History Lives Here

We’re thrilled to welcome the Montclair History Center as PerchedIN’s founding Cultural Partner.

We walk past history every day in Montclair.

It’s in the houses we admire, the train stations we rush through, the businesses that have been here forever and the buildings we’ve passed a hundred times without knowing what happened inside.

That’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to welcome the Montclair History Center as PerchedIN’s founding Cultural Partner.

PerchedIN is all about discovery and taking a closer look at local life. Not just where to go and what to do, but who was here before us, what shaped our neighborhoods and why the places we know have stories worth telling.

And now we have a pretty incredible partner to help us tell those stories.

The Montclair History Center has spent decades collecting, preserving and sharing the stories of this town. Its archives are filled with photographs, maps, letters, directories, deeds, oral histories and records that offer a glimpse into the people, places and everyday moments that shaped Montclair.

Together, we’ll be digging into all of it.

We’ll explore the stories behind local houses and neighborhoods, train stations and longtime businesses, familiar landmarks and gathering places. We’ll also look more closely at important chapters of Montclair’s past that haven’t always received the attention they deserve.

But don’t worry. There will be no history test.

THE CLARK HOUSE BUILT IN 1894 - PHOTO COURTESY OF MONTCLAIR HISTORY CENTER

We’re looking for the stories that make you stop in front of a familiar building and say:

“Wait. That happened here?”

And we’ve already started.

First up, we’re taking a closer look at Montclair’s train stations. Some still carry commuters every day. Others have gone on to lead very different lives. And their stories tell us quite a bit about how Montclair became the place we know today.

Because sometimes the best discoveries aren’t new at all.

They’ve been here all along, waiting for us to notice.

Welcome, Montclair History Center.

We’re so glad you’re IN.