Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Five generations of the Macculloch - Miller - Post family lived at Macculloch Hall. From 1810-1947, this family experienced and participated the events of American history. Learn more about the descendants who lived at Maculloch Hall and their accomplishments by exploring the timeline below.

1812-1949: Who is living at Macculloch Hall?

While he never lived at Macculloch Hall, W. Parsons Todd is an important part of the Museum's history. Click through the slideshow images below to learn more about him. 

W. Parsons Todd

School desks at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Student Engagement: Preserving Your School's History

The people who work at museums have choices to make about what stories are told, what artifacts are displayed, and how people tour the spaces. Over the past 75 years,  Macculloch Hall Historical Museum has looked different. Click through the slides below to see past and present ways visitors saw the museum.

Interpreting Macculloch Hall Historical Museum: Then and Now

Pick one of the rooms from the previous activity and compare and contrast them in the Venn Diagram below. Students can write directly on the Venn Diagram using the text tools or download and print a PDF of the page to complete with a pencil. 

Student Engagement: Compare and Contrast MHHM Rooms 

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum has hundreds of objects in the collection. They cannot display all of them at once. It is the job of museum staff to pick the objects that tell relevant and engaging stories about the history associated with the house and those who lived in it. Click through the slideshow to learn about some of the key artifacts on display at the museum.

Key Objects in the Collection

Center Hall, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Student Engagement: Create your Own Museum Exhibit

Think about the role museums have to educate the public on the history of a community as you answer the following questions. 

Reflection and Discussion Questions

Established in 1950, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum has served as Morristown's community museum for 75 years. But how does one family's home go from a place to live to a museum for all? This Resource Kit explores the history of the building, the people who lived in the home, and how a museum was created. Students have the opportunity to research and design their own museum exhibit about their school's history

Educator Overview_ From Home to Museum.pdf

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum Website

From Home to Museum: How do you Make a Museum?

U.S. History

Social Studies

Visual Arts

The Arts

Careers

Careers in Museums

George Macculloch’s Campeche chair is important to the history of American furniture because it has survived in the home for which it was made. 

When Macculloch Hall was sold by the family in 1949, this chair remained in the attic. Repairs made over time attest to its use and esteem. “Grandfather’s leather chair” was itemized in Mary Louisa Macculloch Miller’s will. 

It is currently on display in the Family Office

George Macculloch’s Campeche chair is important to the history of American furniture because it has survived in the home for which it was made. Campeche chairs were prized possessions of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

When Macculloch Hall was sold by the family in 1949, this chair remained in the attic. Repairs made over time attest to its use and esteem. “Grandfather’s leather chair” was itemized in Mary Louisa Macculloch Miller’s will. Fine examples are in the collections at Monticello, the James Madison Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and MHHM.


Macculloch Campeche Chair conserved.jpg

Campeche Chair

This painting shows Morristown in 1850. Starting at the left and moving across the painting to the right, you can see the domed cupola of the Courthouse, the Presbyterian Church and Green, South Street Presbyterian, St. Peter’s before the present square steeple, and the gambrel rooftop of Macculloch Hall. In the upper right background, a steam engine moving towards Morristown is visible.

It is currently on display in the Dining Room

This painting shows Morristown in 1850. Starting at the left and moving across the painting to the right, you can see the domed cupola of the Courthouse, the Presbyterian Church and Green, South Street Presbyterian, St. Peter’s before the present square steeple, and the gambrel rooftop of Macculloch Hall. In the upper right background, a steam engine moving towards Morristown is visible. Look for the plume of steam.

A View of Morristown from Fort Nonsense by Kranich_Courtesy of Stan Freeny.jpg

A View of Morristown from Fort Nonsense

This portrait was purchased by W. Parsons Todd in 1954. 

George Washington's portrait is currently on display in the Dining Room. 

In additional to the original portrait hanging on the wall, the Museum has a recreated 3-dimensional replica that guests can interact with and touch to have a tactile experience with the painting. 

W. Parsons Todd purchased this Washington portrait at auction in 1954.  The painting was throughout Mr. Todd’s life, the pride of his collection.

Peale painted Washington from life in 1795. This portrait is one of three duplicates of that portrait, which is in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.  

Peale depicts President Washington in fine civilian clothing in a three-quarter portrait. This is a naturalistic painting that shows Washington’s humanity and dignity. Smallpox scars are visible in the hollow of his cheek facing the viewer.   


George Washington Portrait.jpg

Portrait of George Washington

This canteen is on display in the Center Hall. It was a gift to Thomas Nast from officers and enlisted men in the Army and Navy as a thank you for Nast's support of the military during the Civil War. 

This presentation piece was commissioned by 3,500 officers and enlisted men of the United States Army and Navy to honor Thomas Nast. Presented to the artist in 1879, it was the first time the Army and Navy had honored a private citizen.

The back of the canteen is inscribed "THE GIFT OF THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED OFFICERS & ENLISTED MEN OF THE ARMY 7 NAVY OF THE U.S./ PRESENTED TO/THOMAS NAST./ by his Friends in the Army & Navy of the United States,/ in recognition of the patriotic use/ he has made of his/ rare abilities, as/ THE ARTIST OF THE PEOPLE."

Nast Canteen (Front)_Stan Freeny.jpg

Nast Canteen (Front) Detail Columbia_Stan Freeny.jpg

Army & Navy Testimonial Canteen

Thomas Nast painted this small pair of paintings as companion pieces, meaning he painted them as a pair to be displayed together, likely in his family home. Their display in the Museum is the first time these paintings have ever been on public display. Painted during the Civil War, 

 may be read as Nast’s opinion on race relations at the time. Each toddler holds a doll of the other girl's race, and each doll is dressed to look like the other seated girl. 

Nast1.png

Nast2.png

Nast3.png

Girls with Dolls

This large painting was purchased by W. Parsons Todd from the Twombly estate sale in Madison in 1955. It is currently on display in the Drawing Room. 

Painted during the Golden Age of Dutch painting, Fowl in Landscape is innovative for its portrayal of live birds. d’Hondecoeter is known for his landscapes full of domestic, wild and exotic birds all interacting. Interest in the natural sciences was on the rise and because of their detail, d’Hondecoeter’s paintings were often displayed alongside scientific instruments in the homes of the wealthy.  In the center foreground a peacock stands on a low wall looking next to a seated pheasant. A rooster and hen are in the lower left foreground. d’Hondecoeter paints them animatedly clucking and shows the hen with outstretched wings trying to gather her chicks. Bove this grouping flys a pigeon. Across the foreground to the right an Egyptian goose honks at a Swan goose. Swallows fly in the upper left background. This painting was purchased by W. Parsons Todd from the Twombly estate sale in Madison in 1955.

Fowl in Landscape.jpg

Fowl in Landscape

Augustus II the Strong (1670-1733), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, commissioned Meissen Porcelain Manufactory to produce one hundred “birdcage” vases to decorate the throne room of his Japanese Palace in 1730. Meissen directly copied the Birdcage Vases from a Japanese form and decorated them with a desired blue and gold finish. Only nine of these vases have been identified to date and most, like this pair, are incomplete or repaired. 

Meissen Pair Together.png

Pair of Birdcage Vasses

Part of the archival collection at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum contains documents from past presidents. 

This proclamation from George Washington in 1789 established Thanksgiving as special day. In 1870, Congress passed the first four recognized holidays: New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day , and Christmas Day for federal employees in Washington DC. By 1885, these holidays were extended to federal employees nationwide. 

Presidential proclamation declaring Thanksgiving Day a holiday.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

From Home to Museum: How do you Make a Museum?

Key Objects in the Collection

Guiding Question

Campeche Chair