During the Annual Sussex County Heritage Weekend, one of the first stops I made was to the Franklin Heritage Museum in Downtown Franklin, NJ. The museum was the house in one of the offices of the mining company. The museum was a glimpse into community’s mining past and how it shaped this area of the State of New Jersey.
The museum sign out front
The museum building was the old New Jersey Zinc Company ‘Time Office’. This meant that the miners had to punch into their shift at the mine through this building. The old turnstile is to the right of the building.
History of the Franklin Historical Society:
(From the museum pamphlet)
The Franklin Historical Society was organized and incorporated in September 1996 as a non-profit all volunteer education association. It was founded to preserve the heritage of the Franklin Borough to create awareness of both the County and Borough of Franklin and its rich history of culture and ethnic heritage.
The Historical Society’s Museum is located at 95 Main Street in the historic Franklin Mill complex of the former New Jersey Zinc Company.
The Heritage Museum was opened to the public in April 1997 and its displays include:
Iron and Zinc Mining
Railroads
Franklin’s Churches and Schools
Franklin’s Local History
The sign for the old New Jersey Zinc Company ‘Time Office’ historical sign
The history of the Franklin Mine and its place in New Jersey history
The smaller gallery off to the side of the building concentrates on the history of the NJ Mining industry and the many mining areas in Sussex County.
The room contains all sorts of artifacts related to the industry including both pictures and everyday equipment.
The pictures of all the miners at the company
The Mining Gallery
The Mining Gallery with equipment and artifacts for a day of working in the mines
Artifacts from home and work
This gallery was in transition with the volunteers working on the displays. This side of the museum with be on the local NJ Zinc Mine Company and its history.
The main gallery in the old Main Office space
The main gallery of the museum has a mixture of more mining artifacts and town objects that cover the history of the town.
The ‘250th Anniversary exhibition of the town and its mining past
For the ‘250th Celebration’ of our country, the museum created an interesting display of the formation of the community around the mining industry to its growth today.
The Mining and Equipment display
Community artifacts
Pictures of the police and fire department’s in this small mining community
The museum’s main emphasis is on the development of the mining industry both its early development up until when the mines closed in the 1980’s. The display above is on the early mining tools used by the workers.
The Mineral display
What I found interesting was all the minerals that are on display and the glow in the dark components that make these rocks special. When the lights go out, the true magic begins.
The old turnstile to enter the mining compound before the start of the shift
The back of the museum behind the fencing and the weeds, is the entrance to the old mines. Both the entrance building and entrance to the mine has been closed off for years but you can still see behind the fencing. This is the old turnstile off to the side of the building where the miners entered the complex.
Across the street from the museum is the old Hungarian Reformed Church, which is planned to be renovated.
The sign for the church
The old Hungarian church
Down the road from the downtown area where the museum is located is the Franklin Furnace Park, which is a beautiful picturesque park situated around a lake.
All along the highway facing the park and in the park itself was the most beautiful and colorful foliage. Plan to visit the park after the museum for a colorful and relaxing break.
The foliage around the park in early October
The lake view of the park from the highway
The views from every angle of the park are breathtaking.
The view from inside the park and the footbridge to the island
The view of the park from south of the park
A view of the islands in the park
A view of the islands and the foliage
The islands and the foliage in the beginning part of October
The small center pine island
Traveling back down the road back to Route 23 South to continue my tour of museums
The view of the islands to the north in the lake
The view of the lakes from the south
The view of the foliage from the south
For a small town, Franklin offered such an interesting look at this part of New Jersey’s mining past and its transition from a mining industry to tourism based around the mines. The series of museums and cultural sites offers so much for visitors to see and experience.
A start at the Franklin Heritage Museum offers a glimpse into that past and as the museum keeps developing their exhibits will tell that story to visitors.
The Morgan Farmhouse at the Morgan Farm Museum, the headquarters of the Cedar Grove Historical Society
The museum sign just off Route 23 South
The farm property the day of the Fall Pumpkin & Apple sale and Open House
I recently visited the Morgan Farm and Museum one Saturday afternoon in the Fall and was surprised to find that they were hosting their Annual Pumpkin & Apple Sale, which has been a tradition on the property since the last owners of the farm, the Morgan family did this every Fall.
It was a lot of fun. The Society members were selling pumpkins and apples, baked goods like Cider doughnuts and cookies (completely sold out by the time I got there), Apple Cider and clothing products. On the farm land there was a petting zoo, picture taking by the Pumpkin Patch and tours of the house. The tour of the house was very interesting in that their docents to assist you on each floor to explain the family dynamic. It was a wonderful afternoon and a enjoyable family event.
The sign of Route 23 South for the Pumpkin & Apple Sale
The History of the Pumpkin and Apple Sale at the Morgan Farm Museum:
(from the museum pamphlet)
Each year the Cedar Grove Historical Society holds a Pumpkin and Apple Sale in honor of Edith Morgan and her son Courtenay Morgan. In the Fall of each year, the Morgan’s sold pumpkins and apples in the front of the Morgan farmhouse. The pumpkins were grown on the farm but the apples came from northern New Jersey. Mrs. Morgan passed away in 1961 but Courtenay, the last farmer in Cedar Grove, continued the tradition until his death in 1985 at the age of 86. The Historical Society continues that tradition each October.
Courtenay left his property to the Township of Cedar Grove with the stipulations that the Township create a park for passive recreation and that the Historical Society create a museum to preserve the history of Cedar Grove. Our pumpkins and apples are from the Chester area. Today the Historical Society’s home is the Morgan Museum located in the Morgan farmhouse. The Township created the J. Courtenay Morgan Park on the property.
The farm’s old barn now used as a meeting place and gift shop
History of the Morgan’s Farm and Museum:
(from the Museum pamphlet)
The Cedar Grove Historical Society welcomes you to Morgan’s Farm & Museum and the Canfield-Morgan House. The guide explains why Morgan’s Farm is unique and leads you to points of interest that you may want to explore.
The Morgan’s Farm is a fourteen acre site that was farmed continuously from the mid-1800’s until 1985. In 1985, Courtenay Morgan donated the farm to the Township of Cedar Grove. This portion of the farm is a park managed by the Township while the farmhouse and other buildings are operated as a museum and education center by the Cedar Grove Historical Society.
The Cedar Grove Historical Society maintains a wonderful collection of agricultural tools and equipment that reflect farming methods over a period of one hundred years. Items on display in the Canfield-Morgan House includes letters, photographs, clothing, furniture and other objects that show us how people lived during the early 1900’s.
The Family History:
(from the Museum pamphlet)
Benjamin Canfield built the farmhouse sometime around 1845 for his family. The Canfields were typical, hardworking farmers who were respected for the quality of their produce. They grew corn, apples, melons and other crops which they sold in the Newark and Paterson markets. The Canfield family farmed the land until 1910 when James and Edith Morgan bought the property James Morgan was an advertising executive who commuted by rail to New York City.
Mr. Morgan was passionate about farming and he worked hard to learn the latest farming methods. he experimented with the different types of crops until tuberculosis took his life in 1920. After Mr. Morgan died, Edith and her son, Courtenay struggled to keep the farm operating. They were well known locally for the vegetable and fruit stand they operated off the front porch.
Long before the Canfield and Morgan families lived here, the Lenape Indians used the site as temporary camp. Courtenay Morgan found many Native American tools as he plowed the fields. These artifacts are now preserved by the Cedar Grove Historical Society. A portion of the Lenape Trail passes through Morgan’s Farm.
The front parking lot of the farm property and the Pumpkin Patch
The inside Barn gift shop was selling apples, pumpkins, gourds, apple cider and doughnuts. By the time I got there, there was not much left. The Society even sells their own honey.
The barn from across the gardens near the farmhouse
The History of the Barn:
(from the Museum pamphlet)
The barns that you see behind the Canfield-Morgan House today were reconstructed by the Cedar Grove Historical Society in 1994 because they were had badly deteriorated. While the center of the barn is not as high as it once was, it has its original foundation and looks much like it did in 1910. This barn was probably used to house livestock at one time. On the west side of the main barn is a structure that once was a carriage house with a small apartment on the second floor for hired help. At some point, possibly in 1911, the second floor was removed. The shed on the east side was used to shelter livestock and later to store farm machinery.
There was all sorts of fun activities for families and especially the kids with a Pumpkin Patch, games and a Petting Zoo plus tours of the house.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Patch offered kids a chance to take pictures and pick the perfect pumpkin to make a Jack O Lantern
The Pumpkin Patch was perfect for picture taking
The pumpkin decorations in the Pumpkin Patch
The were plenty of places where the kids could take pictures with all sorts of characters of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night
Halloween is on its way
I loved the small Petting Zoo that they had set up. There was a baby cow, a baby pig, ducks and chickens.
The Petting Zoo
The baby cow was really friendly
The ducks were walking around their pen
The baby pig ran around his pen as well
The highlight of the afternoon was touring the old Morgan Farmhouse, which was furnished with family antiques and heirlooms, plus artifacts from the community of Cedar Grove, NJ.
The back of the house facing the barn
The History of the House and Barn:
The Canfield-Morgan House looks much like it did after Benjamin Canfield finished building it in the mid-1800’s. The modern kitchen and the accessible porch and bathroom are the most visible changes. The size and character of the house are typical of a traditional farmhouse. The features of the French windows in the front parlor and a wide entrance hall suggest that the Canfield’s were interested in current fashion and design of homes. A cistern under the kitchen floor stored water that was collected in gutters and piped into the cistern.
The gardens have many flowers such as daylilies, akebia, peonies, roses and quince that were planted by Edith Morgan and continued to bloom in the garden. The Morgan family added pergolas to the garden in 1911 and grew honeysuckle to cover them.
The fields of the farm is a variety of crops were planted in fields east of the park and south of the farmhouse. Crops included everything from tomatoes to pumpkins and apples. The Canfield family grew corn on what is now the front lawn. While these crops are no longer grown on Morgan’s Farm, the fields remain open space.
The Cedar Grove Historical Society sign on entering the house
The entrance to the house through the main hallway. The original part of the house was built in the 1700’s with an addition which added these rooms in the mid 1800’s. This is the newer side of the house.
The tour of the house was on my own but there were plenty of docents from the Society to explain each room. There were all sorts family furnishings and heirlooms of the Morgan family that were donated when this became a museum. The Society keeps the home in immaculate shape and its looks like the family still lives here and off for the day, letting us see a glimpse into their home.
The Living Room/Music Room
The corner of the Living Room and Music Room
Mr. Morgan’s desk in the home
The antique musical instruments in the collection
The Cedar Grove Music Association in 1900
The Morgan family photos from the family’s private collection, now part of the museum
The Morgan family portrait
Gail Morgan Chandler as a young girl
The Reception and Recreation Room next to the Living Room
Some of the family decorative pieces on display
Across the hall from the Living Room is the Dining Room that displays the home’s baking and serving pieces and some of the family China.
The Dining Room of the farmhouse
You can also see how the fireplace served as not just conversation but as the heat source as being part of the original section of the home.
The Morgan Dining Room
The formally set Dining Room table
The fireplace was the source of heat on the original 1700’s section of the home
Family baking and cooking equipment on display in the Dining Room
Family China and serving pieces on display in the Dining Room
Along the stairs on the way to the seconds floor is lined with all sorts of family and community artifacts.
The stairs to the second floor
The library in the house and a display of hats at the staircase landing
The second floor contained these rooms bedrooms and the museum offices , which were located in the old bedroom loft of the original 1700’s house.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan’s bedroom at the end of the hall
Mrs. Morgan’s bedroom vanity with some personal items from the Morgan family
Mrs. Morgan’s desk
A small doll by the bed
Mr. James W. Morgan
Mrs. Edith Louise Potter-Morgan
The Morgan children when they were young
The second bedroom was being used as a gallery for local artifacts either found or donated from Cedar Grove. This included old pictures of buildings and homes in the community, Native American artifacts, clothing and uniforms and everyday items.
The second floor Artifact Gallery
The display of local artifacts
The Native American display
Display of local artifacts
Artwork by local artists
The pictures of local hospitals and medical centers
The pictures of local historical houses
When I was through touring the house, I went back outside to join the rest of the visitors, who were picking out pumpkins on the lawn.
The back part of the estate
What I like about the Morgan Farm Museum is that it is not just about walking around an old house, it is about experiencing someone’s life story.
I also got to see how the community of Cedar Grove grew from the farming community it once was to the bedroom community of New York City it is today.
The Morgan family dealt with quite a blow with the death of Mr. Morgan but is son took control and built the farm up to what the museum it is today. A living breathing example of turn of the last century ingenuity and determination and created a successful business that we can all share in today.
I recently visited the Ogdensburg Old Schoolhouse and Firehouse Museum at 6 Passaic Avenue in Downtown Ogdensburg and discovered the community’s rich history of farming and mining in its past and its current destination as a weekend vacation spot and a up and coming bedroom community of New York City.
The County still has some farming and agriculture going on as the County continues to be built up with expats from the City, and Bergen and Morris Counties. The first floor is dedicated to the history of the Ogdensburg Fire Department with an old Engine and Ladders trucks, artifacts from the Sterling Mine just up the road and township property such as an old voting booth. You can read about the history of the Ogdensburg family as you head to the outside gallery.
The second floor has displays of various town departments including the Rescue, the Police Department and Fire Department. There are various displays of the town’s school system and various clubs in town. There are displays on the town’s mining and agricultural past with items such as farm advertising and mining equipment and minerals. Each display plays a role in the development of the community and how it progressed from farming to mining to manufacturing to the bedroom community it is today.
History of the Building:
“Built in 1910 as Ogdensburg’s fifth public school, it was adapted for re-use in 1930 as the Borough’s first firehouse replacing the one built in 1872. In 1984, with the aid of two state grants, the Ogdensburg Historical Society adapted it for re-use and dedicated it as the Old Schoolhouse and Firehouse Museum in 1987.
After 97 years, the Museum continues to serve the Borough of Ogdensburg as an historical learning and preservation center, and as a meeting hall. On June 10, 2006 it was dedicated as an Ogdensburg Historic Site.”
The historic sign of the museum
The Borough of Ogdensburg is the host of this marker commemorating the rich history provided by this building. This building has been maintained with much thought and care and remains as a museum and meeting place for the residents of the town. The marker is located in front of the building on Passaic Avenue just off Main Street by the Ogdensburg Elementary School. This marker was part of the 2008 placement (Museum website).
The outside of the museum which served as a school and a firehouse
The first floor of the building has the fire trucks, the history of the fire department and Ogdensburg’s 250th Anniversary of the United States on display.
The museum artifacts from the 250th celebration of the Country
The museum is on the heart of mining country of Sussex County, NJ and the museum has an interesting mineral collection along with their collection of mining artifacts.
The Mineral and Mining Collection
The museum being home to the Ogdensburg Fire Department contains the history of the local fire department along with vehicles and artifacts from the department.
One of the early pull hose beds pulled by men and then by horses
The first floor also contains the history of the Ogden family in the region.
The history of the Ogden family in the community
The town voting booth and a turn of the last century phone
The second floor gallery used to serve as offices and living space of the fire department.
The main gallery on the second floor
The gallery case lines are filled with memorabilia from different aspects of the community telling the story of the growth of the community that included Mining and Farming. It explains the growth into the modern suburbs of today. This includes the Fire and Police and Rescue Departments, the School System and cultural events in the community.
The main gallery on the second floor of the museum
The main gallery on the second floor
The display case of Ogdensburg departments including school, fire and police departments
Blanket with historical sites and artifacts of the town of Ogdensburg, NJ
The businesses including schools and the domestic and farming industries
Each of the display cases represented different aspects of the town and has a variety of pictures and memorabilia from a variety of eras. The case lines show how the community changed over time from a mining community to the changes of a bedroom community of Newark and New York City.
The Entertainment display of recorders, phonographs, radios and early record players
The influence that Thomas Edison had on the community with new technology. Several pieces of Thomas A. Edison memorabilia are on exhibit to honor the ten years Edison spent mining iron ore at the old Edison Ore Milling Company on Sparta Mountain. Several of his phonographic inventions were created here (Ogdensburg Historical Society website).
Close up view of record players and Victrola’s
The Ogdensburg School system display
The Ogdensburg Presbyterian Church display of artifacts from inside the church
The NJ Zinc Mine display with minerals and equipment
The NJ Zinc Mine and Mineral display is a small s as molding of the museum down the street and the importance of the mining industry at the turn of the last century.
A closer look at the minerals display
A replica of a working mine operation. The machine shows how workers descending and brought up rock from the mines.
The Dedication to Mr. Waco Hadowantez, the town historian
The last display as you leave the museum is dedicated to the man who founded the historical society, Waco Hadowantez.
The museum tells an interesting story of the history of Ogdensburg and the surrounding area. It shows the importance of the Mining Community at the turn of the last century and how the community is pivoting towards tourism to tell its story.
Please contact the museum directly for seasonal hours and tours.
The Sturr Family Cemetery sits on a bend of the driveway of the Chabad Jewish Center of Northwest Bergen County and is a small cemetery that once sat on the edge of the J.H, Sturr farm.
The Sturr Family Cemetery
The farmhouse of the Sturr Family sits on the lot across the street from the cemetery property. This is located on a small buff on what was the edge of the farm.
The Sturr Family cemetery tombstones
The tombstones of the Courter and Carlouch family members
The grave of William Courter
The only visible tombstones that are left in the cemetery are an Ackerman family member, Anny Ackerman and members of the Courter and the Carlouch family’s (who must have married into the family).
The Ackerman family tombstones (the one to the right was unreadable)
The other tombstones are broken and no one is sure who is buried where in the cemetery.
The History of the Cemetery:
(From Find a Grave website)
The cemetery is located in Franklin Township, Bergen County, New Jersey, on what was once the family farm of J.H. Sturr. As of October 1991 only 6 markers were still remaining.
The Sturr Family Cemetery in full view
History of the House:
(From the Franklin Lakes Municipal Website)
H. Sturr House or Blue Meadow Farm Built 1860 378 Pulis Avenue, Block 1510, Lot 8 Franklin Lakes, New Jersey 07417
The Sturr House – also known as Blue Meadow Farm -is a handsome and little altered example of mid 19th century vernacular architecture which incorporates several stylistic elements such as gable returns and frieze area of the early 19th century Greek Revival style. The Borough of Franklin Lakes lists the erection year of the house as 1860.
The façade of this 2 ½ story house consists of clapboard. The front porch has five bays with square posts and a rectangular entrance door with rectangular sidelights. Two tall 1st story windows are on one side of the porch. A single hitching post with iron rings sits in front of the porch stairs. The building has a frieze area with linear design. Semi-circular headed louvered vents are in all gable ends. The rear of the house has a one story wing. There is a detached garage to the west side of the house as well as a round frame well. Further west of the house is a stable which has been extensively remodeled and converted into a residence in recent times. The house combined with associated structures is a significant remnant of the large farmsteads which ones dotted the Borough’s landscape prior to the recent suburban housing boom.
History of the Family:
(From the Franklin Lakes Municipal website)
This Sturr house and the nearby more altered house at 402 Pulis Avenue were duplicate structures and were probably built around the same time by members of the Sturr family. The 19th century Sturr family was descended from Conraedt Sturr who purchased 190 acres of land in this area with John Coeter from Robert Livingston in 1793.
The non-extant homestead and mill was located at present-day 930 Old Mill Road. It is known that Henry Sturr, the son of Conraedt, had a fanning mill at this location in 1850. In a will dated 1852 he bequeathed his property and mill to his grandsons John, Henry, and Daniel (Maria Braun – 1976 page 26 & 27).
The property along Pulis Avenue upon which these houses are situated was probably included in this will since the homes were built around the mid-19th century. Future deed research is recommended to identify the original builder and the construction date of the house (1861: H. Sturr, 1876 Estate of H.M. Sturr). Presently the house is privately owned and occupied.
