The New Jersey Historical Society is a

historical society A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future g ...

and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

located in Newark, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space, a gift shop, and a hall for lectures. The NJHS offers occasional Newark walking tours. The Society formerly published the

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

, ''New Jersey History''. Exhibitions can be found on the second and third floor while the library reading room is housed on the fifth floor, formerly the Essex Club squash courts The Society is open to the public. Members are free, while non-members pay an admission fee. Patrons visiting the library are encouraged to make an appointment. The current director is Steven Tettamanti.

History

The society was founded in 1845 at Trenton by intellectual and business leaders of New Jersey including Joseph C. Hornblower,

Robert Gibbon Johnson Robert Gibbon Johnson (July 23, 1771 – October 2, 1850), also known as Colonel Johnson, was an American gentleman farmer, historian, horticulturalist, judge, soldier and statesman who lived in Salem, New Jersey. He is especially renowned for t ...

Peter D. Vroom Peter Dumont Vroom (December 12, 1791 – November 18, 1873), an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician, served as the ninth governor of New Jersey (serving two terms in office; from 1829–1832 and 1833– ...

and William Whitehead. In 1846, the society relocated to Newark and has been there ever since. Its original headquarters in Newark were located on Market Street. In 1931 it left

Downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the Central Business District of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in the Passaic River. The first settlers, led by Robert ...

for a large colonial-style building partially paid for by

Louis Bamberger Louis Bamberger (15 May 1855 – 11 March 1944) was the leading citizen of Newark, New Jersey, from the early 1900s until his death in 1944. He and his sister Caroline Bamberger Fuld co-founded the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Ne ...

at 230

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, east of Branch Brook Park. In 1997 the Historical Society returned downtown, to 52 Park Place, on Military Park. The new home is a Georgian style building vacated by the Essex Club that was designed by

Guilbert & Betelle Guilbert and Betelle was an architecture firm formed as a partnership of Ernest F. Guilbert and James Oscar Betelle. The firm specialized in design of schools on the East Coast of the United States, with an emphasis on the "Collegiate Gothic" style ...

. The building was built in 1926 and had been added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on February 22, 1991. In its first year in the downtown location visits increased almost fivefold.

References

External links

The New Jersey Historical Society
{{authority control Culture of Newark, New Jersey State historical societies of the United States 1845 establishments in New Jersey History of New Jersey Organizations based in Newark, New Jersey History museums in New Jersey Museums in Newark, New Jersey Historical societies in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places

History

See also

References

External links