New Bergen Co. Museum To Illuminate NJ's Rich Past

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A new museum in Bergen County will preserve and exhibit more than 4,000 original objects that shine a light on several centuries of New Jersey history, according to the Bergen County Historical Society.

A capital campaign to raise $3 million for the museum at Historic New Bridge Landing in River Edge was announced Monday, BCHS spokesperson Martha Morley said. Construction, which will rely on donations for funding, is slated to begin in fall 2023, according to a fundraising appeal.

Plans for the museum were solidified about 10 years ago, Morley said. After Superstorm Sandy, she added, it became more apparent that a secure storage space would be essential to protect the society's collection.

The campaign goal, as written in the appeal, is to build a "world-class, permanent museum" that will provide exhibit and storage space, and theater and orientation space, and serve as a "cultural heritage site."

Some of the display space will include hands-on interaction and engage visitors digitally to "enhance learning," spokesperson Morley said.

“(The museum) will serve to educate the public on the important role our area played as a Native American and Colonial Settlement and but also as a fort, encampment ground and military headquarters during the American Revolutionary War," Museum Collection Chair and BCHS past president Deborah Powell said.

Site plans for the museum, which were completed and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, call for a 3,850-square-foot barn-styled building.

“The new museum will help to grow attendance to more than the 100,000 visitors we receive each year” Powell added.

For more information on donating, please contact Martha Morley at 201-493-7996 or email bergenhistorymuseum@gmail.com.