Welcome to our new blog where we’ll highlight exciting things happening at the Montclair History Center. We’ll share information about Montclair history and thank people and companies who have supported our mission of preserving, educating others about, and sharing Montclair history.

In this, our first blog post, we’re excited to announce that the first of our digital collections are now live. You can now browse some of our collections from the comfort of your own couch. This launch is the start of a long-term project that will give you greater access to the remarkable collections we have at the Montclair History Center.

We’ve started with several collections now online for you to browse:

Postcards: We have added digital images from our postcard collection, many of which have never been seen online before. Enjoy these fun images of Montclair from the early 1900s! Thanks to many volunteers who have scanned and digitized these postcards.

Quilts: The Montclair History Center has an excellent collection of quilts from the 18th, 19th, and 20th century. You can see them online and read what we know about their history. These photographs were taken during a joint project with the Nubian Quilters — Common Heritage, Uncommon Quilts — that was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Directories: Thanks to a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission and a partnership with the Montclair Public Library, we were able to digitize all of the directories in our joint collections. We have prepared all the directories that predate 1900 so you easily search through them online. We will add the remaining directories (1900-1969) to this collection throughout the year. In the meantime, all directories are available as PDF downloads from the Montclair Library website, and the physical editions can be found in the Albert P. Terhune Archives and Library.

Maps: We now have several tax maps you can look through on line. Use them to find out the history of the owners of your property or see how the town has developed.

Dudley Van Antwerp Collection: Dudley Van Antwerp was a prolific Montclair architect. Photos of his buildings can now be seen online. Special thanks to Majda Whittaker who curated this collection.

2025 UPDATE: Our Digital Collections have moved! You can now find all our digitized material online here: https://montclairhistory.catalogaccess.com/home