History
Behind the Story of a Portrait of a Patriot
Visitors instantly recognize George Washington’s likeness—but few know the deeper story behind this portrait. From Charles Willson Peale’s realistic artistry to the Wilson family who first commissioned it, this article reveals the people, symbolism, and legacy preserved within the canvas.
Read MorePotatoes Past and Present
During summer 2018 MHHM grew potatoes in the nineteenth-century kitchen garden. Though this was the first time the museum grew potatoes in the garden, the potato has a long and esteemed history at Macculloch Hall. The first documented potato planting at Macculloch Hall was recorded by George Macculloch in 1829, the year he began keeping…
Read MoreThe Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909
107th Anniversary of Hudson-Fulton Earlier this month the 107th anniversary of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 passed, without public notice. That spectacular two-week celebration took place in New York Harbor upon the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the river that would be named after him. The celebration also commemorated the 110th anniversary of…
Read MoreLafayette’s Visit: Eyewitness to History
September is the birthday month of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution who in 1780 brought news to General Washington in Morristown that the French fleet was sailing to help the colonists. Forty-five years later on Bastille Day, July 14, 1825, Lafayette returned to Morristown escorted by the Morris cavalry.…
Read MoreHenry William Miller, Civil War Naval Hero
On June 10, 1857 two young Midshipmen graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Henry William Miller (1836-1909), grandson of George Perrot Macculloch and Henry Davis Todd (1838-1907), uncle of W. Parsons Todd (1877-1976), the founder of Macculloch Hall Historical Museum. After graduation, they were both assigned to the USS Mohican on anti-slavery patrol off…
Read MoreJ.P. Morgan Sends Grandma a Birthday Gift
Mary Louisa Macculloch Miller’s Birthday It’s May 20, 1878, and the family has gathered at the “Old House” to celebrate Mary Louisa Macculloch Miller’s seventy-fourth birthday. Mary was the daughter of George and Louisa Macculloch. This photo was taken on the front porch of Macculloch Hall to mark this annual event. Her daughters, Edwina and…
Read MorePoetry at Macculloch Hall
Poetry Month at Macculloch Hall April was Poetry Month at Macculloch Hall, even though our twenty-year-old series of poetry readings, Poets in the Garden, traditionally takes place in late summer: “Sweet is the breeze when vernal Zephyrs play,” wrote founder, George P. Macculloch, in 1815, in a thank you note for a pair of fans…
Read MoreLove and Romance at Macculloch Hall
Reading the personal family letters in the archives of MHHM reminds us that these people were more than names on a genealogy. They were living, breathing human beings with feelings and emotions. On this Valentine’s Day, we look at romance in the Macculloch-Miller families. In a letter written on Valentine’s Day 1848, Elizabeth Miller (1828-1852),…
Read MoreSong of the First of Arkansas
Shortly after arriving in Goodrich’s Landing, Louisiana, Morristown’s Civil War hero began writing home to his mother, Mary Louisa Macculloch Miller, to tell of taking up his duties as Captain to a regiment of newly empowered “colored” troops. In his letter of January 20, 1864, he says, “I wrote a song for them to the…
Read MoreCaptain Miller and the “Arkansas Volunteers of African Descent”
Which young Morristown Civil War hero carries $10,000 in cash to New Orleans for the Union forces along the Mississippi? It was Lindley Hoffman Miller (1834-1864), grandson of George and Louisa Macculloch, who was bound for duty in command of “colored troops,” organizing to fight in the Civil War. His personal letters home to his…
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