Bernardsville Through the Years: Then & Now

A fascinating exhibit of photographs, on view at Bernardsville Public Library during the month of February, will explore views of the town as it once was and as it is now. Images from the Library’s Local History Room photo files, in some cases taken over a century ago, will be paired with a recent view. There will be a public reception held on Friday, February 2 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.

The community of Bernardsville, originally called Vealtown, was settled in 1736. People began to take photographs of the landscape and buildings in the late 19th century. Edwin S. Spinning, an amateur local historian, collected many types of local memorabilia, including photographs. He left his extensive collection to the Bernardsville Public Library, and it became the nucleus of the Library's Edwin S. Spinning Local History Room. Over the years, photographs donated by local residents have built an archive that is heavily concentrated on the first half of the 20th century. With the advent of digital photography, few printed photographs are now available, and the Local History Room, in an effort to maintain an ongoing record of the community, began the "Then and Now" project. The Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission has generously given the Local History Room a grant to look at Bernardsville today and contrast it with the Bernardsville of years ago.

The "Then and Now" project has two phases. Phase 1 began with the selection of photographs depicting the town from the southern end traveling north on Route 202 from Borough Hall to the Bernards Township border. Local photographers volunteered to capture the same sites as closely as possible in 2017. For Phase 1, the focus was primarily on street scenes and commercial areas. The 52 photos documented in this show will eventually be available on the Library's website.

Phase 2, planned for 2018, will broaden the photo collection effort to residences. A frequently received request in the Local History Room is for information about a particular house or building. Using files of real estate photos taken between 1930 and 1955, the Local History volunteers are often able to provide information to homeowners. In Phase 2, local residents will be asked to provide a current photograph of their homes. In this way, between Phases 1 and 2, this particular time in Bernardsville will be documented and saved for future residents.

The Edwin S. Spinning Local History Room contains books, photos, postcards and maps with a concentration on the Somerset Hills. Bound volumes of The Bernardsville News from 1932 to 2002 are available; digital copies of the paper are also available. Bernards High School yearbooks, as early as 1909 and as recent as 2017, can be accessed. Records of births, deaths and marriages are maintained for research. Requests for information are received from all over the globe!

This program is made possible, in part, by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State through the State/County History Partnership Program Grant, and administered in Somerset County by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission.

The exhibition at Bernardsville Library will be on view February 2-27 during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.
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Attachment: This photo shows “then,” what is it now?