The Crane House & Historic YWCA museum at the Montclair History Center will now be open every Sunday for self-guided tours from 12-3 pm for the public (closed holidays).

The Crane House & Historic YWCA museum is a historic house museum that explores the history of our country from its early years as an independent nation to a country embroiled in the civil rights struggle. Built back 1796, the house was the Crane family home for over 100 years. In 1920, African American women in the community purchased the home as headquarters for a YWCA, a segregated space. It was a significant part of the African American community for four decades. By 1965, the YWCA desperately needed a new building. Local preservationists moved the house to its present location and turned it into a historic house museum. Today, we tell the stories of the three generations of Cranes and enslaved people and servants that were part of the household (1796-1800), the period when it was YWCA for Black women and girls, including boarders (1920-1965), and its transition to a museum telling the story of preservation in its formative years in America (1965-1970).

The Montclair History Center continues to offer guided public tours once a month and private tours by appointment. For more information visit: https://www.montclairhistory.org/plan-your-visit.