the staff of the Ridgewood blog
River Edge, NJ — Leaders, donors, and elected officials gathered Wednesday at Historic New Bridge Landing in River Edge to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new 3,750-square-foot history museum that will expand education and access to Bergen County’s remarkable past. The ceremony marked the start of Phase I of a multi-phase project led by the Bergen County Historical Society (BCHS) to create a modern, accessible facility for exhibitions, education, and preservation.
“This building will finally give our history a permanent home—space to present exhibits, welcome school groups, and connect visitors with the extraordinary Revolutionary War stories that unfolded on these very grounds,” said BCHS President Beverly Hashimoto. “But it will go far beyond the Revolution. The museum will tell the broader story of Bergen County life, from the Indigenous people who lived along the Hackensack River to the early Dutch settlers and the generations that followed.”
Major donor Paul Gross, a lifelong Bergen County resident who grew up in Teaneck, spoke about his family’s support for the project. “Our family is proud to support a museum that tells the full story of Bergen County—from its earliest inhabitants to the industrial innovators and suburban communities that helped define modern America,” Gross said. “It will be a place where students and families can learn, reflect, and take pride in the history that shaped our region.”
Designed with the future in mind, the new museum will feature modern galleries, safe and climate-controlled storage for BCHS’s extensive collection, and full ADA accessibility. It will serve as a hub for school programs, rotating exhibits, and community events while providing the infrastructure needed to preserve historic artifacts for generations to come.
The groundbreaking represents a major milestone in BCHS’s ongoing effort to expand Historic New Bridge Landing into a year-round destination for learning and heritage tourism. Fundraising efforts remain underway to complete future phases, including an orientation pavilion and expanded exhibit spaces, ensuring the project’s completion for the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
Tell your story #TheRidgewoodblog , #Indpendentnews, #information, #advertise, #guestpost, #affiliatemarketing,#NorthJersey, #NJ , #News, #localnews, #bergencounty, #sponsoredpost, #SponsoredContent, #contentplacement , #linkplacement, Email: Onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com
