“Four Centuries in a Weekend” Program at the Oswald J. Nitschke House to Celebrate “The Early Days of New Orange/Kenilworth: A College Town”
— “Living History” Program to Feature Colorful Characters from Kenilworth’s Past as Home to Upsala College (1898-1924) —
Visitors to Kenilworth’s newly restored historic Oswald J. Nitschke House (c. 1880) at 49 South 21 Street on October 17 and October 18 will have an opportunity to meet colorful characters from the late 19th/early 20th century, when New Orange (later renamed Kenilworth) was home to Upsala College. They also will be able to view “New Orange: A College Town,” the second in a series of planned exhibitions at the site featuring a fascinating display of historic photographs, college publications, artifacts and memorabilia.
The overall program will be presented for the general public between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on October 17 and from noon to 5 p.m. on October 18, during Union County’s annual historic sites tour, “Four Centuries in a Weekend.” Admission is free.
During the event, visitors to the Nitschke House will be able to view the building’s five historic rooms, which are authentically furnished in the 1905-1934 period (the time of Kenilworth’s first wave of suburban development when former Mayor Oswald J. Nitschke made his greatest contributions to its growth), as well as its exhibition center, the venue for an ever-changing array of year-round historical and cultural exhibits. With the installation of an elevator last year, the “living history” museum and cultural arts center is now completely accessible.
For further information, please call 908-709-0434.
The Kenilworth Historical Society saved the Nitschke House, former home of Kenilworth Mayor Oswald J. Nitschke (1867-1934), by moving it in 2003, following Dr. Jerome Forman’s donation of the building to the Society, to its present location (land acquired with the help of the Kenilworth Veterans Center and a New Jersey DEP Green Acres grant).
The Society’s project to restore the Nitschke House for transformation into Kenilworth’s first “living history” museum and cultural arts center and to add an elevator to the site, has been funded, in large part, by historic preservation/rehabilitation grants awarded by the New Jersey Historic Trust, New Jersey Cultural Trust, Preserve Union County Grant Program, Union County Community Development Block Grant program, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The Merck Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, numerous individual, corporate and institutional donors and grant makers, and with financing assistance from ConnectOne Bank. Connolly & Hickey Historical Architects (Cranford) designed the elevator addition, as well as the plans for the building’s exterior and interior restoration, and Wagner Construction (Kenilworth) and Straightline Restoration and Construction, Inc. (Cranford) carried out the most recent interior restoration and elevator construction plans, respectively.
The Nitschke House project was recognized by the State of New Jersey with a 2008 New Jersey Historic Preservation Award and most recently was cited as one of six “success stories” statewide in the 2011-2016 New Jersey Historic Preservation Plan, “Preserving New Jersey’s Heritage: A Statewide Plan.”
Now that major restoration work at the Nitschke House site has been completed and an official Certificate of Occupancy has been granted, plans for heirloom gardens (including “teaching” kitchen gardens funded in large part by a grant from the Merck Foundation) and a Kenilworth Heritage Walkway featuring engraved commemorative pavers sponsored by local donors are in the process of being implemented.
The Kenilworth Historical Society (www.kenilworthhistoricalsociety.org) is an independent, volunteer-based non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the research, preservation and interpretation of the historic Oswald J. Nitschke House, local history and culture. Funding for the Nitschke House preservation project and all other programs that the Kenilworth Historical Society provides to the schools and general public is entirely dependent on donations, fundraising activities and competitive matching grants that the organization applies for and is considered for based on merit.
(above) Upsala College, which was based in New Orange (later renamed Kenilworth) from 1898-1924, will be the primary focus of a “living history” program and related exhibition that are planned for October 17 and 18, when the newly restored and furnished historic Oswald J. Nitschke House (c. 1880) will be open to the general public as part of Union County’s annual historic sites tour, “Four Centuries in a Weekend.” With the recent installation of an elevator, the site is now completely accessible.
Photo from the Kenilworth Historical Society’s collection.
