mrs. Pierson interesting objects that they had acquired in their travels around the world. By 1927, the collection had expanded to seven rooms encompassing the first floor of the Neighborhood House’s annex. Displays included the world and children’s toys.
In 1938, the Museum moved to the Maple Avenue School building and shared space with the Morristown Board of Education and the Morris Junior Colleges until 1956. This enabled the Museum to enhance its programs for children and establish a link between its offerings and the curricula of area schools. This strong educational focus developed and continues to the present. The museum was incorporated in 1946, and its collections and services continued to expand. During this time, the Museum was at the forefront of presenting new trends in museum education through the modern use of dioramas, panels and niches. The outreach education program began in 1950 with in-school presentations to eight Morris County school including talks about American Indian culture.
The Kay WalkingStick Collection
The Museum’s first Director, Mr. Chester H. Newkirk made a significant impact on the development of the Museum’s programs, collections and services. During his 25 years of leadership (1956-1981), the collections of fine and decorative arts, toys and American Indian artifacts were greatly enhanced. In 1964, having outgrown its fourth location, the Museum purchased Twin Oaks, the former Frelinghuysen estate.
The Kay WalkingStick Collection
The Kay WalkingStick Collection
The Kay WalkingStick Collection
The Kay WalkingStick Collection
Today, the Georgian-style mansion functions as the heart of the Morris Museum’s operations. In 1969, the institution was renamed the Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences, reflecting it growing emphasis on visual art and the expansion of its offerings for all ages. In response to the Museum’s increasing activities, successful capital campaigns enabled additions to the facility to be built.
Art of the Sublime in the lower level of the mansion
In 1970, gallery space was expanded and a 312 seat theater was added, which was later named the Bickford Theater. In 1973, the Morris Museum became the first museum in New Jersey to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. In 1985, its name was changed to the Morris Museum. In 1990, the Museum complex was further expanded to 75,524 sq. ft.
Artist Neil Jenney pursues realism as a style and a philosophy. Mostly self-taught, he attended the Massachusetts College of Art in 1964 and moved to New York in 1966, where he has lived and worked since (Morris Museum website).
The Morris Museum’s Bickford Theater is a cultural hub for the very best of the performing arts in Morristown and beyond. Approaching its 50th anniversary, it will shine with even more dynamic, multifaceted and relevant programming, including a partnership with London-based National Theater Live; two film series and unique film festivals; traveling professional productions, a new lecture series, story-telling workshops, jazz, classical and community concerts children’s theater and more.
In 2003, the Museum was awarded the Murtough D. Guinness Collection, one of the world’s most important collections of mechanical musical instruments and automata (robotic figures of animals and people).
The beautiful pieces in the automata collection
This collection further enhances the Morris Museum’s role as a major cultural center and travel destination for the arts, sciences and humanities. This 750 object collection reflects innovative technology, exquisite craftsmanship, compelling sound and important cultural heritage.
This is one of the extensive collections in the country
In recognition of what is the Museum’s most renowned collection, the Museum launched a major capital expansion project that resulted in a 5000 square foot gallery devoted to showcasing the history of mechanical music and automata, a grand Entrance Pavilion and a sky-lighted Court and expanded upper galleries.
Today, the Morris Museum is the only accredited museum in the United States with a theater and one of New Jersey’s most dynamic cultural institutions, serving more than 300,000 persons each year, two thirds of whom are children. Audiences are drawn from all twenty-one counties throughout the state and reflect the social-economic and ethnic spectrum that define northern and central New Jersey.
In 2008, the Museum was named Outstanding Arts Organization by the Arts Council of Morris area, in recognition of its exceptional accomplishments and commitment to improving the quality of life in the community through the arts. The Morris Museum has been recognized as a Major Arts institution by the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State (2006-2017 eleven consecutive years) in recognition of the Museum’s solid history of artistic excellence, substantial programming and board public service. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts further distinguished the Morris Museum by bestowing the Council’s Citation of Excellence (2007-2013 seven consecutive years). The Morris Museum is a leading cultural institution in the state, upholding the highest standards of artistic excellence, educational innovation, fiscal responsibility, community engagement, audience impact and leadership in the arts community (Museum website).
(This information comes from the Morris Museum website on their history and I give them full credit for the information)
Automata Gallery
Don’t forget to visit the Gift Shop on the way out. There are all sorts of interesting items to choose from including stuffed animals and books.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 