The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms celebrates 35 Years and a Grand Re-Opening! 

In 1989, Craftsman Farms, Gustav Stickley’s early 20th century country estate in Parsippany, New Jersey, was rescued from development and purchased by the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills. That year, the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms (SMCF), then known as The Craftsman Farms Foundation, began its partnership with the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills to oversee the preservation and interpretation of Craftsman Farms. The organization was entrusted with sharing the property with the public, which it did by opening almost immediately for tours, and with stewarding the restoration of the property’s remaining 30 acres and nine original buildings. The following year it was designated a National Historic Landmark.  

The Log House, the heart of Craftsman Farms and the Stickley family home, became the focus of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms’ initial restoration efforts. Over the years, wide-ranging work has been done on the Log House’s exterior, including extensive roof repairs, and interior, most notably the installation of a sophisticated sprinkler system. These projects have addressed restoration while ensuring the Log House is protected for future generations to enjoy.  

And the work continues, most recently with the restoration of the Log House Kitchen—a project funded by the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund by the New Jersey Historic Trust—and the upcoming restoration of the upstairs hall, a project which was recently awarded a grant from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust.  

In time, perseveration and restoration efforts were expanded to more original buildings on the campus. The SMCF has rehabilitated an original garage building, now known as the Education Center, performed extensive preservation of the North Cottage, which today houses some of the rarest items in the museum’s collections, and recently rebuilt the Annex, the structure adjacent to the Log House, which was badly damaged during a tropical storm in 2020. With the help of grant funding from the New Jersey Historic Trust, the organization has installed permanent signage at the entrance, a permanent information kiosk in the parking lot, and improved wayfinding across the property.   

Throughout this period, as physical work to restore Stickley’s vision for the property was ongoing, the museum also developed and built upon its interpretation of the property. Craftsman Farms was established by Stickley as a physical embodiment of the American Arts and Craft movement and an expression of his Craftsman style. The movement developed as an aesthetic and as a set of values demonstrating respect for nature and work done by hand, with direct designs intended to communicate both, while promoting honesty, harmony, and beauty in home life. Stickley disseminated these ideas through his magazine, his retail and manufacturing operations, his architecture firm, his restaurant, and perhaps most clearly through his development of Craftsman Farms. In its tours and its programs, both on-site and online, the museum has shared the story of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman vision, and his life, work, and legacy, with visitors of all ages and with fans of the decorative arts, design, and architecture around the world.

Closure in 2020 

Once the museum opened in 1989, it largely remained open for regular public tours and programs until its abrupt closure in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, that unexpected closure was extended years longer after damage from Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020. During the storm, a massive tree fell onto the Annex, a structure adjacent to the Log House. Efforts to rebuild the Annex required two years of planning and fundraising. Construction, which was expected to take 11 months, stretched to 26 months. During this time, the museum maintained restricted on-site operations so that construction could proceed. Happily, programs continued online and became a lifeline for the museum. Begun in April 2020 when the pandemic disrupted conventional on-site programs, the museum’s online classes, lectures, and tours, provided fresh ways for the organization to fulfill its mission and in turn, to reach new audiences and expand its membership. (Here is a link to the museum’s rich archive of online educational programs: https://www.stickleymuseum.org/online-class-archive/)

Grand Re-Opening! 

Now, finally, in October 2024, the museum celebrated a grand re-opening and simultaneously its 35th anniversary! With the re-opening, the rebuilt Annex Visitor Pavilion, now the home of The Craftsman Shop, opened its doors. The museum also showcased the newly restored Log House Kitchen, which was undertaken at the same time the Annex was rebuilt. With its reopening the museum is returning to a more robust schedule of tours, including three tours daily on the weekends, and specialty tours, like the Director’s Tour and the Collections In-Depth Tour on weekdays. The museum is also anticipating a full holiday season, its busiest time of the year, when it will host “Crafts-Mas” Open Houses on the first two Saturdays in December and a series of holiday tours of the Log House, which explore early 20th century holiday traditions (see online schedule for tour times and registration). This year during its Crafts-Mas Open House, on Saturday, December 14, the museum will cap its 35th anniversary celebration with the launch of the museum’s new children’s book Adventures at Craftsman Farms with Teddy (A Craftsman Puppy), which introduces children to the property through the eyes of the Stickley family’s dog Teddy.

Acknowledgements  

The museum is grateful to the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, its partner in preservation, to the New Jersey Historic Trust, and to the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust for ongoing funding in support of the restoration of Craftsman Farms. Additionally, the museum is grateful for grant funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission and for individual donors and members who have made its ongoing work possible.  

Craftsman Farms, the former home of noted designer Gustav Stickley, is owned by the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills and is operated by The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, Inc., (“SMCF”) (formerly known as The Craftsman Farms Foundation, Inc.). SMCF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of New Jersey. Restoration of the National Historic Landmark, Craftsman Farms, is made possible, in part, by a Save America’s Treasures Grant administered by the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior, and by support from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, and individual donors. SMCF received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. Educational programs are funded, in part, by grants from the Arts & Crafts Research Fund.