Schoolhouse Museum

In 1907 the Reverend Henry Cook, fresh from the seminary took over as pastor where he served for 45 years. It was during his tenure that he advocated the establishment of the Paramus Historical Society which was formed on February 11, 1921. Many artifacts, which had been on display in the church, were then moved to the Schoolhouse which had served as a storage area. The Paramus Historical and Preservation Society maintained and operated the Schoolhouse Museum until 1996 when the group's name was changed to Ridgewood Historical Society The mission of the Ridgewood Historical Society, which operates the Schoolhouse Museum building, formerly one of the first public schools in Ridgewood, is to preserve the building, as well as maintain, interpret, and exhibit the collection of artifacts representing the history, culture, and lives of ordinary people from Ridgewood and the surrounding area from the period of Native America to the early 20th century in a consistently innovative way. The vision of the Ridgewood Historical Society is to store and organize the historical collection of the Schoolhouse Museum in an appropriate and easily accessible manner in order to present the history of Ridgewood in a creative and meaningful way to the community.