2006 Vol. 7 No. 2 Spring

Volume 7 • Issue 1 TheHistoricCounSpringt 2006y Newsletter of The Passaic County Historical Society Bloomingdale • Clifton • Haledon • Hawthorne • Little Falls North Haledon • Passaic • Paterson • Pompton Lakes • Prospect Park Ringwood • Totowa • Wanaque • Wayne • West Milford • West Paterson Lambert Castle Museum presents its new exhibition for the spring/summer entitled INSIDE THIS ISSUE D ressed In Character: Dressed In Character ................................ 1, 3 PCHS Annual Meeting ........................ 2 Masquerade And Expanded Summer Hours ................ 2 Whortendyke Family Farm Theatrical Costumes and Barn.............................................................................. 3 Passaic County Now and Then . 4 with Photographs Canal Society Exhibit................................ 4 from Saturday, April 29 through Sunday, August 27, 2006. Co. B, 2nd Rhode Island This new exhibition is located on the third floor in the Volunteers .................................................................... 5 changing exhibitions gallery. Bernardus Boreman Helped The Passaic County Historical this vivid eighteenth-century suit coat, Build Old Passaic ............................................ 6 Society is home to a vast array of which is displayed in the exhibition, Thank You Members ................................ 7 clothing, textiles, and fashion acces- provided the perfect costume for sories including some unusual the occasion. Thank You PCHS Volunteers .. 8 costumes that were fanciful- Embellishments were added ly worn to masquerade to the old suit, including PASSAIC COUNTY parties or at other elaborate lace fringe and HISTORICAL SOCIETY events, such as on a handmade mask and Halloween or at the hat were custom-fab- Lambert Castle Museum Easter parade. ricated to complete 3 Valley Road, Paterson, The wearing of the ensemble. New Jersey 07503 masquerade cos- Other costumes tumes provides an on display include Museum: (973) 247-0085 excuse for people several children’s Library: (973) 278-9337 to step outside of Halloween cos- themselves and tumes dating from FAX (973) 881-9434 become some- the 1920s and 1930s E-mail: thing unusual or that were donated otherworldly. This by PCHS member [email protected] was the case when, Marilyn Gray. in the late nine- These fun and Visit us on the web: teenth century, one colorful Halloween www.lambertcastle.org gentleman from outfits portray char- Paterson was con- acters such as Bo Peep, fronted with what to Lady Liberty and Marie wear to a costume party Antoinette. and finally decided on a The exhibition also features century-old man’s suit coat in dozens of historical photographs bold red with white stripes. Since from the PCHS archives of people costume rental stores were unknown dressed in a variety of costume, from at the time, to our Victorian gentleman Continued on page 2 PCHS Dressed In Character: Annual Meeting Continued from page 1 The Society’s annual meeting was 1960s Easter parade-goers with their Such is the case with a petit blue held in May and elections to the flamboyant hats to participants in the velvet acrobat’s costume worn by a Victorian-era novelty of ‘artistic’ pho- very young child that is part of the Board of Trustees and its Officers tography in which models were adorned exhibition. This child, the daughter were held. We welcomed several in costume for the camera. Other of Charles and Lena Egg of Paterson, new Trustees: Lorraine Yurchak, photographs depict all sorts of pe o p l e was Eleanor Egg who at a very Larry Korona and Gail Yannarelli. f rom Passaic County’ s past, festooned young age joined her parent’s acro- As always, we were saddened to in a variety of regalia. batic act known as ‘The Spauldings.’ see our President retire from the Eleanor later grew up to become an Board: Mrs. Maryjane Proctor. We accomplished athlete who was des- tined to represent the United States were also sad to say goodbye to at the 1932 Olympics. Eleanor’s Mr. Ken Brino and Mrs. Alice Booth hopes for a medal were quickly whose busy schedules no longer let dashed however when she incurred a them work actively on the Board. leg injury just before the team was to The Society is very grateful for all depart for Europe. A photograph of their work these many years. The Spauldings is included in the The meeting also saw election of exhibition, along with others that reveal typical costumes worn by New Executive Officers. Mrs. Doris magicians, comedians, jugglers, and Bauer as President. Her two Vice circus performers from the past one Presidents a re Mr. Sidney Lockwood hundred years. ❧ and Ms. Arlette Keri. The Tre a s u re r position was taken by M r. Robert This exhibition was made possible with Vermulen and Secre t a r y became support from the Jaqua Foundation. Mrs. Dorothy Decker. ❧ EXPANDED SUMMER HOURS ON WEEKENDS Please note that in the summer of 2006, during the months of July and August, Lambert Castle Museum will be open one hour Other historical cos- earlier on weekends only, tumes and photographs from Noon to 4 p.m. on display have their origins in the entertain- ment industry. B e f o re the advent of motion pictures and television, America was enter- tained by live theater in the form of stage plays, operas, vaudeville and the circus. Costume played a major role in creating the desired illusion or effect for these Charles and Lena Egg, also know as the Henrietta Weiss welcomes visitors. theatrical performers. ‘The Spauldings.’ 2 THE WORTENDYKE FAMILY FARM AND THEIR NEW WORLD DUTCH BARN Robert Cohen PCHS Trustee and Curator of Wortendyke Barn Museum In the year 1735, when the future first President of the posts using a tenon/mortise joint. Earlier Barns before 1810 fledgling United States was just three years, Frederick Jacobse used a scribe rule where the points met and each joint was Wortendyke Senior bought approximately 46 acres of farm- individually made. Roughly sometime after 1810, the square land acreage from Henrick Vanderlinda in the region of Old rule came into use, and all joints were universally made the B e rgen County called Pascack. same, thus square rule joints. F rederick descended from Cornelius Jacobse Stille who had The Wortendyke Barn was made using the earlier scribe emigrated from the United Province to New A m s t e rd a m , rule, there f o re, the Barn was most likely built prior to 1810. New Netherland in 1639. He had previously settled in New World Barns in general were built from 1680 – 1820 or a Tappan, but now decided upon a farm in Pascack. little after. The early Barns may have had thatch hay ro o f i n g Exactly when Wortendyke put up his barn is still debated, material, but virtually all roofs were made of wooden materi- but he probably used a variety of storage methods including al after experimentation with thatch. hay barracks, granaries, and maybe even an earlier barn. It is The Wortendyke’s farmed the area from 1735 until 1851. estimated that is was during After several generations of the late 18th or early 19th farming, their acreage was century when Wo r t e n d y k e reduced to 40. Wo r t e n d y k e family raised their jewel of a family members stayed in the New World Dutch Barn, a rea until 1901 when the last possibly the finest example Wortendyke surname left the in New Jersey and thro u g h- Park Ridge area. There are out the lower Hudson Wortendyke’s in other parts of Va l l e y. the country, including New New World Dutch Barns York State, Texas, the could be found thro u g h o u t Midwest, and Florida but the region of what was for- m y s t e r i o u s l y, it’s very diff i c u l t merly New Netherland— to find a Wortendyke surname f rom the Mohawk River and in the Bergen-Passaic area. If Scohairie Creek in upstate you know one, send them to New York along the Hudson the Barn which is open as a River—to what is now Bergen, Passaic, Monmouth, and B e rgen County Museum, with exhibits about the Barn, Old Middlesex Counties in Northern and Central New Jersey. B e rgen (which included Passaic County until 1837), farming T h e re may have been others built as far south as Delaware , history and maps, artifacts, tools, and pictures of the southeastern Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey. But Wortendyke Barn and farm. the Barns that have been discovered largely cover the north- A New World Dutch Barn once stood on the property of ern half of New Jersey and the Hudson River Va l l e y, ru n n i n g the Dey Mansion (Wayne), however, it was torn down during slightly north of Albany and along the Mohawk and the 1930’s. But there is still one that the author knows Schohairie are a s . of…..The Old Milk Barn in Wayne. For decades, serving as The Barn was entirely made of wood down to the nails, an ice cream bar on Hamburg Turnpike, stood a New Wo r l d called "trunnels" (tree nails). The woods used for the con- Dutch Barn. Thanks to the concerted efforts of local citizens, s t ruction were local indigenous hard woods such as oak, the Barn was saved, taken apart, and currently in storage tulip, poplar, hemlock, and white pine. The Barns were awaiting its new assemblage in the Wayne Township are a . based on those found in the Netherlands and parts of You may contact the Wayne Historical Commission and the G e r m a n y. Their building methods were brought over to the town Mayor and Council people to tell them you are behind New World by carpenters and farmers who emigrated to the its restoration at the earliest possible time.

Load more