Company Profile
Company Overview
MCHA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of Monmouth County for all. The mission was adopted as the core of MCHA’s new three-year Strategic Plan which was formally adopted by the Board of Trustees in May, 2018 after a comprehensive five-month planning process. The organization’s vision and values include a community where a relevant, shared history is a continual source of inspiration.
Noted for having one of New Jersey’s most distinguished collections of furniture, paintings, artifacts, rare documents and books, MCHA has been in continuous operation for over 120 years. The organization’s main site is in Freehold, where it operates a museum, library and archives in a Georgian-style structure built for the organization in 1931. MCHA operates five historic houses within four of the earliest historic settlements in Monmouth County: Allen House (c. 1780, Shrewsbury), Covenhoven (c. 1752, Freehold), Marlpit Hall (c. 1686 – 1756, Middletown), Taylor-Butler House (c. 1853, Middletown) and Holmes-Hendrickson House (c. 1754, Holmdel). In addition to operating the historic houses, MCHA has a gallery for changing exhibits in the Freehold Museum. Recent popular exhibits have included: Tracking Sandy, Monmouth Remembers, Hartshorne: Eight Generations and their Highland Estate called Portland, Micah Williams: Portrait Artist, and Spirituals to Soul: African-American Musical Heritage in Monmouth.
MCHA has approximately 300-member families and a staff of eight professionals. An Interim Executive Director has guided day-to-day operations since July, 2017. Governance includes an Executive Committee of six that meets monthly with the Executive Director and an active committee structure that is supported by the larger Board of Trustees. MCHA has an operating budget of over $710,000.
Company History
MCHA was founded in 1898 by a dedicated group of local historians led by professional educator, Caroline Gallup Reed. It is one of the oldest associations of its kind in the country and is noted for having one of New Jersey’s most distinguished collections of furniture, paintings, artifacts, rare documents and books. The collection totals approximately 30,000 objects. MCHA has enjoyed the support of leading collectors and organizations since inception. Pre-eminent among its early patrons was Mrs. J. Amory Haskell (1864 – 1942), a major collector of Americana who donated more than 800 items to the collection. The Haskell gifts are especially strong in locally documented early furniture, portraits, and household items.
The organization’s main location is in Freehold, where it operates a museum, library and archives in a Georgian-style structure built for the organization in 1931. In 1936, Mrs. Haskell donated a fully restored Marlpit Hall and furnished it with period items. This important structure, built in part in 1686 and enlarged in 1756, was the first historic house museum in Monmouth County. This was followed by Holmes-Hendrickson House (1959), Covenhoven (1966), Allen House (1968) and finally the Taylor-Butler House (1999). MCHA is noteworthy among the state’s historic organizations as the only one operating historic houses at multiple locations.
Through the years, MCHA has received a number of significant recognitions. In the 1970s, the National Endowment of the Arts awarded the organization two grants to underwrite exhibitions on American Crafts and American Folk Art. In 1980, MCHA received national attention when Antiques Magazine featured forty-four outstanding examples from the collection. In 2001, MCHA received the Award of Recognition for its exhibitions, research and educational programs from the New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC). MCHA has been the recipient of NJHC’s largest annual operating grant for a number of years.