The Fiedler Local History Archive · Est. 1959

Hackettstown, remembered.

Old photographs, newspaper clippings, and the stories behind them — a record of the people who took chances on this town, kept by the family that has helped Hackettstown buy and sell on the same streets for three generations.

A 1959 aerial view of the Panther Ledge estate in Allamuchy: the Colonial mansion among trees, barns and outbuildings along dirt lanes, the oval pool at upper left, open fields beyond.
HKT-1969-002 · Oral History · 1959–1970
Panther Valley: the deal a father shared with his son
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From the archive

Every photograph is an address. Every clipping is a neighbor.

A studio group portrait of the Fiedler Real Estate staff in the mid-1980s — four people standing and four seated.
Collection · 7 entries
The Team That Built Us

The teams that built us, through the years — the agents, staff, and friends behind the Fiedler name, in photographs.

Fiedler family collection · Enter the collection →
A 1959 aerial view of the Panther Ledge estate in Allamuchy: the Colonial mansion among trees, barns and outbuildings along dirt lanes, the oval pool at upper left, open fields beyond.
HKT-1969-002 · Oral History · 1959–1970
Panther Valley: the deal a father shared with his son

The closing that turned Panther Ledge into Panther Valley was Len Fiedler's turning point — and his son Dan lived every chapter, from the check in the easy chair to cutting the roads in.

The Gazette, June 11, 1959 · photo by Helen G. H. Lance — public domain (copyright never renewed)
The back of a navy Fiedler championship jacket, printed with Fiedlers in pale-blue script above a swooping banner reading Real Estate.
HKT-1990-001 · Oral History · 1976–1999
Fiedler Men's Softball: one pitch over the fence

Twenty-three seasons, eighteen championships — and the day a whole season was worth less than one friend's turn at bat.

Family collection
A fire engine and two tower ladders battle a smoking building collapse on Main Street, hoses crossing the road, with a yellow Fiedlers Real Estate sign standing beside the fallen storefront.
HKT-1982-001 · Story · 1980–1982
The Little Village

Seventeen little shops in the old furniture building at 237 Main — until November 9, 1982, when a fire that began in a candle shop's oven took it all.

Dan Fiedler collection (photographer unrecorded; used with his permission)
Ed Coyne, in his late nineties, seated in a floral armchair in his living room, smiling as a saxophonist in a gray suit plays tenor sax beside him.
HKT-2026-001 · Oral History · b. 1927
Ed Coyne: the artist who helped shape Hackettstown

At 99, artist and jazz devotee Ed Coyne looks back on Helga, the Sunshine Barn, and how he brought world-class jazz to Hackettstown.

Photograph by Jeff Fiedler
A single-story red-brick building with a dark roof and tidy shrubs at dusk, 'Jacob Garabed Administration Building' lettered above the white entrance door.
HKT-1993-001 · Story · 1918–1993
The Jacob Garabed Administration Building

Businessman Jacob Garabed gave 22 volunteer years to the board of Hackettstown's water and sewer authority. Its Hurley Drive headquarters bears his name.

Photograph by January O'Neill
The American flag on a tall pole at the center of Union Cemetery at sunset, rows of gravestones with small flags below and wooded hills glowing pink behind.
HKT-1857-001 · Story · since 1857
Union Cemetery

Owned in common by its lot-holders since 1857, Hackettstown's Union Cemetery holds its 1898 stone arch, generations of trustees, and the monument to Tillie Smith.

Photograph by January O'Neill
A vintage postcard of the Warren House in Hackettstown, New Jersey: a large white Greek Revival building with a two-story colonnade of square columns, and a 1920s car parked in front.
HKT-1840-001 · Story · since 1840
David's Country Inn (The Warren House)

Built in 1840 at 314 Main Street, this Hackettstown inn was long known as The Warren House, named for Gen. Joseph Warren. The Falzarano family reopened it as David's Country Inn in 1978.

Vintage postcard, 'Warren House, Hackettstown, N.J.'
A historic black-and-white photograph of the American Saw Mill Machinery Company works: a two-story brick factory with the company name across it, a rail spur and a 1920s car in front.
HKT-1903-001 · Story · 1903–2003
The machinery works on Main Street

A brick works on Main Street built circular sawmills from 1903, became Bergen Machine & Tool around 1951, and after 2003 gave way to a CVS and a redevelopment plan.

Vintage photograph, American Saw Mill Machinery Company works
Centenary University's historic three-story main building with a golden dome and clock, seen in daylight from the front gate lettered 'Centenary University' under a blue sky.
HKT-1867-001 · Story · since 1867
Centenary University

Founded in Hackettstown in 1867 as the Centenary Collegiate Institute, the school passed through a century of name changes to become Centenary University — tied to the town throughout.

Photograph by January O'Neill
Black-and-white river-beach scene: a young woman in a one-piece bathing suit stands among children holding kickboards, more children lined up on a diving platform at left.
HKT-1969-001 · Photograph · mid-20th century – 1969
The Hackettstown Sand Bar

For much of the 20th century the Sand Bar was Hackettstown's swimming hole — until a phone call in summer 1969 closed the water for good. Lenee Fiedler was in the lifeguard chair when it rang.

From the collection of Lenee Fiedler O'Neill
The lit Hackettstown Christmas Star glowing on a wooded hillside at dusk, above a silver commuter train whose lighted sign reads HACKETTSTOWN.
HKT-1945-001 · Story · since World War II
The Hackettstown Christmas Star

Since the years of World War II, the Hackettstown Christmas Star has shone over Buck Hill each December — a small, steady beacon and the way home for generations.

Photograph by January O'Neill
A blue 'Welcome to Hackettstown, Incorporated 1853' sign with a Victorian-building emblem, held up by red and yellow M&M character cutouts on a green lawn.
HKT-1958-001 · Story · 1958
M&M/Mars comes to town, 1958

In 1958, M&M/Mars opened its Hackettstown plant — and the town became the place where M&M's are made.

Photograph by January O'Neill
Collections

Curated exhibits, kept by the family.

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The Fiedler Story, 1959–Today

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Made in Hackettstown

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Headlines & Happenings

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5 entries

Historic Photos of Hackettstown

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Faces of Hackettstown

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