TFPL New Jersey State Normal and Model Schools at Trenton and Successor Institutions Collection

Approximately 5 cubic feet (10 legal-sized document boxes)

Content Warning: The items in this collection may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.

The collection consists of 10 boxes, one oversized folder and 4 rolled maps. The material is divided into 11 series as described below. The core of this collection provides information about the history of the Trenton Normal School from its founding in 1855, its move to Ewing and transition to New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton (1937). It also provides some
information on its successor institutions from the 1930s to 2023. The collection also includes information about the Model School, especially highlighting achievements of the older students in publications including The Signal and records of the Thencanic Society, and scrapbooks kept by Grace Bromwell Fletcher, Class of 1907 and Emma R. Kerns Crofton, Class of 1916. There is also some information about alumni activities found in the form of event programs (1900s-1950s, 1980-1996) and the publication Accent and Alumni Review (1987-1996).

Series 1. Annual Report of the Board of Trustees (1863-1926)
This series contains Annual Reports of the State Normal School Board of Trustees to the State Senate and General Assembly, providing a yearly review of both the Normal School and Model School operations. The information provided varies from year to year but generally includes a Report of the Principal [a position that became President of the College], Treasurer’s Reports, a list of officers and instructors,and descriptions of courses of instruction and names of graduates.

Series 2. Histories (1930-1994)
This series includes several publications that provide a good overview of the Normal and Model Schools as well as for specific topics as listed below. Especially interesting are the work "State Teachers College and State Normal School, Trenton, NJ: Past, Present and Future" and "Time the Great Teacher: A History of One Hundred Years of the New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton, 1855-1955." The material is arranged in chronological order.

Series 3. Miscellaneous Correspondence (1857-1994)
This small series is arranged in chronological order and includes material from 1857, 1865, 1904, 1920 and 1986. The earliest letter is an 1857 invitation from the Normal School Principal to the Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals to examine programs of the institution. The most recent is a 1994 letter of protest at early attempts to remove Trenton from the name of Trenton State College.

Series 4. Publications (1885-2018)
The Signal and State Signal - The collection includes some issues of The Signal and its successor publication the State Signal, a student publication established in 1885 which continues today. The Signal began as a literary magazine created by students of both the Normal School and the Model School. In addition to poems and short stories, it reported general news about the schools (athletics, courses, cultural activities, etc.), and information about faculty, graduating seniors and alumni as well as providing editorials. Of particular interest is the May-June 1917 issue
which includes a history of (p. 193) and a farewell to (p. 195) the Model School which was ended in that year. After a lapse of 10 years, the publication returned in the fall of 1929 as a student newspaper providing full coverage of campus activities. This collection includes scattered issues of the Signal from 1885 to 1919 and some issues of the State Signal from 1933 to 1975. Issues from 1933 document the school’s move from Trenton to the new Hillwood Lakes campus (Ewing), and the 1955 issue documents the centennial celebration of the Normal School.

Student Handbooks - The Student Handbook (1938-1939; 1939-1940) was published by the Student Executive Board and provides information about academics, social groups, athletics, and general policies. A Hand Book for the Women’s Athletic Association (1939-1940) provides information about women’s intra-mural and school sports activities.

Bonner Scholar Publications - There are a few issues of a publication from TCNJ’s Bonner Scholars: The Wall (2017-2018) which became Street Light (2018, 2023), features stories about homelessness in Trenton.

Miscellaneous Student publications - This sub-series includes a booklet of two plays written in 1921 by the Normal School’s History and English classes; a 1942 satirical student newspaper; a 1960 literary magazine and a photographic essay about Front & Warren Streets in Trenton (ca. 2000s).

Miscellaneous Faculty Writings - Included is Geography of New Jersey, by State Teachers College President Roscoe L. West and former Head of Geography Department, Ella Huntington, 1938, and two papers on women in politics given by Trenton State College faculty members Allen H. Merriam (Indira Gandhi: Prime Minister) and Marian B. McLeod (Bernadette Devlin: Irish Political Heroine) as part of a conference titled Women in Politics: Studies in Role and Status, 1974.

Outside Publications – This includes a variety of booklets and pamphlets and press clippings written by sources outside the school that discuss aspects of the institution. Of particular interest are issues of the Education Bulletin published by the New Jersey State Board of Education, 1915-1919, 1948 and Curricula and Entrance Requirements of the State Teachers Colleges and State Normal Schools, 1929, published by the State Department of Public Instruction.

Series 5. Brochures, pamphlets, event programs (1878-1994)
This series consists of brochures, pamphlets, programs and notices produced by the school’s administration and student organizations. Administration material include brochures about the school’s tuition, special or new academic programs, celebrations and commencement programs. Student brochures promote plays, debates and other activities.

Series 6. Miscellaneous Material
This series includes a variety of materials as outlined below. Of particular interest to the history of Normal schools in general is the work "American Normal Schools: Their Theory, their Workings, and their Results, as Embodied in the Proceedings of the First Annual Convention of the American Normal School Association, Held at Trenton, New Jersey August 19 and 20, 1859." There is also a small and charming collection of dance cards, used by young women to schedule with whom they would dance during the evening, as well as event programs and a ca. 1930s Teacher’s College beanie that freshman class members were required to wear.

Series 7: Yearbooks (1932-1972) [with gaps]
This series includes issues of The Seal dating from 1913 to 1972. Some issues are inventoried and stored with the Trenton Normal and Model Schools et al. Collection while others are available in the Trentoniana Room for immediate use by the public. Publication of The Seal began in 1911 and continued until 2018. Produced by each senior class, these yearbooks typically include photographs of the senior class, lists of clubs, athletic teams, class “prophecies,” as well as information about teachers and academic departments.

Series 8. Maps, 1977
This consists of four variations of a map drawn in 1977 depicting the land in Ewing that was purchased to develop the new Normal School campus. The main drawing, titled “Old Crosskeys to William Green Farm Today” was drawn by Robert Reeder Green for his book, "The Land Along the Shabakunks," and shows historic features of the tract.

Series 9. Model School - Thencanic Society, 1882-1905
The Thencanic Society was a debating society founded in October of 1882 by 18 members of the Boy’s Department of the State Model School. The purpose of the society was to “develop a correct mode of speaking, to qualify its members by practice to express their opinions in public, and to become better acquainted with the laws governing deliberative assemblies.” To this end, they held debates, mock legislatures and other activities. The records of the society include a list of officers (1882-1899), Critic’s Reports (1892-1900), records of mock legislatures (1887-1897), correspondence
(1882-1900) and others as listed below. Despite its lofty goals, it should be noted that the records of the Society sometimes reflect a rather tongue-in-cheek attitude, especially in the Critic’s Reports, which often admonish the group's teenage members for their rowdy and/or eccentric behavior.

Series 10. Model School - Miscellaneous Material, 1878-1930
This series include tuition receipts for John McCormick (n.d., 1862) and George Hildebrecht (1902-1903); Commencement Programs (1878, 1880); the History of Class of 1904, compiled by Class President Kenneth H. Lanning (1930); Modellian (1915) [Model School yearbook]; and two scrapbooks kept by Grace Bromwell Fletcher, Class of 1907 and Emma R. Kerns Crofton, Class of 1916. These scrapbooks were pre-printed and titled The Girl Graduate: Her Own Book, providing places for photographs, event programs, class prophecies, class autographs and other ephemera.

Series 11 – Alumni
This series features alumni-sponsored event programs dating from 1901 to 1991, and issues of the Accent and Alumni Review from 1987 to 1996. Although technically a publication of the college’s Office of College Relations, this publication does include class notes, news about local Alumni association chapters and feature articles on alumni. As noted above, information on alumni may also be found in issues of The Signal and State Signal (see Series 4).

This collection is open for research. No access restrictions.

This collection is available to all who abide by the Trenton Free Public Library Patron Code of Conduct and the Trentoniana Rules of Use.

Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available for viewing.

Copyright restrictions apply to published materials. Non-published items may fall under copyright.

Credit line: Courtesy of the Trentoniana Department, Trenton Free Public Library

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