Somerville Historic Advisory Committee

08/29/2026

Here's a great vintage view of the "Old York Road", which you'll recognize as Main Street Somerville, looking east. It is one-half of a stereograph--a postcard showing horsedrawn vehicles on West Main. It was likely shot near the intersection of Division Street with West Main, judging by the 2nd Empire roofline of the corner coffee house and the brick Italianate commercial buildings still standing today. They allow us to date the image to the 1880s. There's no publisher's name. Interesting that they thought this section of the still unpaved Main Streets photoworthy.
Stereoscopes allowing 3-D views of scenery and sites became popular in the US after 1863, when inexpensive devices were developed and popularized to allow "armchair" sightseeing in the US. It later became a toy. Many of us had plastic View-Master versions with circular slide cards as kids, which wre introcuded at the 1939 NY World's Fair

08/27/2026

The Borough will again participate in the County Cultural and Heritage Commission's Journey to the Past event this fall. http://www.schistoryweekend.com/
Borough Hall (aka the Daniel Robert Mansion and Elk's Ballroom wing) will be open to the public for guided tours. In addition to telling the story of our amazing Gothic Revival buiding and hearing about recent and planned restoration, HAC has some new exhibits to show off: A new case displaying Somerville momentos of past businesses and the series of nostalgic Somerville collectible prints of our iconic landmarks commissioned by the Somerset Trust for the BIcentennial (that's right, 1976). Save the date and plan to stop in.

Make a vibrant connection to history at Somerset County's Annual Journey Through the Past! During this free, family-friendly weekend of activities, Somerset County invites you to:

08/23/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HT5qwtfRL/
Looks like Somerville kids were having a great time at this book program by local author and former HAC member Rob Ambroseb. The program was held just before the abrupt closure of the local Somerville branch library which was operating on the first floor only of the library space which has now been closed.

08/21/2026

One of Somerville's claims to fame in the 20th century (but not the first) was the creation of the "Tour of Somerville" bicycle race which became an American classic and a memorial to lives of two young champions who lost their lives in WWII. The Tour was the life's work of "Pop" Kugler who carefully documented in a 2 volume set of scrapbooks. Digitized with the help of the tecnical services group of Somerset County Library and the careful stewardship of "Ronski", HAC and Fire Museum member and Tour of Somerville volunteer and enthusiast. Here are the links---bookmark them! Hope someone is keeping up the tradition of docmenting the more recent races in honor of Pop's legacy.
Scrapbook 1: https://library.biblioboard.com/collection/c03386fc-5ede-47e4-9eda-3121c2528158
Scrapbook 2: https://library.biblioboard.com/content/b42ffdf9-4351-4105-866f-e524ceb5a86a

This scrapbook highlights the early history of the Tour of Somerville cycling race from 1940 to 1985. Founded in 1940 by Fred Kugler, the race was cleverly designated a “tour” to comply with state law and take place on Somerville’s Main Street. After a pause during World War II (1943–1946), ...

08/19/2026

Members of the local community might not be aware, but the woman that many knew as the school librarian at Vanderveer, and later, Trustee of RVCC and founder of the college's Paul Robeson Institute, Evelyn S. Field, was in the vanguard of integration in education and progress toward full civil rights. She is acknowledged on Rutgers University's Scarlet and Black page with her undergrad photo under her maiden name, which will be instantly recognizable to those that knew her. (Scroll to the second photo).

Emma Andrews and Evelyn Sermons arrive on campus Emma Andrews (’49) and Evelyn Sermons (’49) made history when they desegregated NJC’s residence halls in 1946, their sophomore year. Emma Andrews Emma Andrews, senior photo 1949 Emma Andrews, whose sister Constance Andrews graduated from NJC in ...

08/18/2026

Ordinarily, we try to restrict posts to Somerville topics, but given the close connections between Raritan and Somerville geographically and especially early in their history, sharing this excellent article (with permission) by Bruce Doorly on Raritan's WWII Heritage --which includes much more than the Basilone story.

08/17/2026

Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission has announced a 2nd round of its docent training program. Volunteers will be trained to help interpret the County's cultural and heritage sites. Link to apply; Registration closes on Friday, August 21, 2026. No prior experience is required to apply. Space is limited. To learn more, visit: somersetcountynj.gov/DocentProgram

Send a message to learn more

08/10/2026

As noted in a previous post, this 1891 photo booklet is available on line from the Library of Congress and the Internet archive. Great images of the grand Somerville homes (some of which still survive) and landscapes of places like "Finderne Park" that no longer exist.

Residence of Edwin Scott, Esquire, Altamont Place, 1891, from the book Towns of Somerville and Raritan.

08/09/2026

The booklet Towns of Somerville and Raritan referred to by Greg Gillette in his recent posts was published in 1891 by Somerset Press and is available for online viewing at the Library of Congress and the Internet Archive. https://www.loc.gov/item/01007861/. The Somerville Branch Library also has a paper copy, but since the branch is now closed, you can use these links. They contain images of many of Somerville's historic buildings, some of which survive, survive in modified form, or were replaced by more modern structures or were lost to fires. Several images of downtown buildings later were printed as postcards. In addition, there are panoramic view of the original fair grounds and "Finderne Park", once just beyond Somerville's official borders, and later developed as residential and business areass

Also available in digital form.