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Membership Fees:
Individual: $25/year*
Family: $40/year
Student discount available
Business memberships offered

*Includes emailed quarterly newsletter. 

(Add $5 to the Membership Fee for a printed copy - email your name and address to info@somersethistorynj.org)

• By Mail: Download the membership form and send it with payment to:

Somerset County Historical Society

9 Van Veghten Drive

Bridgewater, NJ 08807

• Online: Scroll to “Join Online” to apply and pay via PayPal or credit/debit card.

• Please consider adding a donation. This helps us meet the matching funds required by one of our grants. We are a 501 (c) (3) organization and your gift may be tax deductible.  Please call or email us at info@somersethistorynj.org to discuss options.

Be part of a dynamic, 140+ year-old community of all ages redefining what history means in the 21st century. We celebrate the past while shaping the future—right here in our own backyard.

Keep learning

We host guest speakers and share information at local events throughout the year.

Make a difference

Contribute time, talent, treasures, or funds 

Volunteer at Howe Farmstead work days

Help catalog books and artifact donations

Share family research or genealogy

Contribute to our blog or newsletter

Consider donating locally relevant artifacts, photographs, or documents to our archive

See our "Wish List" below for more ideas on ways to be of service

 Like any all-volunteer organization, there are always more things we’d like to do than there are hands or time. We’ve decided to share our wish list to see if other history lovers out there can help.

Outside  

Tree trimming, branch collection

Mowing, yard and garden maintenance

Inside 

Help with our library acquisitions and indexing

Transcribe original documents 

Periodic house cleaning--sweeping, vacuuming, bathroom cleaning

Reorganize cabinet displays and label all contents per ADA standards

Improve internal work space/ non-public areas

People With Skills 

Landscapers to:

 Help create a plan, including improved ADA accessibility from parking lot and around the house 

Improved sight line to river (trim bushes and tree branches), 

Design stairway or path down our hill into wetlands on our property 

Design decorative bridge to span irrigation channel. 

Suggest deer-resistant garden design

Writers to:  

      Create FAQ handout 

      Prepare articles for newsletter or coordinate others

       Help with scripts for programs 

           Write brief bios of visitors to the house during the Revolution

Artist to: 

Create line drawings for assorted publications-the structures, garden plants, etc.

Regularly suggest treasures in our collection to be highlighted

Marketer/Publicist to:

      Help with Mail Chimp email distributions, newsletter prep, website, and Facebook accounts

-  Artists to create line drawings for assorted publications-- the structures, garden plants, etc.

Consultants to:

  Assist with grant writing 

   Provide advice about fundraising efforts with businesses and  corporations

  Identify how to incorporate child-oriented features in everything—outreach materials, displays, talks, etc. 

CPA/Accountant skills

Ordinary folks with time to:

Follow-up with visitors and welcome new members.

Assist in labeling all museum items on display (to meet federal ADA guidelines).

 Coordinate volunteers 

   Interview and transcribe oral histories

  Organize public lectures and events

 Research genealogy requests

Educators to:

Develop a “traveling museum” lend/lease kit for use in schools

Suggest ways to engage youth

Researcher

Tell the story of enslaved people at Van Veghten House and the county

Supplies

Paper goods: paper towels, toilet paper, cups, paper plates, garbage bags

Copy paper

Cleaning supplies

Pendeflex folders

Notebooks

Printer ink