Collections

Morristown National Historical Park Library

The Morristown NHP Library and Archives represent, in large measure, the convergence of two separate collections. The first was with the founding of the park in 1933, when the park acquired the collection of the Washington Association of New Jersey.

Twenty-two years later, the park was again the beneficiary of another significant contribution when Lloyd W. Smith bequeathed his substantial archival and book collections to the park. Mr. Smith, an investment banker from Florham Park, NJ, spent nearly half a century collecting and bringing together representative samples of virtually every aspect of our western European cultural heritage.

In addition to the library holdings donated by the Washington Association of New Jersey, Mr. Smith's bequest in 1955 enables the park today to boast a library collection of nearly 50,000 volumes and an archive of nearly 250,000 manuscripts, journals, diaries, account books, letter books, military orderly books, inspection returns, muster lists, and other documents.

 

Accessing the Collection

You can access a virtual tour of our museum collection here.

Visit our Research page for information on using the park's collection for research purposes.

The park's Cultural Resource staff also hosts Primary Source Seminars. Click here for more information.

 

Special Exhibits

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  What's Cooking?

  More Than Just A Meal

  You can learn a lot about people by studying what they eat. Learn more through this special exhibit, now on display in the museum.

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  A Taste of History

  18th Century Recipes

  Ready to try a few colonial era recipes for yourself? See the original recipes and their modern interpretations here.