Nutley Museum drawing by Ed Bridges, Nutley, NJNews and Historical Archives, Nutley, New Jersey

Nutley History

from the American Revolution to the Cold War

from Annie Oakley to the Red Cross Circus to the Morris Canal

from farmlands to Memorial Park to a Walk in the Park

from country club golf courses to a gated community

from the first ice cream cone to the ice house to heavyweight pro wrestlers

from a peach farm to a dozen homes and Radcliffe School

from a hole full of rocks to the Velodrome to a favored park ...

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley lived in Nutley, N.J. 1894

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley Once Lived in Nutley, New Jersey

Annie Oakley Lived in Nutley NJ


Nutley, NJ, 100 years, Est. 1902 - by Anthony Buccino

Nutley - the first 100 years

Working on the Morris Canal

How Nutley Received Its Unique Name


Vreeland Homestead

The Vreeland House, Chestnut Street, Nutley NJ

The Vreeland House changed hands in May 2012, when the Junior Woman's Club of Nutley turned over the property to the township of Nutley, N.J. The town placed oversight of the 200-plus year-old house in the hands of the Nutley Historical Society.

Read More Vreeland Homestead


Old Military Hall

 Old Military Hall, Nutley, NJ, Nutley Historical Society collection

OLD MILITARY HALL, has a divergent past filled with carousing as well has electioneering and troop drilling. First opened as a church called the Blue Meeting Hall, the building has also served as a dance hall, school, hotel, tax collector's office, roller skating rink, toting ball and meeting place.

Read More: Old Military Hall, Nutley, N.J.


The Longest Three Hours in Nutley History

Two Policemen Pulled from River, Town Worker Dies, in Effort to Save Boy from Flooded Third River


The Enclosure Artists Colony, Nutley NJ

The Enclosure Artists Colony

The Enclosure Historic District That Almost Wasn't

Artists of Nutley NJ


Nutley Museum Dedication Program

Former One-Room School House
Renovated by Town Volunteers

Nutley NJ Museum Dedication: Church St School Renovation


Lambiase Farm, Nutley NJ, Michael Lambiase photo

Lambiase Farm: The Last Farm In Nutley

Model of proposed Nutley Juniior High School on Ridge Road

How Lambiase Farm Became Radcliffe School, Not Nutley Junior High


Nutley Museum Dedication Program

Former One-Room School House
Renovated by Town Volunteers into Township Museum

Nutley NJ Museum Dedication: Church St School Renovation

Nutley's 50th Anniversary


Nutley Velodrome opening day, Nutley, NJ, Cycle Racing, Nutley Historical Society

Nutley Velodrome

In 1933, the world came to Nutley Velodrome as a premier venue for the grand sport of international bicycle racing. The greatest bike riders from around the world traveled to Nutley during the 1930s to compete at the wooden 'saucer' built by businessman and cycling enthusiast Joseph Miele.


Gen. George Washington retreat route along Passaic River

New Route 21 Highway Virtually Replaces Passaic River Riverbank Access in Nutley and Belleville

The extension of Route 21 northward through Belleville and Nutley as a six-lane high-speed freeway, bordering the Passaic River, became a reality in June 1957.


Camp Nutley
Army Anti-Aircraft Base in Nutley

Discussion and Video Debut

Nutley Historical Society encore discussion and new video detailing the History of US Army "Camp Nutley," officially known as Battery A of the 98th AAA Air Defense Battalion. From 1952 to 1957, the camp was located on the south side of Park Avenue.

Camp Nutley - The Army Anti-Aircraft Base in Nutley and video:  Camp Nutley, Battery A, 98th AAA Gun Battalion: I Was There


Help us to tell the full story

US Army 'Camp Nutley' aka Battery A of the 98th AAA Air Defense Battalion

Did you, or someone you know anyone who served in Nutley at Battery A of the 98th AAA Air Defense Battalion from 1952 to 1957?

The Nutley History Society is seeking former members and artifacts of this chunk of Nutley history in protecting the free world.

Share your story and preserve our history by sharing your tales of serving at the camp. Please call us at 973-667-1528 and leave your contact information.

The camp was located on the south side of Park Avenue near Route 21 where the ball fields, tennis courts and hockey rink stand today. Its four 90 MM radar controlled guns were assigned to defend the George Washington Bridge, just 11 miles away, from Soviet bomber attack.

98th AAA Air Defense Battalion @ Nutley Museum

AA shirt donated to the Nutley Museum by current Nutley resident and former Camp Clerk Thomas Mahon.


NUTLEY Yesterday - Today - Ann Troy & Vivian Noyes Fikus

Where all great study of Nutley history begins

NUTLEY YESTERDAY-TODAY by Ann A Troy, Vivian Noyes Fikus

Hardcover keepsake copies are available at the Nutley Museum


Ann Troy, Historian and Educator


Commuting by the Erie in the Old Days

Franklin Avenue Rail Station Derailment 1902 Nutley NJ


25 Nutley Sights You Can No Longer See

Allegri Ice Company

Artists of Nutley

Camp Nutley Army Base

Church Street School (The Museum)

Dutch Introduced Skating as Nutley Winter Sport

The Franklin Theatre, a 75-Year History of Films and Memories

 George LaMonte & Son National Safety Paper Company, Nutley, NJ

Guthrie's Ice Cream

How Lambiase Farm Became Radcliffe School, Not Nutley Junior High

Kingsland Park and UN Garden

Kingsland Park Waterfalls

Lambiase Farm: The Last Farm In Nutley

Marking Time During War 1918

Meet Chief Jay Strongbow

1968 Year In Review

Nutley Dairy Farms, Operated by the Steinlauf Family

Nutley Schools (to 1961)

Nutley Town Hall History

Nutley Post Office, wooden sign, Nutley Museum display, Nutley NJ, Nutley Historical Society

Nutley Was Born in Strife, Strategy and Secession

Nutley Velodrome

Nutley Was Setting for Indian Thanksgiving

Old Military Hall

Rooming Houses of Nutley NJ

Route 21 highway to Passaic replaces Nutley's riverbank open spaces

Seven Foot Baron Made Nutley’s First Ice Cream

UN Garden Drive For Funds

UN Garden Restoration

UN Garden and Kingsland Park

U.S. Presidents Visit Nutley

Van Riper Homestead

When Bicycling and Auto Races Were Popular

When Nutley Was a Golfer's Heaven

When Nutley Was a Quarry Town

Courtesy of Nutley Neighbors, a community magazine serving the residents of Nutley, N.J., and as noted


Red Cross League Amateur Circus at Eaton Stone Wonder Pavilion

Amateur Circus at Nutley, March 20, 1894, PS Newell illustrator


The circus that inspired a town

- Annie Oakley, Eaton Stone, Henry Bunner, and the Red Cross

On March 27, 1894, a unique fundraiser was held in Franklin Township [Nutley], New Jersey, to start a local Red Cross chapter. The Nutley Amateur Circus was staged in an old training pavilion on horseman Eaton Stone's 40-acre farm on the outskirts of town. Sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Stone, and HC Bunner were among the performers. Nutley Museum Director John Simko presents the history of the where, when, how, and who's who of this event. Nutley Senior Librarian Nick Van Dorn moderated the presentation.  Click for video.

1894 Circus that inspired a town, Franklin (Nutley) NJ


The Franklin Theatre, a 75-Year History of Films and Memories by David Wilson and John Demmer

 Nutley Library Presentation

Franklin Theatre, Nutley NJ


United Nations Garden, Nutley NJ

UNITED NATIONS GARDEN

UN Garden Drive For Funds

UN Garden Restoration

UN and Kingsland Park


History of Memorial Park

How Memorial park came to be

World War II Memorial


John Simko reveals Nutley history along the Yountakah River.

A Walk in the Park: Historic Nutley Walking Tour at Memorial Park with John Simko

May 28, 2017

More than two dozen locals brushed up Nutley history with “A Walk in the Park,” hosted by Nutley Museum Director, John Simko.

The walking tour stepped off on Sunday, May 28, 2017, at the Mud Hole (near the intersection of Passaic and Vreeland Avenues) and traveled along the Third River. 

Mr. Simko talked about the river’s role in Nutley history as a source for early industry, as an inspiration for world-class artists, as a symbol of civic pride, as an important boundary marker, and as a fitting memorial to our war veterans.

The tour visited the sites of three former mills as well as the pre-Revolutionary Van Giesen homestead. Those on the tour learned why the Third River splits in two, about the beginnings of our hundred-year-old Carnegie Library and even older Town Hall, and walked through one of Nutley’s oldest cemeteries. 

The tour concluded inside an 1875 brick schoolhouse (now the Nutley Historical Society and Museum). The museum was open for browsing, and tour-related museum objects were on display. 

Nutley Walking Tour conducted by John Simko

The real story of the Vreeland Manor is just one stop on the historic tour of Nutley led by NHS trustee John Simko. See Nutley Videos below.


Nutley Waterworks- the Mudhole Nutley Historical Society

Nutley Videos

Nutley Historical Society

John Simko, Museum Director

Walk In the Park, 2017

Nutley Public Library

Walk in the Park, Part 1

Walk in the Park, Part 2

Walk in the Park, Part 3

Walk in the Park, Part 4

Walk in the Park, Part 5

Walk in the Park, Schools, Part 6

Walk in the Park, School, Part 7

Walk in the Park, Womens Club, Part 8

Walk in the Park, Womens Clu, Part 9

Walk in the Park, Womens Club Interior Part 10

Walk in the Park, Womens Club Interior Part 11

Walk in the Park, Water, Part 12

M Walk in the Park, Mills Part 13

John Simko at the Mud Hole (2012)


Nutley Museum Director John Simko's online tour of the Nutley Museum, recorded December 5, 2020. Simko spotlighted the Annie Oakley collection and other select items featured throughout the Nutley Museum.

Online Nutley Museum Tour (2020)


Nutley Library History Talks

When Trolleys Rolled Through Town

La Monte Safety Paper Company


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Nutley Historical Society

Founded 1945

65 Church Street, Nutley N.J. 07110
973-667-1528

About Us

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Contact NHS via email

Contact Room Rental, via phone, not email, Call 973-667-1528

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Article Index


Nutley Author
Frank R. Stockton

Frank R. Stockton, author of novels and stories, lived in Nutley NJ

Frank R. Stockton Wrote The Lady or The Tiger, Rudder Grange

Nutley Library ‘Lady or Tiger’ Room Is Opened for Youngsters; Named for Frank Stockton; Noted Local Author

The Lady Or The Tiger? Mystery Revealed?

 


Grace Episcopal Church - Nutley Historical Society

LOST AND FOUND: Beautiful Buildings
That Once Graced Nutley

Lost and Found: Beautiful Buildings That Once Graced Nutley” curated by Art Director Barry Lenson of the Nutley Historical Society. It was on view at the library July-September 2014, as part of the Nutley Library Centennial.

Links subject to change


50 Years of Nutley Wrestling History - 2017

Guest speakers included Anthony Bowens AKA "Vigilante" who wrestled his first match on April 13, 2013, in his hometown of Nutley and who later went on to win his first title on April 12, 2014, Sal Scarpa, brother of Joe AKA Chief Jay Strongbow, who brought lots of memorabilia. 

Nutley Wrestling History event photos and More

Meet Chief Jay Strongbow


Nutley Amateur Circus, 2016, David Gojart Dizdari, Mural Competition

Local Mural Competition Recalls Nutley Amateur Circus

March 26, 2016

Nutley Museum Director John Simko looks back at the Nutley Amateur Circus, a colorful fundraiser to help those in need more than 100 years ago. Although this event took place in 1894, it inspired a local mural competition unveiled in 2016 and installed at John Walker Middle School.


Fall Pumpkin Festival

October 15, 2017

Nutley High School Key Club students @ Nutley Historical Society, pumpkin festival.

The Nutley Historical Society thanks the Nutley High School Key Club students who wonderfully volunteered to help with our Pumpkin Festival.


Historical Society Supports Performing Arts' Annie Get Your Gun

Nutley High School, Nutley, NJ—Nutley High School Performing Arts presented three performances of Annie Get Your Gun at Nutley High School in March 2017.

Read the full story here


Washington School Students Tour Nutley Museum

Footprints: The Art and Life of Gary Erbe

'New Jersey Folk Revival Music - History and Tradition'

NHS receives $1,000 grant from Wells Fargo Foundation

NHS Board Member, Annie Oakley Expert Nancy Gruelich


Nutley in the News

Living in Nutley (view the slide show)

Annie Oakley's Home, Rich in History


Know Your Town, Nutley: Early History

By Jesse K. Bartel

The natural wilderness which was once Nutley was first disturbed by the tread of the Lenape Indians on their eastward migration from the west of the Mississippi...

Continue reading


Museum tours

The Ann A. Troy Gallery-Nutley Museum is open four times a year, and tours are available on request.

For school groups and private museum tours, please contact Suzanne Hagert 973-667-4270


Join now

Nutley Historical Society

Now is a great time to join or renew your Nutley Historical Society membership.

Thanks to all our members who supported the Nutley Historical Society’s events and activities.

If you are interested in volunteering to be on one of our committees or for any additional information, please call 973-667-1528.


Our trustees and docents continue to itemize, catalog and preserve as much Nutley history as we can.

If you have an item tied to our town's history, please consider donating it to the Nutley Museum.

Give us a call 973-667-1528, or email us to get together.


Also of Interest in Nutley, N.J.

Kingsland Manor

Van Riper House Trust

Nutley Little Theatre

Nutley Historic Preservation Committee


Web site development & maintenance
provided at no cost to Nutley Historical Society,
sponsored by:

Nutley Sons Honor Roll

Email Webmaster

Links are subject to change

Contact NHS via email

Contact Room Rental, via phone only, not email, Call 973-667-1528


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For Room Rental: Call 973-667-1528


Email Contact - Nutley Historical Society

The Nutley Historical Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serve the educational, cultural and historical needs of our community.

65 Church Street, Nutley N.J. 07110
973-667-1528

Copyright © Nutley Historical Society

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Nutley Notables in two volumes: 

The men and women who made a memorable impact
on our home town, Nutley, New Jersey

Nutley Notables:  The men and women who made a memorable impact on our home town, Nutley, New Jersey   Nutley Notables, Volume Two by Anthony Buccino