Honoring Cranford’s History with Three New Cranford Keepsakes in 2025
The Mr. Local History Project (MLH) has been preserving and promoting local history since our non-profit organization was established in 2019. The all-volunteer group started a wooden miniature keepsake program to share history and artwork in partnership with the world-famous Cat’s Meow Village Company of Ohio. We learned that the Cranford Garden Club had over 16 similar wooden collectibles that ended years ago. We want to support New Jersey’s local history and include some of Cranford’s history in our new collection.
The Additions are Coming!
We asked the Cranford community, and they spoke with authority. When we asked them to vote for the next one…..they picked three. So how can we disappoint? We’re NOT. We will do ONE production run of these three new keepsakes honoring Cranford: The Cranford High School, the Riverside Inn, and the Cranford Hotel. All are now available for pre-order and will be delivered in late February 2025.
Now, you can order all five (5) Cranford Collectibles at a discount. Details here
Congratulations, Cranford, New Jersey
We are supporting Cranford, New Jersey’s history via our MLH keepsake project, and we hope the community will strongly support interest in Cranford’s history. The idea was made possible by then 501c3 non-profit Mr. Local History Project and Brooks Betz, a Trustee whose family once owned the Cranford Canoe Club. The keepsakes bring awareness to historic icons in town as Betz plans to one day nominate the Cranford Canoe Club to the State and National Registries of Historic Places (a complicated process). The group is a non-profit 501c that relies on fundraisers like this to expand our history programs, so every time you grow your collection, you’re supporting our non-profit efforts to grow the collection out.
Cranford Village Keepsakes
A custom art rendering of each location is on the front, and our researched history is laid out on the back. Each collectible is approximately 4″ high by 8-10 inches long and 3/4″ wide, painted on a wood block. Support your local history and start a Cranford collection of your own. Each piece is handmade in the USA. The Mr. Local History Project sinks all proceeds into growing the program to offer more keepsakes as we’ve now grown the New Jersey Historic Village Collection to 35 keepsakes, including iconic venues in Newark, West Orange, Keyport, Bedminster, Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, Cranford, Westfield, Far Hills, Peapack & Gladstone with more coming. Proceeds from each keepsake go into making more historic icons to add to the collective Jersey Village.
How Do I Get One?
The New Jersey Historic Village Collectibles are only available online. While we’d love to sell them via retail outlets, the production cost is just too high to allow a retail establishment to make a modest profit. MLHP has an underwriter to cover the cost of producing batches for us, which we repay once we’ve sold the run. If we didn’t have this support, we couldn’t afford to start the keepsake program. If there are any profits, they return to the program to create new keepsakes. This is the way we get history into the home!
So we’ve created simple online ordering.
Just click the store icon and the keepsake you’re interested in.
UPDATE:
Many have written us about a previous Cranford keepsake collection. The Green Thumb Garden Club started the Cranford Landmark Series in the early 2000s. Gerri Livelli started it as a fundraiser for the Club, and it paid for the “Fountain” that sits outside of the Post Office Plaza in Cranford and other small gardening projects throughout town over the years. All our pieces are long retired and out of production.
Get Your Village Started Today! Current Availability in Real-Time
More MLH Local History Stories
Researched History on the Back of Each Cranford Collectible
The Cranford Hotel c.1882 – Cranford, New Jersey
The Cranford Hotel, as seen today, bears a strong resemblance to its earliest days. Built in 1893 by John and Martin Hess, the current building replaced an earlier 1882 structure on the South Avenue side of the block that burned down; chose the location adjacent to the train tracks to ensure it was a popular stop for businessmen returning home from a long day of work in New York City.
The hotel fronted directly on the railroad tracks until the level track crossing was eliminated in 1930. The railroad tracks were just outside the front door, at grade level in the days before the entire line was elevated to eliminate conflicts with road traffic.
In addition to sleeping rooms, the hotel included a bar and a produce store on the ground floor. On April 6, 1946, the Hess Hotel was sold from the Hess estate to Cranford’s DiTullio family, the first of three generations to steward the establishment. Frank Sr and his brother Billy purchased the establishment for just $2759. The Cranford Hotel remained used as a hotel, restaurant, and commuter bar until the early 70s.
The upstairs area now showcases a charming restaurant and bar with a view of downtown Cranford. Downstairs is a cozy pub area with a beautiful, lovely fireplace. Many don’t know the fireplace area was formerly a bowling alley. In contrast, no longer boarding guests, the 2nd and 3rd floors were fully renovated during the COVID-19 pandemic and are now private offices.
The Cranford Hotel is the oldest continuously operated family-run business in Cranford and remains a historical icon for all to enjoy.
#35 in the New Jersey Historical Keepsake Village Collection
Riverside Inn c. 1900 – “The Dive” on the Rahway River – Cranford, New Jersey
The Riverside Inn along the Rahway River, affectionately known as “The Dive,” has been a cherished establishment in Cranford, New Jersey. Its origins date back to the early 20th century, the building was erected in 1900 along the Rahway River coining the town’s cliché as the “Venice of New Jersey.”
Initially a flower shop, its unassuming facade was pivotal during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. In those years, the basement of the building operated as a speakeasy, as evidence remains on the basement walls, depicting bottles and barkeeps—a reminder of the resident’s defiance of Prohibition laws.
Significant floods have tried and failed to drown out the Riverside Inn. The Rahway River flooded over twelve times: July 1938, May 1968, August 1971 and 1973, July 1975, June 1992, October 1996, July 1997, September 1999, April 2007, Hurricane Irene in 2011, and Hurricane Ida in 2021. After each tragedy, people often stated, “There is more water inside the Dive than the River.” But after each devastating flood, the “River-Dive” underwent repairs to restore operations.
In 1995, lifelong Cranford resident Peter “Jake” Jacobs and his brother Jeff (Jocco) purchased the bar. Today, patrons appreciate its status as a community hub where generations gather to enjoy a uniquely local atmosphere that blends history, art, and local flavor, maintaining its reputation as the beloved “River-dive.”
#36 in the New Jersey Historical Keepsake Village Collection
Cranford High School – 1938 – Cranford, New Jersey
Established in 1902, Cranford High School in Cranford, New Jersey, began as a four-year institution housed within the Grant School. 1914, it relocated to the Cleveland School, on the corner of Cleveland Place and Garden Street, to accommodate a growing student body. By the early 1930s, the Cleveland School operated over capacity, prompting discussions for a dedicated high school building. Despite initial resistance from voters, construction of the current facility commenced in 1937, and the new building was opened and dedicated on January 27, 1938. At the opening, CHS welcomed around 950 students.
Cranford High School started at the new location, where students in grades 10 through 12 were enrolled. The ninth grade was moved to what was then the Cleveland Junior High School (grades 7–9). This arrangement continued until 1992, when the High School transitioned back to a 4-year high school, beginning with the 1992-1993 academic year.
The Cougar, CHS’s mascot, was chosen to symbolize strength, agility, and courage. The school colors of royal blue symbolize loyalty, wisdom, and confidence, while gold represents success & achievement.
Carol “The Blaze” Blazejowski, a 1974 graduate of Cranford High School, helped establish the school’s girls basketball team. She became one of the greatest scorers in the history of women’s basketball and would later earn her induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated would call Blazejowski “the most relentlessly exciting performer in the history of women’s basketball.” She would later serve as the President & General Manager of the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Many feel Blaze is the most famous alum to ever graduate from CHS.
While the school’s primary arch-rival is Clark’s Johnson Regional High School, Westfield High School is also considered a significant rival, especially in sports like wrestling and football. Currently, the school serves over 1,000 students across 9th-12th grades.
#36 in the New Jersey Historical Keepsake Village Collection
1926 – Cranford Theater – 25 North Avenue West, Cranford, New Jersey
On November 29, 1926, the swanky New Branford Theatre opened on the site of Cranford’s old Township building with Noah Beery Sr. (Berry) starring in the silent film “Padlocked” packing 1,300 seats, a stage, and a $18,000 Wurlitzer pipe organ. On January 27, 1927, an issue over the name of the theater was ironed out, and the “B” on the electric sign was replaced with a “C,” and the new signs were lit with the name “Cranford Theatre.” Giddy with excitement, the Cranford Chronicle gushed: “The New Branford is Dead. Long live the New Cranford.”
By 1941, Warner Brothers was operating the theater. Remodeled to 1,209 seats, it remained unchanged until the 1980s when the theater was twinned. Then in 1998, the owner of the Rialto Theater in Westfield purchased the theater and converted it to a five-screen movie house. Following a rough patch of corporate ownership from 2014 to 2019, the theatre was purchased by Jesse and Doreen Sayegh and reopened on November 8, 2019.
Bad timing because in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Forced to close, the Sayeghs opened a “pop-up drive-In” nearby to keep going. In a selfless act, a portion of proceeds are donated to various organizations, including frontline workers. “We’re definitely not going down without a fight.” Televisions, VCRs, streaming services and even pandemics have challenged theaters’ existence but they continue to survive so long as the community provides support. Events such as Dinner & a Movie, free night Golden Tickets, and private movie screenings help keep the public coming back.
Honoring history, the Cranford Theater was presented with the Cranford Historical Society’s Historic Preservation Award. In 2021, the theater served as a host for the Garden State Film Festival (GSFF). The Cranford Theater continues writing its next chapter in the history books.
#35 in the New Jersey Historical Keepsake Village Collection
c.1907 – Cranford Canoe Club – Cranford, New Jersey
The Cranford Canoe Club is one of the oldest canoe clubs in the United States and a community landmark of Cranford’s identity for over a century. The current canoe club, while not the first, is the Rahway River’s last surviving canoe club.
Late in the 19th century Cranford saw the formation of many informal boating/hockey clubs. The Cranford Canoe Club had its origins in the “Shanty Gang” which held meetings in Alfred Clark’s red “Lobster Shanty” canoe livery at the intersection of Normandie Place and Riverside Drive. In 1904 or 1906 the Shanty Gang renamed themselves the Skeeter Club and then in 1907 formalized as the Cranford Canoe Club. The current structure was originally the Ulhigh Canoe Club. After serving as a club, the facility was run as a private business first by George Apgar until 1972, then by the Betz family of Westfield alongside the Canoe Club Workers of America (CCWA) until 1990 when the facility was sold to the Township of Cranford.
The Cranford Canoe Club resided in three locations: Normandie and Springfield Avenues, Springfield Avenue, and its last location on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Orange Avenue. The Rahway river provides approximately two miles of river in Cranford for canoeing.
While no longer a formal club the facility remains a seasonal livery operation keeping the tradition of Cranford as the “Venice of New Jersey,” serving now as New Jersey’s oldest canoe livery operation.
#13 in the Mr. Local History Historic Village Collection
