Bergen County Historical Society launches campaign to raise $3M for new museum
RIVER EDGE — The Bergen County Historical Society kicked off a $3 million fundraising campaign on Wednesday, Washington's Birthday, to build a permanent museum at Historic New Bridge Landing to display a collective history of New Jersey.
The group wants to complete the 3,850-square-foot, barnlike building in time for its semiquincentennial on Nov. 20, 2026.
"We do plan on having the construction completed by the 250th anniversary," said the historical society's Martha Morley.
What will the museum look like?
The society has the required state Department of Environmental Protection approvals, and the museum will match the other historic buildings on the 13-acre site along the Hackensack River.
What part did NJ play in American Revolution?
The bridge itself figures large in the history of the American Revolution. The year 1776 was rough for the American fight for independence. On Nov. 20, 1776, British forces crossed the Hudson River to invade New Jersey from New York. They landed at Lower Closter Landing, forcing the American troops to flee Fort Lee and begin their retreat across New Jersey, passing Van Horne's Grist Mill in Leonia and then crossing the New Bridge over the Hackensack River.
The retreat route took a portion of Gen. George Washington's Army across the New Bridge Landing site as the general led his troops across the state. They set up camp in today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania, before regrouping and attacking German mercenaries in Trenton.
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For the next several years, New Jersey and the New Bridge were on the front lines of the war, with numerous skirmishes and battles occurring throughout the region, a number of them emanating from the landing.
In September 1780, Washington used the Zabriskie-Steuben House on Kinderkamack Road for the 14,000-man-strong Continental Army headquarters. The new museum will serve to remind all why New Jersey is considered the crossroads of the American Revolution.
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What will the museum house?
It will house more than 4,000 original objects.
“It will serve to educate the public on the important role our area played as a Native American and Colonial settlement and also as a fort, encampment ground and military headquarters during the American Revolutionary War,” said Deborah Powell, museum chair and past president of the Bergen County Historical Society.
Historic New Bridge Landing had more than 100,000 visitors last year.
Construction is expected to start this fall. To donate, visit bergencountyhistory.org/donate.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County group kicks off drive to raise $3M for new museum
