he Montclair Public Library announced on Monday the preservation of a document transferring land from Azariah Crane (said to be Montclairs first non-indigenous resident) to his son. The land deed, dated November 26, 1752, is one of the earliest written records of what would become Montclair.
The document, owned by the Library since at least 1961, was in poor condition from previous attempts to preserve it.
“Over the years our understanding of how to conserve and preserve old documents has evolved. When preparing for the Library’s 125th anniversary in 2018, we recognized this important piece of Montclair history needed some TLC to ensure it lasted another 250-plus years,” said Library Director Peter Coyl. “We are pleased to now be able to let Montclairians experience this piece of history.”
“This deed is one of the earliest extant documents relating to Montclair’s history,” said Jane Eliasof, Executive Director of the Montclair History Center. “Azariah Crane was among the first English settlers at the foot of First Mountain. He grew up in a home (now gone) near today’s Orange Road and Myrtle Avenue.”
The document was treated and preserved by the Conservation Center For Art & Historic Artifacts, a group in Philadelphia that has treated other historic documents, including early copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Funding for the project was provided by the Montclair Public Library Foundation.
“This is an example of an object that has suffered not only from being made with somewhat unstable materials, but has also been treated in the past in an attempt to preserve it that did more harm than good. It is written in iron gall ink, which degrades over time and damages paper,” said Chloe Houseman, Paper Conservator at the Conservation Center For Art & Historic Artifacts.
The parcel of land described in the deed is located west of Orange Road, between Gates and Union Streets, according to research done by George Musser using the extensive collection of Crane family records housed at the Montclair History Center
The land deed will be available for viewing at the Montclair Public Library when full in-person services are restored after the pandemic. A digital version may be viewed on the Library website at montclairlibrary.org/deed.
Two homes owned by Azariah Crane’s descendants are still in the area: The Nathaniel Crane House, now owned by the Montclair History Center, and a homestead on Union Street. The Crane House and Historic YWCA was coincidentally moved in 1965 to what had formerly been Crane property.
The Montclair Public Library gratefully acknowledges the Munsee Lenape People on whose ancestral homelands our libraries are built.