Christmas at Zenas Crane Homestead 2022 | West Caldwell, New Jersey

Christmas At Zenas Crane Homestead

This house is a historical home in West Caldwell, New Jersey.

This house is part of the Essex County Holiday House Tour each December.

According to the Historical Society of West Caldwell:

The Crane family settled in the West Caldwell area before the Revolution. Samuel Crane built a farmhouse for his wife Mary Baldwin Crane and their ten children. After the Revolution, he purchased a sawmill that was to remain in the family for more than 150 years.

Grandson Zenas C. Crane married Mary Harrison in 1833 and settled in the family homestead near the mill. In 1848 the homestead burned to the ground. Zenas replaced the farmhouse, completing it in 1854. Zenas was a Victorian entrepreneur involved in farming, the tobacco industry, tanning and shoe manufacturing, the Crane sawmill and management of the Caldwell Hotel.

Son Caleb Crane managed the farm during the Civil War. In 1904 Caleb was elected first mayor of the Borough of West Caldwell.

Zenas G. Crane, grandson of Zenas and Mary, took over the farm in about 1907. He was elected third mayor of West Caldwell in 1915. From 1920 until his death in 1949, he served Essex County as Freeholder; and then as Treasurer.

I took these photos in December 2022 at the Zenas Crane Homestead in West Caldwell, which is currently serving as the home of the town’s historical society. 

The house is faithful to the furnishings of the period, right down to the chamber pots!

It was also beautifully dressed up for the holidays!

Back in the old rural days of West Caldwell, there was a general store and post office.

The desk in the photo below was used to store the mail for the farmers in the area.

They would come to collect their mail and I am sure they would socialize a bit.

Further Reading

You can read about the Crane Family in the New York Times.

Please check out Christmas at Kip’s Castle 2023 | Verona and Montclair, New Jersey!

You may also want to read my post on Kingsland Manor, a historic house in Nutley that included wealthy families, boxing, speakeasies, and possibly even murder! It is gorgeously decorated for the holidays!

Also check out my post on The Literary Lioness about moving THIS blog to WordPress: Moving My Blog From Blogger To WordPress (and changing the permalink structure!)

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