History comes alive

By Jasmine Leach

Liberty Hall Museum is filled with years of intriguing history that transports people back in time to an older generation.

Most colleges and universities have museums where students can learn about previous world leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and conflicts such as both World Wars, and even cultural information.

In contrast to what is classified as a “typical museum,” Kean’s Liberty Hall goes far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Liberty Hall Museum is not a large building where visitors roam the halls and just stare at portraits with miniature descriptions for the captions; it’s the location where the founder John Kean raised his family.

“I like how they work to keep the history of our area alive by preserving Liberty hall with tours and themed events,” said junior Devon Sepe.

Bill Schroh, the Operations Director of the Liberty Hall Museum, explained that the Kean home “has 240 years worth of history of New Jersey and America.”

On the inside of the historical yellow mansion, there are portraits of each family member that were created in oil. There are more than twenty rooms in the home and these include bedrooms and the maid’s and butler’s quarters. An office that includes a library, a dining room, a living room and a huge kitchen that still has the maintains its original look and it even includes the old fashioned silverware and pots.

One room has a collection of Mrs. Kean’s hair accessories and one of her gold, intricately detailed dresses. In the basement of the house, there is a wine cellar that includes more than five hundred bottles of wine.

Based on all of the features the Kean home has, it’s no wonder that many people enjoy it so much.

“I liked the decoration of the house because it has an ancient feel,” said junior Rachel Tuan. “Now, we live in more modern style homes. Looking at John Kean’s home makes me feel like I’m looking at a classic home from “Pride and Prejudice.”

Some of these events include the traditional yearly celebrations for Christmas, New Year’s, and their Halloween Ghost Tours.

In addition to the typical holiday events, they even sponsor weekly Thursday Farmer’s Markets. Sharyn Freindlich, a junior, got a chance to attend one the markets at the beginning of this semester. She explains that the market “was nicely set up with a variety of produce.”

She also elaborates on her most pleasurable moment while walking around the market.

“My favorite part was a cute little stand hiding out in the corner,” Freindlich said. “Tornado Potato sold something new and unique that caught my eye with deep fried potatoes on a stick in multiple flavors.”

Liberty Hall is always open to giving students tours of the property and sharing their celebrations with the community.

If you would like to visit the museum, the opening hours are from 10a.m.to 4 p.m. and to check out more events you can go to the website, www.kean.edu/libertyhall.com.

 

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