The Hoboken Historical Museum’s collections have well over 50,000 documents,
maps, drawings, books, photos, slides and objects. While the museum has been
collecting since 1986, formal accessioning and cataloging began in 2001. Since
2006, the Museum has offered an online version of its collections catalog. Here
users can access a database containing more than 10,000-plus records with 32,000-plus
images of books, ephemera, documents, photos, and artifacts, all in an easy-to-use
format with multiple methods to find out about Hoboken’s history. In 2008
the site logged more than 18,000 user searches.
We plan to add each year to the number of items available for on-line reference and research to the extent of our resources. This catalog also acknowledges the many donors who have enhanced the collections with their generous donations of Hoboken materials.
To help you get started click on this how-to pdf document.
The on-line catalog has several ways to search for information from the simplest (random images or keyword) to more involved search strings. A few minutes spent trying some of the options would be useful in finding your best strategy. You can return to the museum’s main page at any time by just clicking on the Museum logo at the top.You can print out many of your searches and images. Please note that on-line images are not high resolution and are for discovery and reference purposes only. In most cases they are watermarked and should not be reproduced without the permission of the Museum. Images of appropriate quality and without watermark are available in various formats, both electronic and print. Please inquire about availability and costs by e-mail collections@hobokenmuseum.org or by phone, 201/656-2260. Due to limited staff, response to research inquiries by phone or e-mail may be delayed. Research on a project basis can be done by hourly charge. Serious research may also be done in collections by appointment only.
Other Research Resources
New Jersey Division of the Newark Public Library
www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/njic.html
New York
Public Library.
Search the NYPL catalog on-line.
www.nypl.org.
Library of Congress. www.loc.gov Search the LOC catalog on-line.
The Library of Congress has a rich collection of historic Hoboken resources - pictures, drawings, illustrations and text. One of the Museum's favorite Library of Congress collections is the unforgettable Hoboken Piers Headhouse Collection of 72 South waterfront pictures, drawings and illustrations (in reverse chronological order, it appears). To explore the LOC's resources further, start with their home page and explore. Or, click on a hyperlink below, type "Hoboken" in the search field, press enter, and then click through a rich collection of Hoboken images:
The Library of Congress American Memory Program
LOC (Detroit Publishing Co. Collection of Prints & Photos)
LOC(Historic American Buildings Survey)
Hoboken Public Library. Connecting people with books and other information.
Search Google
Historical Links
The Changing Landscape of Hudson County, New Jersey
An excellent new website featuring historical maps of Hudson County and Hoboken.
Don't
click here unless you have plenty of time to surf. A fascinating site, with
pictures of the entire Hoboken shore - especially the Hudson Tea Building area!
The history of Steam Ships and Steam Power.
Learn where the first game of baseball was really played, and check out the earliest known picture of baseball being played on Elysian Fields. A must see for baseball fans and Hoboken history buffs.
A terrific site about The Great Hoboken Pier Fire of June 30, 1900.
Fire on Washington Street - Photos: Check out the horse drawn fire wagons!
Resources discussing New Jersey Transit's Hoboken Terminal Master Plan. Also check out this article.
A Hudson Valley history site, with an interesting section on contributions made by the Stevens family in developing steam engine technology.
Alexander Calder 20th-Century American sculptor and artist known for his mobiles. Steve's Institute of Technology alumnus (class of 1919). The Williams Library collection includes a Calder mobile.
Genealogy
Hudson
County GenWeb
A wealth of information of interest to
genealogists. Check out the Hoboken
link.
The goal of the Hudson County Genealogical Society is to promote the study of genealogy and history of Hudson County New Jersey, to collect, preserve and index this information in cooperation with local libraries and internet resources, and encourage adherence to the highest standards of research and documentation. We will strive to offer educational programs such as lectures, seminars and workshops.
A powerful genealogy resource.
The American Family Immigration History Center
Immigration data on more than 17 million people who immigrated through the port of NY from 1892 - 1924, the peak years of Ellis Island processing.