Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1914 - 1935 (Record-keeping activity)
Extent
0.3 linear feet (3 loose volumes, 1 folder)
Name of creator
Administrative history
The founding of the New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was based on legislation in and subsequent amendments to the New Jersey Laws of 1903. Chartered in 1927 and formally opened on September 12, 1929, New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was the sixth state normal school established in the state. The first state normal school was established in Trenton in 1855, followed by subsequent state normal schools in Montclair, Newark, Glassboro, Paterson, and finally, Jersey City.
Shortly after 1855, while deliberations were ongoing regarding the establishment of a second state normal school, a local Jersey City-based Saturday Normal School that was run by the Jersey City Board of Education began in 1856, operating for a total of twenty-three years. In 1877, a teacher training school began in a grammar school where student teachers took “training class” to observe and do practice teaching.
By 1886, preparatory work for teaching transferred to the Jersey City Training School for Teachers. In 1896 it relocated to a new building and was institutionally reorganized to have two departments: “Model” and “Practice.” By the end of 1900, the school closed and the Board of Education renewed their 1896 proposal for the Assembly to pass a bill providing a location for a Jersey City-based state normal school.
In 1911, the New Jersey Department of Education attempted to cement jurisdiction of the state, rather than cities and counties, to unify the training and certification of teachers across the entire state. The State Normal School at Trenton started offering a state certificate, which allowed graduates to teach in any part of the state. This contributed to a decline in attendance to existing Jersey City-based training schools that could not offer such a certificate, in addition to the onset of World War I.
While educators and officials in Hudson County long sought to establish a normal school locally, it took nearly twenty-five years since the initial state legislation (1903-1927) before the construction of the state normal school in Jersey City. Various factors led to delays, such as legislative setbacks, funding changes at the state level, difficulties in securing a site in the city for the school, and tense partisan political battles. These challenges were met with the advocacy of Jersey City civic clubs and appeals by various Jersey City education commissioners, ultimately leading to the legislature approving funds for the New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City in 1927. Two years later, the New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City opened in 1929.
The New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was renamed and restructured throughout the years:
- New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City, 1927-1935
- New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City in 1935, offering bachelor of science degree in education and the country’s only teacher-training college with a three-year program
- Jersey City State College in 1958, offering a bachelor of arts degree and four-year liberal arts program
- New Jersey City University in 1998, establishing a College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of professional studies
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Content warning: The items in this collection may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups and sexist or misogynistic language.
This collection includes two series containing yearbooks and ephemera from the Jersey City State Normal School.
Series 1 - The Tower Yearbooks, 1933-1935
In 1932, the graduating class published the first volume of The Tower. This series contains The Tower published in 1933, 1934, and 1935. The forward of the 1933 addition states, “We accept with gratitude the heritage of ‘The Tower’ bequeathed to us by the proceeding class. We desire to increase this legacy by adding our contribution of school anecdotes, trusting that each succeeding year will add materially to its value as an heirloom.”
All of the yearbooks feature a forward, dedication, listing of yearbook staff; faculty; management; their school and class history; school organizations and student clubs with photos and descriptions; underclassmen class photos; and the senior class featured with portrait photographs of each student, a quote, and description of the student.
The Jersey City Free Public library’s collections contain the second edition of The Tower, published in 1933 (and digitized in this series), and subsequent years through 2006.
Series 2 - Ephemera, Jersey City State College, Pre-1980
This series contains ephemera of the Jersey City State Normal School spanning from 1914-1934. There are two commencement pamphlets, one from 1934 in a time after the opening of the Jersey City State Normal School in 1929, and the other from a precursor to the normal school called the Teachers’ Training School in 1914. Additional ephemera includes a 1934 song book, as well as a reprinted 1932 article by Peter J. Ganon in the school newspaper The Golden Gothic on the gothic architectural style of the campus’ buildings. The song book index indicates that it contains songs from the school and other colleges, songs about the United States and New Jersey, hymns, rounds and songs of greeting, children’s rote songs, and miscellaneous songs.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open for research.
Physical access
The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the Jersey City Free Public library Use Policy.
Technical access
All the materials in the collection have been digitized and are available for viewing:
Series: The Tower Yearbooks, 1933-1935 https://atom.tcnj.edu/index.php/The-Tower-Yearbooks
Series: Ephemera, Jersey City State College, Pre-1980 https://atom.tcnj.edu/index.php/Ephemera,-Jersey-City-State-College,-Pre-1980
Conditions governing reproduction
Restrictions are only in regards to publication; any researcher may view or copy any document in the collection. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. Distribution, reproduction, or the use of other protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions must be requested and processed by the Jersey City Free Public Library. Please contact njroom@jclibrary.org
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Organizational history:
The founding of the New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was based on legislation in and subsequent amendments to the New Jersey Laws of 1903. Chartered in 1927 and formally opened on September 12, 1929, New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was the sixth state normal school established in the state. The first state normal school was established in Trenton in 1855, followed by subsequent state normal schools in Montclair, Newark, Glassboro, Paterson, and finally, Jersey City.
Shortly after 1855, while deliberations were ongoing regarding the establishment of a second state normal school, a local Jersey City-based Saturday Normal School that was run by the Jersey City Board of Education began in 1856, operating for a total of twenty-three years. In 1877, a teacher training school began in a grammar school where student teachers took “training class” to observe and do practice teaching.
By 1886, preparatory work for teaching transferred to the Jersey City Training School for Teachers. In 1896 it relocated to a new building and was institutionally reorganized to have two departments: “Model” and “Practice.” By the end of 1900, the school closed and the Board of Education renewed their 1896 proposal for the Assembly to pass a bill providing a location for a Jersey City-based state normal school.
In 1911, the New Jersey Department of Education attempted to cement jurisdiction of the state, rather than cities and counties, to unify the training and certification of teachers across the entire state. The State Normal School at Trenton started offering a state certificate, which allowed graduates to teach in any part of the state. This contributed to a decline in attendance to existing Jersey City-based training schools that could not offer such a certificate, in addition to the onset of World War I.
While educators and officials in Hudson County long sought to establish a normal school locally, it took nearly twenty-five years since the initial state legislation (1903-1927) before the construction of the state normal school in Jersey City. Various factors led to delays, such as legislative setbacks, funding changes at the state level, difficulties in securing a site in the city for the school, and tense partisan political battles. These challenges were met with the advocacy of Jersey City civic clubs and appeals by various Jersey City education commissioners, ultimately leading to the legislature approving funds for the New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City in 1927. Two years later, the New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City opened in 1929.
The New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City was renamed and restructured throughout the years:
- New Jersey State Normal School in Jersey City, 1927-1935
- New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City in 1935, offering bachelor of science degree in education and the country’s only teacher-training college with a three-year program
- Jersey City State College in 1958, offering a bachelor of arts degree and four-year liberal arts program
-
New Jersey City University in 1998, establishing a College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of professional studies
The Jersey City Free Public Library (JCFPL) is the largest municipal library in the State of New Jersey, serving one of the most diverse cities in the country. The Library meets the needs of the community by providing a wide array of programming and resources, and access to a broad range of print, digital, and audiovisual collections. The Library has been a cornerstone of Jersey City’s growing and changing community for more than 120 years.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
DACS, AAT, FAST, LCSH