Hamilton House Museum

Hamilton House Museum Hamilton House Museum is a historic house museum, listed on the State and National Registers of Hist

In honor of Halloween this year, we're pulling out one of our spookier objects. This is a stereoscope card from a series...
10/31/2023

In honor of Halloween this year, we're pulling out one of our spookier objects. This is a stereoscope card from a series called the Diableries, which were produced over a 20-year period starting sometime in the 1850s. The collection is sometimes dark and other times funny, but all relate to the social and political events of France during this period. Issued sometime around 1870, this card may have meant to satirize the pervasive concerns about emerging science and technology.

Check out our friends at The Wayne Museum and Dey Mansion Washington's Headquarters for more spooky adventures in our museum collections!

While our museum remains closed, we've taken our much-loved educational program into the Clifton Schools! Our staff is e...
10/12/2023

While our museum remains closed, we've taken our much-loved educational program into the Clifton Schools! Our staff is excited by the opportunity to inspire a love of history in our Clifton 3rd Graders.

During our recent visit to Clifton School 9, we noticed this photograph. While the museum's collections have a number of historical photographs showcasing the city's schools, we haven't seen this one! We thought it was a great opportunity for . Thank you School 9 for sharing a love of history with us! Best of luck in the school year to all of Clifton's Students! 😍📚🤓

With the start of fall around the corner, we’d like to discuss all sorts of crops that were harvest around this time her...
09/27/2023

With the start of fall around the corner, we’d like to discuss all sorts of crops that were harvest around this time here at the Hamilton House Farm! Common crops that would be found here are apples, potatoes, pumpkins, melons, and corn. Here we have a photo of the Hamilton House farm back in 1910 during harvest season. Self-sufficient farms were an important part of life in the past, and they continue to be important now. While you might not have a farm, you can always dream up plans for your very own garden!

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Happy National Punch Day!Our historical recipe for this month is a delicious Hot Punch recipe from Mrs. Beeton's Book of...
09/20/2023

Happy National Punch Day!

Our historical recipe for this month is a delicious Hot Punch recipe from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. Partake in moderation, friends. Mrs. Beeton reminds us in the "Servings" that such drinks can affect each of us quite differently. Happy, and safe, sipping!

Despite what you think, this is not a dental tool. It's actually a button hook. In the Victorian and Edwardian periods, ...
09/13/2023

Despite what you think, this is not a dental tool. It's actually a button hook.

In the Victorian and Edwardian periods, buttons were a very common fastener for clothing and footwear. Button-fastened clothing in this period was often made to be tighter than modern clothing with more flexible fasteners and items often included many buttons close together. Boots, for example, could include up to fifteen buttons per shoe. Button hooks provided a quick, easy way to fasten buttons, as they essentially were just a small hook at the end of a pole set in a (frequently decorative) handle. To secure buttons, the user would slip the hook through the buttonhole, set the hook around the button, then pull it all back through the buttonhole and remove the hook, leaving the button in place.

Our sister site, Dey Mansion Washington's Headquarters is getting some love from the Paterson Great Falls National Histo...
09/07/2023

Our sister site, Dey Mansion Washington's Headquarters is getting some love from the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park today. Have you been to these amazing sites? A visit to each provides a day of incredible history and scenery. Plan your visit soon!

School is back in session! In honor of the start of the school year, we've selected a photograph from the early 20th cen...
09/06/2023

School is back in session! In honor of the start of the school year, we've selected a photograph from the early 20th century. Here, we see Patrolman Sastick and two Safety Patrol Students from Clifton School 15, which even today sits right down the road from Weasel Brook Park. A very happy school year to all of our Clifton Students! Remember - no running in the halls!

Mortising became “easy” with this hand cranked machine. The operator sat on the extended board area, facing the crank. T...
08/30/2023

Mortising became “easy” with this hand cranked machine. The operator sat on the extended board area, facing the crank. Then, they would hold the handles and turn them, moving the drill down and into the wood. This would cut a hole or a recess into the timber that was meant to receive the projecting part, a tenon, on another beam or board. Mortising became even easier in the 1860’s when another model was introduced into the market that could be adjusted so that it could drill at a variety of angles.

The model at Hamilton House Museum was made by the Snell Manufacturing Company in Fiskdale, Massachusettes.

On this day in 1806, Margaret Smellegar Hamilton was born! Happy Birthday Margaret! ...
08/23/2023

On this day in 1806, Margaret Smellegar Hamilton was born! Happy Birthday Margaret!

Summer is nearly at its end, and so is corn season! Have you had any sweet corn yet? The Hamilton family grew corn on th...
08/16/2023

Summer is nearly at its end, and so is corn season! Have you had any sweet corn yet?

The Hamilton family grew corn on their farm in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, it wasn't meant to feed the family. Instead, they grew corn to feed their dairy cows. Here's a photograph of the family and their workmen harvesting "silo corn" that was turned into silage. Silage is grass or another type of crop (in this case corn) that was harvested and then stored in an airtight silo, causing it to go through a fermentation process. This would give the family food for the herd when the pastures weren't rich with grass.

This month's recipe showcases our favorite vegetable that would have been seasonally available on the Hamilton family fa...
08/09/2023

This month's recipe showcases our favorite vegetable that would have been seasonally available on the Hamilton family farm. Potatoes! If you're looking for an easy tasty recipe to add to your summer meals, check out Potatoes A la Matire d'Hotel, from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, originally published in one volume in 1861.

The two tined fork is a fork that has two prongs rather than the normal four. This kind of fork is often used to hold do...
08/02/2023

The two tined fork is a fork that has two prongs rather than the normal four. This kind of fork is often used to hold down meat, or spearing meat. This was the normal look for a fork until around the 17th century where three and four pronged forks we are used to emerged.

Address

971 Valley Road
Clifton, NJ
07013

Opening Hours

Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19737442608

Website

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