P. O. Box 613
Westfield, NJ 07091
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Phone: (908) 654-1794
Email:
info@westfieldhistoricalsociety.org
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Westfield Historical Society
Since its founding in 1969, the Westfield Historical Society has pledged to preserve, interpret and encourage community interest in the history of Westfield. The Westfield Historical Society offers many activities including lunchtime programs, tours, and personalized research assistance.
Visit the Reeve History & Cultural Resource Center at 314 Mountain Avenue or the Archives at 302 Elm Street, 3rd floor.
We invite you to become a member!
- Westfield Historical Society Brochure - Become a Member!
- -The Reeve House Project
- Early Westfield Chronology
- The West Fields
- Assets of the Westfield Historical Society
- The Famous Westfield Town Bell
- The Town Clock
- The Birth of a Town: Westfield, New Jersey 1900-1903* by Marcie R. Horowitz
- In Memory of H. Emerson Thomas
- Publications
- Save the Reeve House!
- Miller Cory House
- Miller Cory Official Site
- Geneaology - First Families of Westfield
- Curator's Corner
Hours
| Sunday | 1:00 PM | 3:00 PM |
| Monday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
| Tuesday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
| Wednesday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
| Thursday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
| Friday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
| Saturday | 00:00 | 00:00 |
Announcements
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – SPRING 2013
April 7 - Wild Greens and Spring Tonics
April 14 - The Art of Quilting
April 21 - The Art of Quilling and Craft for Children*
April 28 - Annual Sheep-to-Shawl Festival—1-4 p.m. (rain/shine)*
May 5 - Mother’s Day Floral Craft for Children*
May 19 - Fashion Dolls of the Period*
May 25 - Aunt Carrie’s Attic Sale (9a.m.-2p.m.) rain date: 5/26
June 2 - Theorem Painting Craft for Children*
June 9 - Father’s Day Craft for Children*
*Ideal for children
The museum’s Sunday programs are between 2:00 and 4:00 unless otherwise noted. Costumed docents are on hand to guide visitors through the 1740 farmhouse. Please ask about our weekday tours for groups and our Showcase of 18th Century Skills, which visits local schools with outreach craft and lecture programs. Open-hearth cooking demonstrations take place each Sunday in the Frazee Building. The museum office is open weekday mornings from 9:00a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Admission(unless otherwise noted): $3.00 for adults; $2.00 for children ages 3-12; children under age 3 are free.
Miller-Cory House Museum
614 Mountain Avenue
Westfield, New Jersey 07090
908-232-1776
Visit the Miller-Cory House Museum at 614 Mountain Ave. in Westfield, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 23, to celebrate Halloween Hocus Pocus. This program is ideal for young children. The museum’s costumed docents will greet visitors at the door of the colonial farmhouse. Activities for the afternoon include “decorate your own Halloween cupcake,” Halloween story-telling, tattoos, face painting, and two additional crafts for children to make at the museum and then take home. Festive refreshments will be served. Be sure to come in Halloween costume. $4 for children; accompanying adults are free. No reservations are necessary for any activity. 908.232.1776.
Mark your calendars for "Grandma Ginny's Antiques and Collectibles" sale taking place during the annual AppleFest at the Reeve History and Cultural Resource Center at 314 Mountain Avenue, Westfield, on Saturday, October 20 (rain date October 21), from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Chaired by Ginny Rorden of the Westfield Historical Society, the sale, open to the public, will feature appealing antiques and collectibles.
All monies raised go to support the varied activities of the Westfield Historical Society, as well as the Reeve History & Cultural Resource Center.
Individual membership in the WHS is $20.00 and family membership is $30.00. Tours and activities will take place during the AppleFest event and throughout the Fall and Spring. Volunteers are welcome. Friday evening programs are held at the Westfield Community Room. Wednesday luncheons with a speaker take place on the first Wednesday of the month.
For further information, contact:info@westfieldhistoricalsociety.org or phone 908-654-1794.
Photo caption: Antiques and Collectibles will be featured at the annual “Grandma Ginny’s Antiques and Collectibles Sale” taking place during AppleFest at the Reeve History & Cutural Resource Center on October 20 from 12 to 4 pm.
At the Town Council meeting held on July 10, former councilman Lee Hale, chairman of the Westfield Historical Society Hall of Fame Committee, told the council of the Westfield Hall of Fame's upcoming induction dinner to be held on September 13 at Echo Lake Country Club.
Mayor Andy Skibitsky, who presented Hale with a resolution in May 2011, noted Hale's "unsurpassed" volunteer work.
The Westfield Historical Society’s Hall of Fame Selection Committee has named 10 individuals/families for induction into the Westfield Hall of Fame. The nominees are recognized and honored for being accomplished in their fields as well as having made a significant impact on the town, state or nation.
The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail hour followed by light fare at 7:30 p.m.
Skibitsky will introduce the event and Jon Bramnick, Assembly Republican Leader, will be the master of ceremonies. Tickets are $50 each and are available by contacting the Westfield Historical Society at (908) 654-1794 or info@westfieldhistoricalsociety.org.
The 2012 inductees of the Westfield Historical Society Hall of Fame include:
1. Sam Downer Jr. (1760-1848) – Mr. Downer was a developer. He operated an inn for travelers on the New York/Philadelphia stagecoach line. His store was a central market for bartering farm produce. He was an original investor in the Elizabeth Town/ Somerville Railway and the Bank of Elizabeth Town. Sam was a Revolutionary War hero at the Battle of Springfield.
2. Charles D. Clark (1753- 1821) – Mr. Clark operated a general store on the corner of Broad Street and South Avenue where important townspeople could discuss local and state politics. Charles was vice-president of New Jersey in the regime of Governor Bloomfield. In the late 1700’s, when the Governor was out of state, he assigned the state seal to Clark - making Westfield the capital of New Jersey.
3. Charles N. Codding (1866-1925) – Mr. Codding was the first sophisticated leader of Westfield. He graduated from Yale. He was president of the Westfield Athletic Club and president of the Central Jersey Baseball League. He was a state assemblyman and chairman of the Union County Republicans. He played a major role in the change to “town” government from “city” Government in 1901.
4. Robert Bauer – Mr. Bauer was founder/chairman of Electrical Installations Inc., founder of an Elizabeth semi-pro football team and once owner of a 10-horse stable of racers. The Bauers were major contributors to Cornell University, Overlook Hospital and the Broad Street branch of the Westfield Y.
5. Robert N. Buck (1914-2007) – Mr. Buck began a flying career in 1929 at age 15. He broke the junior intercontinental air speed record in 1930. He was TWA’s chief pilot. During WWII he flew international routes and did thunderstorm and weather research. He was awarded the Air Medal by President Harry Truman and was inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame.
6. Bill Clotworthy – Mr. Clotworthy joined NBC as a page. He then spent 20 years in Hollywood where he worked with Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and Ronald Reagan. Later he returned to New York as the censor for the Cosby Show, Letterman, and Saturday Night Live.
7. Grover Connell – A Columbia University graduate, Mr. Connell spent two years on a destroyer in World War II. Postwar he joined the family firm – Connell Rice and Sugar. The firm grew to be largest rice exporter in the world. In 1975 the company expanded into financial services and leasing and became one of the world’s largest companies.
8. Gerry Glasser – Mr. Glasser is an internationally recognized expert on sampling and data analysis. He was founder and chief executive officer of Statistical Research, which grew to be a major market research firm with 200 employees. He has been a major philanthropist through the Westfield Foundation, Overlook Medical Center, the Reeve History and Cultural Center and the Thomas Glasser Foundation.
9. The McGinley Family – They are a football and business dynasty. Ed McGinley, 2nd, was an All-American at Penn and played for the NY Giants. Ed McGinley, 3rd, was an All-County tackle on the undefeated 1945 Westfield High School team. Rick McGinley was an All-State running back at WHS, scoring 46 touchdowns (still a school record). Gerry McGinley was an All- State end at WHS, and an All-American center at Penn State. All four McGinley’s had significant business careers.
10. Robert L. Rooke (1891 – 1994) – Mr. Rooke was a compatriot of Charles Merrill in Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane in 1919. He was credited with exiting the market before the “crash.” The firm grew to be one of the top financial institutions in the world. He donated the Rooke Pool to the Westfield Y in 1928 and the Rooke Chapel and a chemistry building at Bucknell University.
The 2012 inductees join a prestigious list of current Hall of Fame members including: Charles Addams, Charles Apgar, Dr. Virginia Apgar, Charles P. Bailey, Garland C. (Bud) Boothe, Emma Bridges, Robert Clotworthy, The Devlins (Harry and Wende), Edward Ellsberg, The Fairbairn Family, Robert Hoffman, Sigismund Ivanowski, Gary Kehler, The Pearsalls, Dr. Charles Philhower, William Reeve, Anne Revere, H. Emerson Thomas, Jeff Torborg, Charles Wallace, and The Welch Family.
The 2012 Hall of Fame Committee members included: Mr. Hale, Wally Brown, Sherry Cronin, Rich Elbert, Bill Foley, Jane Francz, Michael LaPlace, Roger Love, Don Mokauer, Virginia Rorden, Lowell Shantz, and Ed Wittke, Jr.
For more information on the Westfield Historical Society or to become a member, call (908) 654-1794 or e-mail the society at info@westfieldhistoricalsociety.org.
Sunday, May 6
Open for house tours - 2:00 to 4:00. Miller Cory House Museum, 614 Mountain Avenue, Westfield, NJ. Admission $3.00 for adults; $1.00 for students; children under four free. For more information call 908-232-1776 or email millercorymuseum@gmail.com.
Sunday, May 20
"Cleanliness is in the Mind of the Beholder" - 2:00 to 4:00. How recent is our attention to personal hygiene? Just how "aromatic" were our colonial ancestors? Visit the museum for a fun look at 18th century bathing, grooming and beauty routines, and other "personal upkeep" practices. The program is appropriate for children. Also included are tours of the fully furnished, 1740 era farmhouse and 18th century open hearth cooking demonstrations in the museum’s Frazee Building. Miller Cory House Museum, 614 Mountain Avenue, Westfield, NJ. Admission $3.00 for adults; $1.00 for students; children under four free. For more information call 908-232-1776 or email millercorymuseum@gmail.com.
Saturday, May 26 (rain date 5/27)
"Aunt Carrie's Attic Sale" - 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Museum's annual "garage sale" featuring collectibles, kitchen/household items, clothing, toys, books, linens, and much much more. Miller Cory House Museum, 614 Mountain Avenue, Westfield, NJ. For more information call 908-232-1776 or email millercorymuseum@gmail.com.
