The Montclair History Center, located in Montclair, New Jersey consists of a campus at 108–110 Orange Road, Montclair, New Jersey 07042 with three historic buildings. The first building is the Crane House and Historic YWCA, a Federal Revival style home dating from 1796. The Montclair Historical Society (MHS) was founded in 1965 to save the Israel Crane House, which was moved from its original location near Lackawanna Plaza in downtown Montclair. The Crane House and Historic YWCA was used as a Y for African American ladies from the 1920s to 1965. This location also includes the Nathaniel Crane build by a relative of Israel Crane in 1818 and the Clark House, a Queen Anne style home built in 1894, which contains the administrative offices of the Montclair History Center.
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The Crane House was built by Israel Crane in 1796 on Old Road (now Glen Ridge Avenue) in Cranetown, which is now the southern part of the Township of Montclair. The house stayed in the Crane family until 1920, when it was purchased by the YWCA. The YWCA used the house for offices, dormitories and as a social center for African American women and girls for 45 years. In 1965, the house faced the prospect of demolition. Local residents committed to its preservation organized and the house was moved from Old Road to 110 Orange Road, its current address. The Crane House and Historic YWCA is one of the few remaining federal mansions in northern New Jersey. It currently operates as the Crane House and Historic YWCA, which is open to the public. The Crane House and Historic YWCA neighbors two other buildings with historic significance: the Clark House, which houses the Albert Payson Terhune library, and the Nathaniel Crane House, which houses a General Store collection, schoolroom, and gift shop. These buildings are also owned by the Montclair History Center.[1]
The Nathaniel Crane House was built in 1818 by Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr., Israel Crane’s cousin. Captain Nathaniel Crane, Jr., who was a militiaman and patriot from Essex County, built this farmhouse on land that was part of the original 300 acres Jasper Crane (1605–1681) had willed to his sons Azariah and Jasper, Jr. in 1681. In 1694, Azariah built one of the first homes in the area on 55 Myrtle Avenue, near its intersection with Orange Road. A cornerstone from Nathaniel Crane’s farmhouse dates back to 1732 from an even older structure. Made from solid oak framing timbers that are fastened by wood joints instead of nails, Nathaniel’s house stayed in the Crane family until 1851. That year, it was sold for $4,000 to Stephen Paul along with 25 acres of land. Ossian Hatch bought the property four years later. A year before the American Civil War began, Henry Mason acquired the property. Three years after that, in 1863, Dr. James Henry Clark (1814–1869) purchased the house and used it as a retirement home until he passed away. At the time, Dr. Clark was an Army surgeon stationed in Newark.
In 1894, the ell (likely the kitchen) of Nathaniel Crane’s old house was torn down while the larger section was rolled on logs by Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr. towards its new location in the backyard of 108 Orange Road. After being placed onto small brick piers, James likely used it as an outbuilding, such as a carriage house or a barn. While he was building the house that now bears his name, Dr. Clark incorporated some original Nathaniel Crane House artifacts such as a mantel piece, the brass andirons and fender, and even the mahogany stair rail.
In 1962, the Nathaniel Crane House was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Martin Sampson. As part of the purchase of the larger Victorian house next door, it was sold by Dr. Clark’s grandniece, Ann Borden-Smith. In 1974, the Sampsons donated the Nathaniel Crane House to the Montclair Historical Society. It was moved about seventy-five feet south in order to be located on the adjacent property of the recently relocated Israel Crane House. The 1732 stone was moved along with it, where it has remained ever since.
Today, the Nathaniel Crane House is used by the Montclair History Center as a visitor’s center, and an exhibit of a nineteenth century general store on the first floor, much like the one owned by Israel Crane in the early nineteenth century. On the second floor, there is an exhibit featuring a nineteenth century schoolroom illustrating nineteenth century education in Montclair. During tours, visitors can view a portion of the house’s interior simple framing construction through a glass window.[2]
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