Montclair History Center
A nonprofit local-history organization in Montclair, New Jersey, preserving historic buildings, collections, and community stories.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Montclair History Center is a local-history organization based in Montclair, New Jersey. Founded in 1965 as the Montclair Historical Society, it was established during a period when several historic properties in the community faced the risk of alteration or demolition. Its principal campus occupies 108–110 Orange Road and brings together three historically significant buildings: the Israel Crane House and Historic YWCA, the Nathaniel Crane House, and the James Henry Clark House. The organization’s central historic property is the Israel Crane House, a Federal Revival-style residence constructed in 1796 by Israel Crane on what is now Glen Ridge Avenue. The house remained in the Crane family until 1920, when it was acquired by the YWCA. For the following 45 years, it served as offices, dormitory space, and a social center for Black women and girls. In 1965, local preservationists organized to save the building from demolition. The house was moved from the area near present-day Lackawanna Plaza to the Orange Road campus, where it remains a rare surviving Federal-period mansion in northern New Jersey. It is interpreted today as the Crane House and Historic YWCA, reflecting both its early domestic history and its later role in Black women’s community life. The Nathaniel Crane House adds an earlier rural and agricultural layer to the campus. Built in 1818 by Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr., a relative of Israel Crane, the farmhouse stood on land associated with the Crane family’s colonial holdings. Its construction incorporates heavy oak framing joined with traditional wood joints, and one of its stones bears a date associated with an earlier structure. After passing through several owners, the building was relocated in the nineteenth century to the grounds of the James Henry Clark property. In 1974, Martin and Mrs. Sampson donated it to the Montclair Historical Society, which moved it again by approximately 75 feet so that it could join the relocated Israel Crane House. The building now functions as a visitor center and contains exhibits presenting a nineteenth-century general store and schoolroom. The third major building is the James Henry Clark House, a Queen Anne-style residence completed in 1894 for Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr., and his wife Carrie Schenck. The house features a broad porch, bay windows, a prominent turret, decorative woodwork, and distinctive roof elements. The Clark family occupied it until 1962, after which it was acquired by Martin and Mrs. Sampson. The historical society purchased the property in 1985. It now houses administrative, educational, and research functions, including the Albert Payson Terhune Library, which preserves local materials relating to Montclair and the surrounding area. The Clark House is part of Montclair’s First Residential Historic District and was placed on the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2014, the organization adopted the name Montclair History Center. The change was intended to communicate a broader mission than the preservation of a single historic society or family: to preserve, educate, and share the diverse histories represented by the Crane House, the Historic YWCA, the other campus buildings, and the wider Montclair community. Its work combines historic-site stewardship, public interpretation, educational programming, research support, library and archival preservation, and community engagement. Rather than offering commercial products, the center provides public-history services through exhibitions, tours, collections, educational experiences, and access to local historical resources.
History
Montclair History Center traces its institutional origins to 1965, when it was founded as the Montclair Historical Society. Its formation was closely connected with efforts to preserve the Israel Crane House, an important eighteenth-century residence that was threatened with demolition. Built in 1796 by Israel Crane on Old Road, now Glen Ridge Avenue, the house had remained in the Crane family until 1920. It was then purchased by the YWCA and used for 45 years as offices, dormitories, and a social center serving Black women and girls. Preservation-minded residents intervened in 1965 and arranged for the building to be moved to 110 Orange Road rather than destroyed. The relocation became the foundation of the society’s historic campus. The Israel Crane House has four principal levels, including a basement, two occupied floors, and an attic, as well as a kitchen hearth. Its Federal Revival character and survival as a substantial early residence make it an important architectural resource in northern New Jersey. The organization’s interpretation also preserves the building’s twentieth-century YWCA history, linking architectural preservation to the history of race, gender, social services, and community institutions in Montclair. A second Crane-related building joined the campus in the 1970s. Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr., a relative of Israel Crane, built the Nathaniel Crane House in 1818 on land connected with the Crane family’s colonial holdings. The building retained heavy oak framing and traditional mortise-and-tenon-style construction. It changed hands several times during the nineteenth century. In 1894, part of the structure was removed and the remaining section was moved on logs to the backyard of the property where the James Henry Clark House was being built. Elements from the older house, including a mantel, fireplace fittings, and a mahogany stair rail, were incorporated into the Clark residence. The Nathaniel Crane House was acquired by Martin and Mrs. Sampson in the twentieth century and donated to the Montclair Historical Society in 1974. The society moved it approximately 75 feet to place it beside the Israel Crane House, also preserving a dated stone associated with the structure. Its present interpretation includes a nineteenth-century general-store display modeled on the type of business Israel Crane operated and a schoolroom exhibit illustrating nineteenth-century education. The building consequently serves both as a visitor facility and as a teaching resource. The James Henry Clark House provides the campus with a late-nineteenth-century domestic and institutional setting. Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr., and Carrie Schenck built the 2½-story Queen Anne-style residence in 1894. Its design includes four bay windows, a full-width porch, a two-story turret, decorative window moldings, a projecting bay, and roof dormers with diamond-patterned casements. The Clark family occupied the property until 1962. After Martin and Mrs. Sampson acquired it, the historical society purchased the house in 1985. It became the organization’s administrative, educational, and research center and houses the Albert Payson Terhune Library, which is dedicated to preserving local resources distinctive to Montclair. The Clark House is located within Montclair’s First Residential Historic District, a neighborhood known for its concentration of documented historic houses. It was added to the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places in 1996. The three-building campus therefore presents a chronological range extending from colonial and early national settlement through nineteenth-century domestic architecture and twentieth-century community history. In 2014, the Montclair Historical Society changed its name to Montclair History Center. The new name emphasized an expanded mission: preserving, educating, and sharing the diverse histories of the Crane House, the Historic YWCA, the campus buildings, and Montclair as a whole. The center’s activities now encompass historic-site management, tours, exhibitions, educational interpretation, local research, library and archival work, and public programs. Its identity is rooted in place rather than in a commercial product line, with the historic campus serving as the principal platform for public engagement.
- 2014
Organization adopts the Montclair History Center name
[1]The Montclair Historical Society was renamed Montclair History Center to express a broader mission centered on preserving, educating, and sharing Montclair’s diverse history.
- 1996
Clark House enters the New Jersey State Register
[1]The James Henry Clark House was added to the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places as part of Montclair’s First Residential Historic District.
- 1985
Clark House is acquired
[1]The Montclair Historical Society purchased the James Henry Clark House for use as an administrative, educational, and research facility.
- 1974
Nathaniel Crane House is donated
[1]Martin and Mrs. Sampson donated the Nathaniel Crane House to the Montclair Historical Society, which moved it beside the Israel Crane House.
- 1965
Historical society is founded and Israel Crane House is relocated
[1]The Montclair Historical Society was founded, and preservationists moved the threatened Israel Crane House to the Orange Road campus.
- 1894
James Henry Clark House is completed
[1]Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr. and Carrie Schenck completed the Queen Anne-style house at 108 Orange Road.
- 1818
Nathaniel Crane House is built
[1]Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr. built the farmhouse on land associated with the Crane family’s early holdings.
- 1796
Israel Crane House is built
[1]Israel Crane constructed the Federal-period residence on Old Road, now Glen Ridge Avenue, in what is today southern Montclair.
Products and positioning
A community-focused historical institution combining preservation of significant Montclair buildings with interpretation of the area’s architectural, social, educational, and Black community history.
Historic site · 1965
Crane House and Historic YWCA
A 1796 Federal Revival-style residence built by Israel Crane. The property was later used by the YWCA as offices, dormitories, and a social center for Black women and girls. After preservationists saved it from demolition in 1965, it was moved to the current Orange Road campus. It is interpreted as both an early Montclair residence and a site connected to the history of the Historic YWCA.
Historic site and visitor center · 1974
Nathaniel Crane House
An 1818 farmhouse built by Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr. The building is noted for its heavy oak framing and traditional wood-joint construction. After several relocations and a donation to the historical society in 1974, it became part of the Orange Road campus. Its exhibits include a nineteenth-century general store and a schoolroom illustrating local commercial and educational life.
Historic house and research complex · 1985
James Henry Clark House
A 2½-story Queen Anne residence completed in 1894 for Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr. and Carrie Schenck. The house contains distinctive bay windows, a full-length porch, a turret, decorative moldings, and dormers. Acquired by the historical society in 1985, it now supports administration, education, research, and the Albert Payson Terhune Library.
Local-history library
Albert Payson Terhune Library
A research collection within the Clark House dedicated to preserving local resources and materials distinctive to Montclair. It supports historical research and the center’s educational and interpretive work.
Brand decisions
2014
Rebranding as Montclair History CenterStrategyBackground
The former Montclair Historical Society sought a name that better represented its broader interpretation of the community and its historic properties.
Action taken
The organization changed its name to Montclair History Center.
Aftermath
The renamed organization presented its mission as preserving, educating, and sharing the diverse history of the Crane House, the Historic YWCA, and Montclair.
1974
Acceptance and relocation of the Nathaniel Crane HouseOtherBackground
Martin and Mrs. Sampson donated the Nathaniel Crane House to the Montclair Historical Society.
Action taken
The organization accepted the structure and moved it approximately 75 feet south so it could be situated beside the relocated Israel Crane House.
Aftermath
The building became a visitor center with period exhibits focused on a nineteenth-century general store and schoolroom.
1965
Preservation and relocation of the Israel Crane HouseStrategyBackground
The 1796 Israel Crane House faced possible demolition as the area around its original location changed. Local residents organized a preservation effort.
Action taken
The newly formed historical society supported moving the house to 110 Orange Road, creating the foundation for the organization’s historic campus.
Aftermath
The building survived and became the center’s principal historic site, later interpreted through both its Crane-family origins and its decades as a YWCA facility serving Black women and girls.
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