The Gamma Sigma literary society was originally called the “Society of Literary Workers” and was among the first clubs of the New Jersey State Normal School. The name was changed in 1894 to Gamma Sigma, “the Greek words for its motto - Knowledge is Power” according to the March 1894 Signal. In the society’s earliest years, they were focused on the work of Shakespeare, however by the late 1890s they were known for performing annual or biannual minstrel shows for the school, sometimes under the name “Peachbottom Minstrel Troupe.” In the 1920s the society transitioned into a social sorority, but it never connected to any of the national offices of the sororities now recognized by the National Panhellenic Council. It disbanded in the late 1990s or early 2000s.
Gamma Sigma Nu is the alumni chapter of Gamma Sigma Sorority founded at the Normal School at Trenton. It was organized in Newark, New Jersey c. 1909-1910, and remained active at least to the early 2000s.
The College of New Jersey’s academic tradition reaches back to 1855 when it was established by the state legislature as the New Jersey State Normal School. It was the first state-established teacher training school in the state and the ninth in the nation. Governor Rodman Price promoted the idea of a training institute for New Jersey’s teachers and mobilized support among influential state leaders. Located on Clinton Avenue in Trenton from 1855 until the early 1930s, the Normal School flourished in the latter 1800s, expanding both its academic offerings and physical facilities.
The Model School was founded within the Normal School shortly after opening to serve as a teacher training laboratory for primary, secondary, grammar, and high school students. Additional affiliated teacher training and specialty schools operated outside of Trenton such as The Farnum Preparatory School of New Jersey (1856-1912) and Rural School Observation Centers at Hart’s Corner, Harbourton, and Plainsboro (1917-1930). A variety of partnerships were established with schools around the state for teacher training. The Model School closed in 1917 and was replaced by the Training School, which served grades 1-6 and was tuition-free. Once the Normal School planned to move to the Hillwood Lakes campus, the Training School closed. In 1931, the Normal School entered into an agreement with Ewing Township to use the Lanning School for teacher training. This arrangement lasted until the late 1950s.
In 1925, the first four-year baccalaureate degree program was established. This change marked the beginning of TCNJ’s transition from a normal school to a teachers’ college and was accompanied by a change in physical surroundings. In 1928, a 210-acre tract of land in Ewing Township, then known as Hillwood Lakes, was purchased as a new site for the College.
Graduate study was instituted at the College in 1947, and accreditation from various national associations was forthcoming in the 1950s. The enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1966 paved the way for then Trenton State College to become a multipurpose institution by expanding its degree programs into a variety of fields other than education. By 1972, 70% of entering students selected non-teaching majors..
The College of New Jersey emphasizes the undergraduate experience. A strong liberal arts core forms the foundation for a wealth of degree programs offered through TCNJ’s seven schools — Arts and Communication; Business; Humanities & Social Sciences; Education; Science; Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science; and Engineering.
In addition, the college experienced five name changes over its history:
1855 New Jersey State Normal School
1908 New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton
1929 New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton
1937 New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton
1958 Trenton State College
1996 The College of New Jersey
"While New Jersey City University throughout its history has held fast to its founding principles of access and excellence, it has grown and evolved over the years to become the institution of great opportunity that it is today.
Chartered in 1927, what is now New Jersey City University opened in 1929 as the New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City. It was renamed New Jersey State Teachers College at Jersey City in 1935 and Jersey City State College in 1958 before adopting its present-day status and name in 1998.
NJCU began its history as the country's only teacher-training college with a three-year program. In a single building situated on 10 acres along what was then Hudson Boulevard, it taught 330 women and one man, most of whom were residents of Hudson County. In 1958 the school was authorized to award the Bachelor of Arts degree, and an M.A. in education was added the following year. In 1962, it became one of the few colleges in the United States with a special-education demonstration school when it began administering the A. Harry Moore School, with which it officially merged in 1963. In 1968, Jersey City State College developed a liberal arts program.
In 1998, the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved the school's request for university status and a change in name to New Jersey City University, and the institution was restructured to include:
- The College of Arts and Sciences, dedicated as the William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences in 2006 in honor of the 1958 alumnus, president emeritus, and distinguished service professor of history and education
- The College of Education, dedicated in 2007 as the Deborah Cannon Partridge Wolfe College of Education in honor of the 1937 alumna, teacher, theologian and humanitarian
- The College of Professional Studies"
(From the New Jersey City University website)
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.
In 1889, Mayor Orestes Cleveland appointed a board of trustees to found the Jersey City Free Public Library. In 1901, the library opened with 15,515 books, ready to serve Jersey City’s residents. At present, the JCFPL consists of ten locations and a Bookmobile, offering physical and digital collections exceeding one million items. The library staff of 140+ provides the nearly 300,000 residents with information, programs, services, events, and resources for entertainment and lifelong learning. The JCFPL continues to evolve in order to best serve Jersey City’s racially, economically, and socially (incredibly) diverse population.
The New Jersey Room is the local history department of the library, located on the third floor of the Priscilla Gardner Main Library Branch. It contains an extensive collection of books, images, maps, research files and more documenting the history of Jersey City and Hudson County, as well as the state and region.
Formed as a department in 1964 to incorporate the collections of the Hudson County Historical Society and the research collection of William H. Richardson into the existing historical materials collected by the library, the New Jersey Room has served generations of genealogists, students of all levels, historians, creative writers, and casual researchers alike. Whether it be the history of a family, a building, street, or neighborhood, social issues, or the perpetual cycles of redevelopment, the New Jersey Room collection and its dedicated staff are here as a resource to all who have an interest in Jersey City and Hudson County.
The Trenton Free Public Library is the oldest library in New Jersey, founded in 1750 as the Trenton Library Company by Dr. Thomas Cadwalader. Originally a subscription library, it became incorporated as a free public library as it is known today in 1900 with Ferdinand W. Roebling serving as its first Board President.
Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, the first chief Burgess (Mayor), gave 500 pounds (roughly $94,000 today) for the establishment of the Trenton Library Company. His friend Benjamin Franklin is said to have purchased the library’s first 50 books from his London suppliers. The books were probably housed in rented rooms which were opened at certain hours once or twice a week, or at the homes of its subscribers. The earliest known possible location of the library was at the house of William Yard in March 1759. Stacy Potts, later another mayor of Trenton, was listed as the librarian in 1765.
Wherever it was located at the time, it was entirely destroyed by British troops in December 1776 during their occupation of the city. It is believed to have been located on Upper King Street – now Warren Street – at the tavern of Rensselaer Williams. To date, four of these original books (from the 65-book set "An Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time") survive and are located in the Trentoniana Department, a special collection of the library established in 1906.
The Trenton Library Company continued to be active into the 1830’s before entering into a period of decline. On May 20, 1855, after more than a century of service, the Trenton Library Company transferred its books to the Trenton Library Association, which had been organized in 1852. First opened in the corner store of Temperance Hall (later Goldberg’s), the Library Association moved the next year to the second story of Charles Scott’s building on Greene Street (now Broad Street), just below State Street. On December 26, 1854 a fire was set in the clothing store on the first floor during a burglary, which resulted in a considerable loss for the Library Association. It was dissolved in the 1860’s and its collection transferred to the care of the Trenton chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association which had a public reading room. In 1871 the rooms were located at 20-22 East State Street over Titus and Scudder’s dry goods store. In 1879 the YMCA library collection was transferred to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Four years later, the WCTU created the Union Library Company. Still based on the subscription model, the Union Library Company charged rates that were affordable for many of Trenton's working class families. By 1885, the library had raised enough money to build a brownstone to hold the collection on East State Street, adjacent to the old post office. The library was on the first floor.
Facing financial issues at the turn of the 20th century, the Union Library Company faced imminent closure. Mayor (later U.S. Senator) Frank O. Briggs placed on the April 10, 1900, ballot the issue of the creation of a public, free, tax-supported but autonomous library for all citizens of Trenton. The referendum passed 4,482 to 1,052 votes, and the Free Public Library of the City of Trenton was born. A board of trustees was incorporated on May 15, and elected the steel industry baron Ferdinand W. Roebling as first president during its organization on May 18. John A. Campbell (treasurer), John J. Cleary (secretary), William M. Lanning, and Joseph L. Naar rounded out the rest of the board, with Mayor Briggs and school superintendent Leslie C. Pierson serving ex-officio. Using an appropriation from the city budget, the board purchased the Union Library Company’s collection, leased its building, and hired Alice M. Rice as librarian, Louise K. Hope as assistant librarian, and Sarah C. Nelson as cataloguer. A permanent chief librarian, Adam J. Strohm from Chicago, was hired on September 1, 1901.
The board appropriated $20,000 for the purchase of a lot on Academy Street, which since 1782 had been the site of the private Trenton Academy. Subsequent appropriations of $80,000 for the building of a permanent library and $15,000 for furnishing and equipping it were made. The architect was Spencer Roberts of Philadelphia (who would also design the new City Hall in 1907). The new library building was dedicated June 9, 1902, and was opened to the public for the distribution of books on the 11th. By the end of its first year, the library had 9,477 library card holders and a collection of 25,562 books. Very soon it was evident that the new library building was too small.
Contrary to popular belief, the new library was not a Carnegie Library. Between 1883 and 1929, businessman Andrew Carnegie donated funds to construct over 2,500 libraries, but certain cities like Trenton and Newark felt that accepting this money would show that they were unable to provide for themselves. John Cotton Dana frequently encouraged against library officials asking Carnegie for money. Trenton city officials agreed with Dana, but would later ask Carnegie for funds to construct an addition to the library (Carnegie refused that request).
In 1913, John Lambert Cadwalader, great-grandson of Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, offered to build a considerable addition to the library and to make certain alterations to the original building. Interestingly, the architect chosen was Edward L. Tilton of New York, well known for designing Carnegie libraries. The completed improvements cost about $45,000, and the addition was formally dedicated on April 6, 1915. The next addition to the library would not occur until 1976 when Trenton architects Horowitz & Wirth were tasked with building the large Centennial Wing on the land adjacent to the original building, where the Joseph Wood School once stood. The Wood School had served as the library’s children’s department, and before that was the site of the city’s common jail and workhouse, built in 1808.
Over the following decades, with second director Howard L. Hughes (1886 - 1966) in charge, the Trenton Free Public Library expanded into additional branches. The first branch was established in 1910 on Hamilton Avenue and named after Mayor Frank O. Briggs; it moved to 1115 Greenwood Avenue in 1972.
The North Branch was opened in 1914, through the cooperation of the Board of Education, in a room of the Columbus School on the corner of Brunswick Avenue and Mulberry Street. It eventually moved to its own location at 1201 Princeton Avenue, and opened to the public there in June 1962.
The Skelton Branch was established in 1917 at the Franklin School building on the corner of Liberty and William Streets. In 1926, it was temporarily moved to rented quarters in the basement of St. Mary’s Greek Catholic School on the corner of Grand and Malone Streets. It moved to the corner of Malone and South Broad (#943) in 1929 into a beautiful new building with high arched windows, an elegant staircase, and locally crafted tile work surrounding the children’s room fireplace. It was the first branch to be built specifically as a library.
The East Trenton Branch, one of New Jersey’s designated Historical Places, occupied the 18th century Samuel Dickinson mansion on the corner of North Clinton and Girard Avenues. It was turned into a library in 1926, and restored by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1934.
The Cadwalader Branch was opened in 1927, and relocated to the old Strand Theater on North Hermitage Avenue in 1968. Like all of the branches, Cadwalader served as a vibrant community center for its neighborhood.
As with many U.S. cities following the Second World War, Trenton experienced difficult economic times as a result of deindustrialization, white flight, segregation de facto, if not de jure. City budget cuts forced the closure of all of the branch facilities in 2010, leaving only the Main Library. Despite the setback, the Trenton Free Public Library continues to provide excellent library services to the citizens of Trenton and is continuing to improve and innovate every day.
Since its opening in 1902, the library has been collecting and preserving the city’s history. Today, the Trentoniana Department, established in 1906, has earned a reputation among researchers and genealogists as the premier collection devoted exclusively to the City of Trenton’s rich past. Among its holdings are records from the New Jersey State Normal and Model School at Trenton, as well as business records, personal papers, letters, photographs, newspapers, scrapbooks, maps, ephemera, textiles, oral histories, artwork, and more.
[historical summary abridged from "About the Library," by Laura Poll, on the Library's website]
The Arguromuthos Literary Society was a club for women formed at the Normal School in Trenton in 1894, by class of 1895. It also included female students of the Model School for several years. In the early 1930s, it became the social sorority Arguromuthos Sigma (it had no national affiliation). It disbanded some time in the 1970s.