In 1965 Morristown High School Superintendent Dr. Harry Wenner, in collaboration with Social Studies teacher Mr. Jack Stewart, initiated a unique learning opportunity for their students. Along with Mrs. Dorothy Harvey, a former Board of Education member, the trio proposed a program in which students would travel along "a pathway into the future through a new combination of study and humanistic work." The ambitious program soon necessitated a consultation with Dr. Gene Weltfish of the Archeology department of Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), and the American Civilization Institute of Morristown (ACIM) was born.
As noted in the American Civilization Institute of Morristown's first progress report, the Institute offered students a chance to study American civilization through the excavation, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the colonial-era Timothy Mills house of Morristown. Dr. Weltfish later wrote in 1969, "the underlying purpose of the project was to evolve a method of training for a fulfilled life for the individual through work and leisure". Participating students were to gain theoretical knowledge, as well as applicable skills, to prepare them for the demands of an increasingly automated and computerized workplace.
The project that began as a joint effort between two schools soon needed to enlist the help and support of others from a variety of professions. These professionals included the NJ State Field Archeologist, members of the FDU Chemistry Department and the National Park Service and various high school teachers and university professors. Eventually, over 300 hundred students would became involved in the Institute's extra-curricular activities. Other public institutions to lend their help and expertise included, West Morris High School, Chester Township, the Morris County Park Commission, the Great Swamp, the Morris County Historical Society and The Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township. Dr. Weltfish reports on the program that began in May 1965 in his book,
A photograph of a model of the Timothy Mills House, 1740, presented as a float in the July 4, 1976 Bicentennial Parade in Morristown, is located in the Photograph Collection, Parades.
Arranged by North Jersey History and Genealogy Center call number:
American Civilization Institute of Morristown.
The American Civilization Institute of Morristown (New Jersey) Records includes material relating to a joint educational program offered by Morristown High School and Fairleigh Dickinson University from 1965-1969. The innovative program centered around the archeological excavation, and the resulting educational projects, of the colonial-era Timothy Mills house in Morristown, New Jersey. These records detail the following information: the purpose of the program; the institutions and professionals involved with the program and its various projects; the research and field work necessary to achieve the goals of the program and, the resulting academic papers. Specific documents include By-Laws, progress reports, a statement of purpose, newsletters, budget information, a symposium paper and a book about the Institute.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the American Civilization Institute of Morristown Records may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the North Jersey History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
American Civilization Institute of Morristown Records. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library
Processed by Mary McMahon Dawson, Winter 2007.