Northern New Jersey Historical Sites, Museums, Historical Societies, and Genealogy Groups
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, NJ Chapter
1841 Kennedy Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07305
Phone: 201-547-5262
Fax: 201-547-5392
The museum is located on the 2nd floor of the Greenville public library. The collection focus is New Jersey African American history. Contains numerous artifacts and a 3,500-volume library.
Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum
Teterboro Airport
Teterboro, NJ 07608
Phone: (201) 288 6344
Dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two-century aviation
and space heritage.
Bergen County Historical Society
P.O. Box 55
River Edge, NJ 07661
Phone: (201) 343-9492
The Bergen County Historical Society’s museum collections are displayed at the Steuben House, a State Historic Site and the Campbell-Christie House, a County
Historic Site.
Botto House National Landmark – American Labor Museum
83 Norwood Street
Haledon, NJ 07508
Phone: (973)595-7953
Fax: (973)595-7291
The 1908 Victorian home of Pietro Botto and his wife Maria was the meeting place for over 20,000 silk mill workers during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike. The museum has restored period rooms, a labor and immigrant library (including books, audio, and video cassettes).
Canal Society of NJ
The CSNJ was formed in 1969 to foster the study of the history of New Jersey’s two towpath canals, preserve and restore canal remains and artifacts, and to educate the public in the canals’ histories.
Dey Mansion
199 Totowa Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
Phone: (973) 696 1776
The Georgian manor house was built in the 1740s by Dirck Dey, whose son, Theunis, was a Colonel of the Bergen County Militia during the Revolutionary War. General George Washington chose the strategic Preakness Valley as the encampment for his army from July 1 to July 29, 1780, and established his headquarters at Dey Mansion. Today the house is owned and operated as a museum by Passaic County.
Edison National Historical Site
Main Street
West Orange, NJ
Phone: (973) 736-0550
Thomas Alva Edison’s research laboratory and Glenmont, the Victorian mansion where he lived, are preserved today as part of Edison National Historic Site. The park provides a unique opportunity to interpret and experience important aspects of America’s industrial, social and economic past, and to learn from the legacy of the world’s best-known inventor.
Fosterfields Living Historical Farm
73 Kahdena Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: (973) 326-7645
National Register farm site. Weekend demonstrations include seasonal planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops using horses and vintage equipment. The Willows – Also located on the site is The Willows, a 19th-century Gothic Revival house built by the grandson of Paul Revere in 1854.
Genealogical Society of Bergen County, NJ
P.O. Box 432
Midland Park, New Jersey 07432
The GSBC provides classroom training and seminars to educate and promote interest in family history, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and maintains a genealogical library and other records.
The Hermitage
335 N. Franklin Turnpike
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ. 07423
Phone: (201) 445-8311
Nineteenth Century Stone Gothic House Museum – National Historic Landmark with 5 wooded acres.
Historical Society of Bloomfield
90 Broad Street,
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
A group of dedicated volunteers who promote interest in the rich history of Bloomfield and seek to preserve the remnants of that history.
Historical Society of the Rockaways
P.O. Box 100
Hibernia, NJ 07842
Phone: 973-366-6730
A 501(c) 3 non-profit group dedicated to distributing historical information to educational and public institutions, promoting community service projects and preserving historical sites, documents. Their website contains links to scores of other interesting and informative websites to visit.
Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum
P.O. Box 668
Landing, NJ 07850
Phone: (973) 398-2616
Located in a rustic 19th-century building which served as a lock tender’s house on the Morris Canal, the Museum offers an entertaining and enlightening look at the history of New Jersey’s largest lake.
Montclair Historical Society
108 Orange Road
Montclair, NJ 07042
Phone (973) 744-1796
As a means to fulfill its mission, the Society preserves restores and furnishes the Israel Crane House, as well as other buildings at its Orange Road complex.
Morris County Historical Society
68 Morris Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
(973) 267-3465
Acorn Hall, an Italianate mansion in Morristown, serves as the Society’s headquarters; it is also a historic house museum of the Victorian era.
Morristown National Historic Park
Morristown, NJ
(973) 539-2085
Morristown National Historical Park preserves sites in the Morristown, NJ area occupied by General George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War from 1779-1780. Historical sites within the park include the historic Jacob Ford Mansion (Washington’s military headquarters during the winter of 1779-1780); the Upper Redoubt site (built in 1777 following the battles of Princeton and Trenton) in the Fort Nonsense Unit of the park; the historic Wick House & Farm (headquarters of General Arthur St. Clair) and the soldiers huts at Jockey Hollow.
Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
P.O. Box 540
Newark, NJ 07101-0540
Phone: 973-596-6550
Toll-Free: 1-800-7MUSEUM
The Museum complex, the largest in New Jersey, weaves together 80 galleries of art and science, a mini zoo, planetarium, gift shops, cafe, auditorium, sculpture garden, schoolhouse and the Ballantine House, the restored 1885 mansion that is a National Historic Landmark.
The Passaic River Coalition
Join a growing number of citizens sharing their Passaic River stories and experiences. The site includes personal reflections, history, geology, and message board.
Paterson Museum
2 Market Street
Paterson, NJ 07501
Phone: (973) 881-3874
Fax: (973) 881-3435
The museum includes a large collection of minerals and local history artifacts with an emphasis on the industrial history of Paterson.
Paterson Great Falls Historic District
Paterson Friends of the Great Falls, Inc.
13 1/2 Van Houten Stree
Paterson, NJ 07505
Phone: (973) 225-0826
Fax: (973) 225-0011
The Great Falls / S.U.M. National Historic Landmark district is an 118-acre historic industrial site, located 12 miles west of New York City. It is home to the largest and best example of early manufacturing plants in the United States.
Ringwood Manor
Sloatsburg Road
Ringwood, NJ 07456
Phone: (973) 962-2240
During the American Revolution, Robert Erskine managed the three principal ironmaking plantations from his headquarters at Ringwood. Siding with the Patriot cause, he became General Washington’s map maker. The Colonial Manor House at Ringwood saw at least 5 visits from General Washington.
Wayne Township Historical Commission
533 Berdan Avenue
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
Phone: 973-694-7192
Wayne has six historic houses that are on the State and National Registers:
Schuyler-Colfax House
Dey Mansion
Van Riper-Hopper House
Mead-Van Duyne House
Van Saun House
Ryerson House
In addition, there are twenty historically significant sites in the township.
Wortendyke New World Dutch Barn Farm Museum
13 Pascack Road
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
Phone: (201) 336-7267
This fine example of a historical barn, known in the vernacular architecture as a “New World Dutch Barn,” offers indoor exhibitions about local agricultural history from the 18th through the mid-twentieth centuries. The Museum is open from late April through late October, on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sundays from 12 to 4 P.M.
Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center
On the campus of Montclair State University
8 Quarry Road
Little Falls, New Jersey 07424
Phone: 973-655-2377
Fax: 973-655-6894
Houses permanent and rotating exhibits about baseball and Yankee history as well as Yogi Berra’s storied career. The facility includes a colorful, stadium-like theater which is the hub of educational forums and public events.
Revolutionary War New Jersey contains 7 years of comprehensive research and photos of 230 towns in all New Jersey counties. The mission of the website is to encourage the study of and provide historical information about NJ’s critical role in the American Revolution. The website also serves as a tour guide to history lovers, families, travelers, and anyone interested in a worthwhile New Jersey day trip.