The Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909

Close up of a man with long white beard and top hat with red and white stripes and band of white stars on blue background.

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…

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Lafayette’s Visit: Eyewitness to History

USS Brandywine: The Ship Lafayette arrived on

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.…

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Henry 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…

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Poetry 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…

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A Thomas Nast Christmas Image

The Same Old Christmas Story, Thomas Nast

The Same Old Story Over Again Thomas Nast (1840-1902), often called “the father of American political cartoons,” is equally famous for his depictions of Santa Claus and Christmas regularly published during the second half of the nineteenth century. Nast is credited with popularizing the image of a distinctly American Santa Claus in the United States.…

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Thanksgiving at Macculloch Hall

Until W. Parsons Todd (1877-1976) purchased Macculloch Hall in 1949 to preserve it as a museum, the house had been home to five generations of Macculloch descendants. George (1775-1858) and Louisa Macculloch (1785-1863) had two children. Their daughter, Mary Louisa (1804-1888) and son-in-law, Senator Jacob Miller (1800-1862), had nine children, who lived at Macculloch Hall…

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Mr. Macculloch’s Latin School

School Desk Latin School

With school now in full swing, Macculloch Hall House Museum’s inaugural blog post takes a look at Mr. Macculloch’s Latin School and what school was like in Morristown, N.J., in the 1820s…

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