Museum of Early Trades and Crafts
Encyclopedia
The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts is a non-profit educational institution in Madison
, New Jersey
. The museum's mission is:
The museum's historic structure, the Madison Public Library and the James Building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(as Reference #: 80002512).
in the 1940s, purchasing 18th and 19th century craft items that had been used on area farms that had started to become mechanized or converted to residential developments. The couple continued their collecting after moving to New Jersey
.
The museum's building, designed by the partnership of Charles Brigham
and Willard P. Adden of Boston, is a prime example of Romanesque Revival; the building, a gift to the town of D. Willis James, was completed in 1900, and was used as the town's library until the 1960s when it was acquired by the Lands as a site for the museum.
The museum underwent an extensive renovation project in the 1990s, funded by a million-dollar fundraising effort, to bring the facility up to date in its century-old structure. As part of the renovation project, the museum received a $240,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust towards interior restoration that would allow the public to appreciate the building's "most dramatic architectural features--groined vaulting, decorative stained glass and stenciling, fireplaces, handsome light fixtures and intricate woodwork" which had been hidden by architectural changes made over the intervening years since its construction a century earlier.
s, hayfork
s, cradle scythes, and the ice saws used to cut and collect ice from the surface ponds in an era before refrigeration.
The museum's most popular programs involve craftspeople — such as carpenters, coopers and blacksmiths — demonstrating the use of these tools in the performance of their professions.
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The museum's mission is:
- To enhance the understanding and appreciation of America’s past by presenting and interpreting the history, culture and lives of ordinary people through educational programs, through preservation and stewardship of our collection, and through exhibition and demonstration of the trades and crafts practiced in New Jersey from its earliest settlement.
The museum's historic structure, the Madison Public Library and the James Building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(as Reference #: 80002512).
History
The museum was founded in the 1960s in the former site of the Madison Public Library to house a collection of over 8,000 tools and artifacts used in New Jersey before 1860 that had been collected by Agnes and Edgar Land. The couple started their collection on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in the 1940s, purchasing 18th and 19th century craft items that had been used on area farms that had started to become mechanized or converted to residential developments. The couple continued their collecting after moving to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
The museum's building, designed by the partnership of Charles Brigham
Charles Brigham
Charles Brigham , was a prominent American architect.- Life :Born, raised, and educated in Watertown, Massachusetts, he apprenticed to the Boston architect Gridley J.F. Bryant. Brigham served as a sergeant in the Union Army during the American Civil War, then began work for John Hubbard Sturgis...
and Willard P. Adden of Boston, is a prime example of Romanesque Revival; the building, a gift to the town of D. Willis James, was completed in 1900, and was used as the town's library until the 1960s when it was acquired by the Lands as a site for the museum.
The museum underwent an extensive renovation project in the 1990s, funded by a million-dollar fundraising effort, to bring the facility up to date in its century-old structure. As part of the renovation project, the museum received a $240,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust towards interior restoration that would allow the public to appreciate the building's "most dramatic architectural features--groined vaulting, decorative stained glass and stenciling, fireplaces, handsome light fixtures and intricate woodwork" which had been hidden by architectural changes made over the intervening years since its construction a century earlier.
Exhibits and programs
Artifacts on exhibit at the museum include such items as buckets, powder hornPowder Horn
Powder Horn may mean:* Powder Horn , the device for carrying gunpowder*Powder Horn , the Venturing training program offered by the Boy Scouts of America...
s, hayfork
Pitchfork
A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...
s, cradle scythes, and the ice saws used to cut and collect ice from the surface ponds in an era before refrigeration.
The museum's most popular programs involve craftspeople — such as carpenters, coopers and blacksmiths — demonstrating the use of these tools in the performance of their professions.