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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.

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 Royal H. Rose & Son company out of Princeton, N.J. provided photography services for individuals and organizations, such as the New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton.

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

Established in 1908 as a two-year Normal School in response to the growing demand for professionally trained teachers, the New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair became Montclair State Teachers College in 1927.

Society for women formed at Normal by class of 1895, no outside affiliation: https://owd.tcnj.edu/~magazine/04Autumn/pdfs/%20TCNJ%20Mag%20Autumn%20'04d_Names_in_Stone_II.pdf
Possibly disbanded in 1970s; last instance in Signal in 1970s.
Seems to have had a friendly rivalry with the Philomathean Society, also for Model and Normal School girls.

A literary and debate club at the Model School from 1882 to 1917. The members (only young men) focused on improving their oratory skills, personal appearance, and general comportment, with one member serving as "Critic" to evaluate the boys' behavior during each meeting. The literary aspects of the Society led to the publication of "The Signal" in 1885--while it started as a literary magazine through the Thencanic, it quickly escaped the Society's control and became a general Normal/Model School periodical. This club ended when the Model School closed in 1917. This version of the Thencanic should not be confused with the later revival in the 1930s with college students.