Tag: Small Museums of New Jersey

Denville Museum                                                    Diamond Spring Road                                         Denville, NJ 07834

Denville Museum Diamond Spring Road Denville, NJ 07834

Denville Museum

Diamond Spring Road

Denville, NJ 07834

(973) 625-1165

https://www.denvillemuseum.org/

https://www.facebook.com/denvillehistoricalsociety/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-2:00pm/Monday-Saturday Closed

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46392-d33235821-r1010531601-Denville_Museum-Denville_Morris_County_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The front of the Denville Museum at Diamond Spring Road

The front sign for the Denville Museum

The beautiful stained glass sign outside

The front sign of the museum

The front gallery of the museum

The back part of the front gallery of the museum

The Denville Museum is an interesting and beautifully organized museum in Downtown Denville, NJ that tells the history of Denville and the surrounding communities. The collection starts with a collection of Native American artifacts and Revolutionary era household objects.

The early foundation of the Denville community is displayed in the front case

The Native American artifacts in the collection

The museum has an extensive amount of artifacts from the progression of the area from the Native Americans to the Dutch settlers who then populated the area leading to the progression of modern farming and commercial trade in the area.

The farming display with many items from the Ayres Farm

My blog on the Ayres Farm:

Artifacts from the Ayres Farm

Children’s items from both the Ayres Farm and from the community including a handmade cradle

Farm equipment and home furnishings and portraits of Ayres family members

Items from the Ayres Farm

As the community entered the post-Revolutionary War era to the Civil War era, the area entered both its agricultural and industrial boom period.

Artifacts from the Civil War and post war commercial era. Many of the artifacts are an early example of companies that still exist today.

Civil War era items of residents of the community

Presidential items from the Civil War period of both President’s Lincoln and Davis

Commercial items and tombstone etchings of the period

The manufactures of commercial products of that era. Many of these items are early examples from the modern Nabisco company. These were some of the original tea biscuit containers.

The exhibition of World War One artifacts on display

School and town events

The town parades and artifacts from the town

The display of town merchant items

The creation of and growth of trade on the Morris Canal that once ran through the town is on display as well with pictures and artifacts.

The Morris Canal display and some school house artifacts as well

More town artifacts

The order of St. Francis once had a building with a school here and as the order died out, they sold the building in town

These are some of the artifacts from that time

Some more of the artifacts from St. Francis

A display on the old Denville Theater

Another Ayres Family display

Historical items from the town

Military items from the community

More Military items

More Military items from the War years

The last display I admired before I left for the afternoon was the Denville Shack display on a popular restaurant that was once in town. These popular restaurants used the dot the sides of local highways from the early 1960’s through the early 1980’s.

The display from the Denville Shack

Some of the items from the old restaurant plus other artifacts

Some other town artifacts with a set of armor that was found in town.

The Denville Museum was a delight to visit. It was loaded with interesting displays and town artifacts that not only talk about the founding of the town but how it has come into its own as a modern town and a bedroom community of New York City.

There’s a lot to experience here.

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Seven Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “The Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ”                                             April 23rd, 2025

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Seven Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “The Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ” April 23rd, 2025

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. CEO/Co-Founder Professor Justin Watrel and his Executive Team outside the Wortendyke Barn in Park Ridge, NJ for a Team Field Trip.

The 1740 Miller-Kingsland House-Boonton Historical Society                                                         445 Vreeland Avenue                                               Boonton, NJ 07005

The 1740 Miller-Kingsland House-Boonton Historical Society 445 Vreeland Avenue Boonton, NJ 07005

The 1740 Miller-Kingsland House-Boonton Historical Society

445 Vreeland Avenue

Boonton, NJ 07005

Open: For special events and the Pathways Tours-Contact Boonton Historical Society

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Miller-Kingsland Homestead at 445 Vreeland Avenue

I went to visit the Miller-Kingsland Homestead, which is part of the Boonton Historical Society, during the Morris County’s Pathway’s tour and discovered a beautiful little historical home situated on picturesque piece of property. I saw by the signs that the grounds were maintained by the local Garden Club, who did a wonderful job landscaping the grounds.

The Living Room in the extension on the house

The portraits of Mr. & Mrs. Kingsland

The Dining Room in the old section of the home

The historic home is filled with period furnishings and decorations, none it seems local to the home. Still you can see how the home has changed over the years with additions and renovations. The older part of the home is now part of the Dining Room.

The Pewter ware collection on the Dining Room table

The fireplace in the original house kitchen now in the Dining Room

The formal Dining Room in the extension of the house

The formal Dining Room in the newer section of the home

The antique China Closet with Teapots

The outside of the house

The grounds of the home

The house sits on a quiet bend in the road and the properties landscaping was just beautiful. Even on this gloomy, rainy day, it was nice to walk around quickly and admire the flower beds and the lawn.

The grounds of the home

The outside gardens of the home in the Spring

The History of the home:

(From the Boonton Historical Society Pathways Tour Book and Wiki):

When Isaac Kingsland purchased the property on Vreeland Avenue from Jacob Miller c 1798, he began a dynasty that would include four New York City lawyers, a comptroller of the City of New York, a Civil War aide to General Benjamin Butler, a college president, three nuns, and a troupe of nationally known marionettes. Similarly, the property itself went from small to large to small again, from the home of farmers, a carpenter and a blacksmith, to a boarding home for horses and the headquarters and studio premises for a company of touring entertainers (Boonton Historical Society).

The Miller-Kingsland House is the oldest recorded home in Boonton. The original Dutch house was one-room with a sleeping attic, built by Johannes Miller around 1740. This room, which is complete with a large cooking fireplace and beehive oven, makes up the west wing of the current structure. The property was sold to Isaac Kingsland in 1798. He added the two and one-half story main section in 1808. It features Dutch style and a gambrel roof (Wiki).

The Miller-Kingsland house sits on a beautiful wooded landscape with a stream flowing through it. The property today comprises some 2.5 acres including the historic frame house and a barn. It is the oldest recorded house in Boonton and is listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places (Boonton Historical Society).

West Milford Museum                                                         1477 Union Valley Road                                             West Milford, NJ 07480

West Milford Museum 1477 Union Valley Road West Milford, NJ 07480

West Milford Museum

1477 Union Valley Road

West Milford, NJ 07480

(973) 728-1823

https://www.westmilford.org/cn/webpage.cfm?TPID=3979

Open: Sunday-Friday Closed/Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm

Admission: Free but donations are accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/photo/798400892?m=19905

The West Milford Museum at 1477 Union Valley Road

The Museum focus:

(From the Township of West Milford, NJ website)

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

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

https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1191.html

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