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| | Many important donors and members favored erecting a headquarters building for MCHA on the lot occupied by the Red Bank high school at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Harding Road. This large structure, dating from 1901 and facing on Branch, was torn down in 1977.
MCHA Archives. | |
120th Anniversary Series 1918-1928 The Monmouth County Historical Association entered its third decade of activities with a robust membership and several thousand dollars in the bank. Its headquarters remained in the Davidson Building on Broad Street in Red Bank, where the organization housed its growing and important collection of historical manuscripts, books, and memorabilia. Meetings that featured one or more guest speakers continued to be held monthly from May through October. The geographic range of where they took place expanded to include locations from Keyport and Matawan on the north to Spring Lake on the south, and west as far as Freehold and Manalapan. Old Tennent Church and the Shrewsbury Friends Meetinghouse still proved popular with the membership. By mid-decade, regional Vice Presidents were being elected from many major towns in Monmouth County. One topic that came up in nearly all meetings of the trustees and the membership during these years was how to construct a suitable headquarters building for the Association, and where it should be located. This issue was of special interest to Edward Dean Adams (1846 - 1931), an important businessman whose imposing Rumson estate that still stands was named Rohallion. Adams served as a trustee from 1917 to his death, as a Vice President representing Rumson, and as Interim President of the Association in 1917. At a general meeting held on 31 May 1917, President Adams presented two proposals for a permanent home - a long-term lease on the Friends Meetinghouse in Shrewsbury which was not then in active use, or construction of a fireproof annex on the Navesink Memorial Library then being erected. At a subsequent trustees meeting, "the Board unanimously considered it inexpedient at the present time to undertake the financial responsibilities involved in either plan, and while deeply impressed with the importance of a permanent home, they felt that when action is taken it should be with a view to locating not only centrally for the population of the County, but if possible in near relation with some Educational Institution . . ." |
Mistletoe Be of good cheer!
The Taylor-Butler House is decking its halls and throwing open its doors for the 2nd Annual Mistletoe
Come join in the merriment! |
Historic Four Corners Lantern Tours Tour the Historic Four Corners in Shrewsbury on Friday, December 7!
The Tavern Museum at the Allen House will open its doors to weary stagecoach travelers on this cold winter evening as it would have in the 18th century.
Reservations are required through Christ Church (732) 742-1227. Tours leave at 6 pm and 8 pm beginning at Christ Church. Tickets are $24 for adults and $12 for children. |
| | | Bruce (front left) with the Castiles, 1967, Courtesy of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. Before Bruce became synonymous with Asbury Park, he and the Castiles often practiced at the Center Street, Freehold Borough home of manager Tex Vinyard and his wife, Marion. | |
Springsteen: His Hometown Bruce Springsteen will be the subject of a unique exhibition at the Museum in Freehold next fall. "Springsteen: His Hometown" will take a comprehensive look at the rock icon's life and his impact on music and culture. It will be the largest exhibition drawn from the artifacts of The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University (The Archives) ever to be mounted in the Boss's home state. Freehold is, of course, the town he called home from his birth until his late teens. The exhibit's unveiling will coincide with the artist's 70th birthday as well as the centennial of Freehold Borough. Items included in the exhibition will range from personal scrapbooks handmade by Springsteen's mother to alternate album covers never before seen by the public. Oral histories from The Archives will lend unique perspectives from those in Springsteen's orbit (and legends in their own right), including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, surfing legend and early Bruce manager Carl "Tinker" West, "Born to Run" drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter, and more. "Springsteen: His Hometown" will be curated by Melissa Ziobro, Monmouth University's Specialist Professor of Public History in conjunction with The Archives. She was recently guest curator of MCHA's critically acclaimed "Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers." Melissa will be given unfettered access to the Archives for this project. Eileen Chapman, Director of The Archives and Robert Santelli, founding director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles will also serve as advisors to the exhibit. "We are thrilled that two distinguished authorities in all things Springsteen have accepted Professor Ziobro's request to contribute their expertise to the exhibit" said MCHA Board of Trustee's President Linda Bricker. "Our goal is to ensure that 'Springsteen: His Hometown' truly captures the essence of "the Boss" in a unique and engaging way." |
| | | Portrait of Charles Morgan, gift of Mrs. Theodore Blackwell Morgan, 1938 |
Hidden in Plain Sight: A Micah Williams Discovery
Call it CSI: Monmouth County History. Who painted the portrait illustrated here, depicting Charles Morgan of South Amboy? In a 120 year-old collection as large and diverse as that of Monmouth County Historical Association, exciting discoveries can be made. During a 2017 evaluation of all the paintings owned by MCHA, a close scrutiny of the portrayal of Mr. Morgan revealed the possibility that the artist may be noted New Brunswick artist Micah Williams (1782-1837).
Since the early 1950's, Williams has been the subject of extensive study. Most noted for drawing pastel portraits on paper, more recent investigation has revealed that later in his career he also ventured into portraits in oil and canvas. The Association owns twenty-four portraits in pastel, and one in oil, by Williams. In the years leading up to MCHA's landmark retrospective exhibit on the artist, held in the Freehold museum in 2013, works by Williams in numerous museums and private collections were scrutinized. Somehow, this likeness of Charles Morgan, painted around 1826 and donated to MCHA in 1938, remained tucked away. Once the discovery was made, intrepid experts worked to solve the case. One determining clue was a portrait of an older brother of Charles Morgan that was painted by Williams a few years previous to that of Charles and done in the artist's more typical pastel medium. The two brothers shared similar round faces and sandy colored hair combed forward. Also, there are three oil portraits by Williams in private collections that show his subjects sitting on sofas with carved arm volutes similar to the chair pictured in Morgan's portrait. Lastly, the techniques used and treatment of the face, eyes and hand positions are consistent with many other works by the prolific 19th century artist. Charles Morgan, the gentleman who sparked this enquiry, was born in 1808 to General James Morgan and his wife Ann Van Winkle. He married Elizabeth Blackwell in Trenton in 1832 and they resided in South Amboy Township, Middlesex County, where they raised five children. Charles spent his life as a farmer and passed away in September of 1852 at the age of 44. Little did he know the role he would play in an important discovery in the art world. Case closed. |
If you would like to learn more about your company's matching gift program or leaving MCHA a gift in your will please contact us directly at 732-462-1466 or email giving@monmouthhistory.org |
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Monmouth County Historical Association received an operating support grant from the
New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. |
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