Community Outreach Projects
The Society has several programs that you can become involved in. We always welcome volunteers!
Oral History Project
Madisonians who would like to share their experiences of growing up in Madison or an historic event that happened during their lifetime are invited to be recorded. The oral histories will be used by researchers interested in the history of Madison and its families. Some parts of the recordings may be used in the Madison History Museum which is set to open in 2025.
You can either join the committee and/or be recorded.
250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War
You are invited to join this committee that is working with the State to include the historic places in Madison for the celebration in 2026. It will be a year-long celebration.
Young People Programs:
If you have a group that would benefit from one of these programs, call us at 973-377-0722 X8 or email at historicalsociety@rosenet.org
Each year a classroom program for Second Grade students is held. The program includes an introduction to the Society and its history, examples of historical clothing, photos of historical Madison buildings and a history of the Madison's rose industry which gave the town its name, the "Rose City". This is a program where we need volunteers that would be willing to present the material in the classroom.
A program has been designed to be held at a Cub Scout pack meeting. The program introduces the Society to the scouts and explains why it is important for them to know the history of their town. The group is divided into small groups that attend a sequence of ten minute presentations of photos and artifacts on subjects of historical interest with the town. We are always looking for volunteers to present this program.
Historical Society members have given a walk for a Brownie troop along Ridgedale Avenue and through Summerhill Park talking about the various historic houses and buildings. This has been used as part of an "Historical Homes" merit badge.
High School Programs:
2023 History Scholarship winner Henrick Hamilton
The Madison Historical Society Scholarship worth one thousand dollars is awarded to the top Senior history student at Madison High School. The student is to be picked by the teachers in the history department and announced at the Senior Awards Ceremony.
Madison High School students have been treated to a talk on the Vietnam War from both an historical and a personal perspective by a Historical Society member that participated in the War.
On Madison High School Volunteer Day the Historical Society gives a tour of the Luke Miller House on Ridgedale Avenue for the students volunteering to clean up and put in plants around Summerhill Park which includes the area around the Luke Miller House.
Past Programs:
Book of the History of Madison
The Madison Public Library and the Madison Historical Society have been working together on adding and extending the history found in The Madison Heritage Trail: An Intimate History of a Community in Transition published in 1985. The new book Portrait of the Rose City: A History of Madison, New Jersey should be coming out in 2024. The committee was able to hire the same author to guide us in the writing of the new book, Dr. Frank J. Esposito.
Archaeological Study
The Historical Society ran wreath sales with a tour of an historic house to raise money for the archaeological study of the Luke Miller Forge. Students at Madison High School worked for three years with Dr. Ian Burrow, a professional archaeologist in the digging to find the original footprint of the forge where General George Washington and his troops had their horses shod. The area was found between the roadway and the small building presently on the site. Many of the Continental Army troops were encamped in Loantaka Valley during the winter of 1777. The location is near the present intersection of Woodland Road and Treadwell Avenue
