In Montclair: Crane House, Historic YWCA Museum Open for Tours

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Montclair History Center. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

The Crane House & Historic YWCA museum at the Montclair History Center is open every Sunday for self-guided tours from 12-3 pm for the public (closed holidays). Self-guided tour admission is $8/person; children under 2 are free.

Specialty docent led tours are offered once a month. Stop by this Sunday, September 15th for our guided house tour: Many Voices. Hear the many voices of the men and women who lived, worked, and played in the house throughout its 226-year history. While you’re here, explore unique gifts in the Museum store, herbs in the Landsberger Learning Garden, and visit the chickens at Montclair Community Farms. Tours begin at 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm. All tours begin at the little red Nathaniel Crane House & Visitor Center located at the back of the parking lot. Admission is $12/adult, $10/student/senior, and $8/children under 18; children under 2 are free. MHC Members are free! No pre-registration needed.

Free admission programs include: Families First program, military personnel, NARM, MHC members and Montclair students. If you need financial assistance to visit our museums, just let us know!

About the Crane House & Historic YWCA Museum

The Crane House & Historic YWCA museum is a historic house museum that explores the history of our country from its early years as an independent nation to a country embroiled in the civil rights struggle. Built back 1796, the house was the Crane family home for over 100 years. In 1920, African American women in the community purchased the home as headquarters for a YWCA, a segregated space. It was a significant part of the African American community for four decades. By 1965, the YWCA desperately needed a new building. Local preservationists moved the house to its present location and turned it into a historic house museum. Today, we tell the stories of the three generations of Cranes and enslaved people and servants that were part of the household (1796-1800), the period when it was YWCA for Black women and girls, including boarders (1920-1965), and its transition to a museum telling the story of preservation in its formative years in America (1965-1970).

About the Montclair History Center

The Montclair History Center, formerly the Montclair Historical Society, is an independent not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1964. Montclair History Center shares stories of Montclair’s diverse and complex history through research, education, and programs. We connect the past with who we are today. For additional information, please visit the website www.montclairhistory.org or contact the Montclair History Center at 973-744-1796 or mail@montclairhistory.org.

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