Ground Broken for New 3,750-Square-Foot History Museum at Historic New Bridge Landing
Leaders, donors, and officials gather to celebrate a project that will expand education and access to Bergen County history
River Edge, NJ — October 2, 2025 — Under clear skies the Bergen County Historical Society (BCHS) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at Historic New Bridge Landing to mark the start of construction on a new 3,750-square-foot history museum. The event, held at 10:00 a.m. on October 1, brought together community leaders, supporters, and elected officials to celebrate a milestone for one of New Jersey’s most important historic sites. The ceremony marked the start of Phase I of a multi-phase museum project, with the capital campaign continuing to fund future phases.
Dignitaries in attendance included the Mayor of River Edge, Thomas Papaleo, Bergen County Clerk John S. Hogan, and Tom Duch, Chief of Staff to Bergen County Executive James Tedesco among other local officials. Representatives from Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s office presented a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition acknowledging the Society’s leadership and the project’s public value.
Building Chair Deborah Powell opened the ceremony with a question “What better place to locate the new museum building than that site that honors a battleground in the American Revolution?”
BCHS President Beverly Hashimoto emphasized how the new museum will advance the Society’s mission:“Especially in this year marking our nation’s founding, it’s vital that New Jersey — the state that witnessed more Revolutionary War activity than any other colony — have a museum dedicated to telling that story. Bergen County’s pivotal role in the conflict helped shape the course of world history and cannot be overstated. At long last, we will have a permanent, secure, and welcoming space to share this history with visitors from around the globe — a place to safeguard and interpret thousands of treasured artifacts that tell the story of Bergen County from its earliest days.”
Major donor Paul Gross, a lifelong Bergen County resident who grew up nearby in Teaneck, spoke about his family’s decision to support the project. “We’re proud to help build a place where future generations can learn about the Revolutionary War history that happened right here,” Gross said. “This museum will serve as an educational center—where students, families, and visitors can see and feel how Bergen County helped shape our nation.”
Designed by Arcari & Iovino Architects, the new museum will anchor a multi-phase vision for Historic New Bridge Landing with modern galleries, flexible space for educational programs and public talks, and improved visitor amenities. The fully ADA-accessible building will also include climate-controlled storage for the Society’s renowned collection—much of which has never been on permanent display—creating a secure, year-round center for preserving and interpreting Bergen County’s nationally significant history.
About Historic New Bridge Landing
Historic New Bridge Landing is a Revolutionary War-era crossroads on the Hackensack River, widely known as “The Bridge that Saved a Nation.” The site encompasses historic structures and landscapes on 13 acres are central to the American story, offering immersive experiences that connect the public with the people and events that shaped the nation.
About the Bergen County Historical Society (BCHS)
Founded in 1902, BCHS is a member-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and sharing the rich history of Bergen County and New Jersey. Through exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and events, BCHS engages thousands of visitors annually at Historic New Bridge Landing and beyond. Learn more at bergencountyhistory.org.
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Media Contact:
Martha Morley
We are delighted to share the news of a truly significant donation of $250,000 by Paul and Gayle Gross to the new Museum building at Historic New Bridge Landing! Pictured is BCHS President Beverly Hashimoto, Paul Gross and Roger Gross.
Visitor Center/Museum Building
The Bergen County Historical Society is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, founded in 1902. Please consider joining us in this endeavor to build a modern museum building on BCHS land at Historic New Bridge Landing. To fulfill its role as steward of an irreplaceable heritage, the BCHS needs to transition to a professionally staffed organization with a modern museum building. We need to discover heretofore-untold stories, which are all together more representative not only of the cultural diversity evident to scholars in the area’s prehistoric inhabitation and its colonial settlement, but which is also immediately relevant to our continuing cultural enrichment in the present day. At this moment of opportunity and challenge, we invite you to help us fashion an authentic experience of our past for the benefit of the broadest possible audience.
The new museum building at Historic New Bridge Landing (HNBL) fulfills several cultural needs of the metro area as identified in the HNBL Master Plan (2010, p. 21-23). A museum is long planned by The Bergen County Historical Society (BCHS) shortly after we acquired adjacent property in 1944. The property acquisition was aimed at protecting the Steuben House from the auto-parts junkyard (now removed and remediated) from spreading into the Steuben House backyard. The Steuben House is a state-historic site.
The planned barn-shaped building is on a scale to compliment the three 18th century historic houses on the site, including the Campbell-Christie House that is interpreted as an 18th century tavern.
As the building nearest to the HNBL parking lot, the new building will serve as an entrance orientation location to welcome visitors from around the world. Theater programs, historical reenactments, lectures, workshops, meetings and fundraising events can take place both on the elevated ground floor, outside on the deck and the adjacent brick-gathering area. The deck is created to accommodate handicap access to the 100-person occupancy ground-level space. Importantly, for the whole site to function, four ADA bathrooms are part of the design. Currently, there are only two bathrooms on the museum site, one is an upstairs bathroom in the 18th century Steuben House. The Campbell-Christie has one awkwardly located ADA bathroom. The room on the east-side will multifunction as a catering-kitchen (no stove) and small meeting space. BCHS began collecting artifacts at its founding in 1902. Currently, fragile items like the textiles (quilts, coverlets, clothing) and paintings are subject to uneven conditions of humidity and temperature that are not advantageous for their long-term preservation. An upper floor is planned for climate-controlled collection storage. Additionally, the elevated ground floor will be available to collection exhibits including our dugout canoe that is in storage because of its size, 15 feet long. Found in Hackensack in 1868, the Smithsonian advised in the early 1900s that it is Native American, since then questions are raised on the date.
As stakeholders, stewards of history and a leading member of the HNBL Park Commission, we hope the new museum building and site activities will help grow the new economy of Bergen County and State of New Jersey through heritage tourism. Currently, BCHS provides all programming at the storied site.
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