WHO WE ARE

Under the direction of the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the City of Clifton, the staff at the Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum are dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the Hamilton-Van Wagoner homestead and the role it played in the City of Clifton's nineteenth century rural history. Through tours, lectures, and special events, the Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum promotes the exploration of life in nineteenth century America, the events and people of the nineteenth century, and the need and importance of historic preservation.

The Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum is owned by the City of Clifton and operated by the Passaic County Department of Cultural & Historic Affairs.

OUR COLLECTIONS

The County of Passaic and City of Clifton are dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the County and the City, their people, and their places. The Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum holds a diverse collection of artifacts ranging from prints and decorative arts to farming tools and photographs dating to the nineteenth century. While the collections originated by the families who lived here are limited, the artifacts are representative of how the household would have looked and what the families might have had.

To find out more information on an object or a specific type of collection you are researching, please contact our staff. The collections at Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum are currently not searchable in an online format.

OUR STAFF

Museum Site Manager

NICOLE COLOSIMO

Nicole brings a background in archaeology to the Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum. A love of history and the ancient world encouraged her to pursue a BA in Anthropology and Religious Studies with Classics from Agnes Scott College and a BA in Classical Culture from the University of Georgia. Afterward, she earned an MA and a PhD in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College. She has participated in a number of excavations and archaeological research in America, Greece, Italy, Egypt, and Bulgaria. In addition to these adventures, her time spent working closely with artifacts in a variety of settings have emphasized the importance of engaging in a fully-rounded approach to studying people of the past. This approach includes examining material culture as well as a thorough and thoughtful consideration of the practices and events that occurred in specific settings, like the Hamilton-Van Wagoner House Museum, that shaped the lives of individuals. As part of Passaic County's Cultural and Historic Affairs Department, Nicole hopes to foster a love of the past and archaeology in the community. Born in Ohio, Nicole has moved up and down the eastern seaboard, finally settling in New Jersey in 2014.