The society was founded in 1845 at
Trenton by intellectual and business leaders of New Jersey including
Joseph C. Hornblower,
Robert Gibbon Johnson,
Peter D. Vroom and
William A. Whitehead. In 1846, the society relocated to Newark and has been there ever since. Its original headquarters in Newark were located on Market Street. In 1931 it left
Downtown Newark for a large colonial-style building partially paid for by
Louis Bamberger at 230
Broadway, east of
Branch Brook Park. In 1997 the Historical Society returned downtown, to 52 Park Place, on
Military Park. The new home is a
Georgian style building vacated by the Essex Club that was designed by
Guilbert & Betelle. The building was built in 1926 and had been added to the
National Register of Historic Places on February 22, 1991. In its first year in the downtown location visits increased almost fivefold. ==See also==