Online resources
NPML Digital Archives include the local newspaper The Independent Press (1966-67; 1973; 1990; 1992-1994), and the New Providence Scrapbook Collection, a digitized collection of clippings and print materials that librarians saved over the years that related to New Providence or New Jersey history.
HeritageQuest contains Census records for New Providence. Log in with your library card barcode number.
The Independent Press is available in the NPML Digital Archives for the years 1966-67; 1973; 1990; 1992-1994, with gaps (as of June 2021; digitizing the Independent Press is a multi-year project). For the years 2006-2016, visit the Berkeley Heights Public Library in person to access Newsbank.
New Providence Welcome Guide, a borough publication, has a few pages on New Providence's history.
Turkey Tracks is the newsletter of the New Providence Historical Society and has facts about New Providence history.
New Providence Historical Society's Facebook page has posts about various aspects of New Providence history.
Print resources
For assistance finding any of these materials, please ask at the reference desk.
New Providence History
Images of America: New Providence by Joan Gonczlik and Jane Coddington provides information about New Providence's history as well as photographs. The Founders of New Providence, New Jersey by Willis Johnson and This is New Providence, published in 1968 by the League of Women Voters, also provide histories of New Providence.
The New Providence - Berkeley Heights Directory (1955 - 1980, with gaps) is a telephone directory with two different indexes: name and address. It is helpful for residents of older houses who wish to look up who was living at their address in that time period. Note: these have been moved to the Mason Room and so are only available during special hours. They are also available at the Berkeley Heights Public Library.
The library's collection of New Providence High School The Trail yearbooks goes back to 1960.
Early History
For New Providence history up until 1899, see From the Passaiack to the Wach Unks edited by Helen Desmond.
For New Providence history up until 1869, see Family Records by John Littell, Summit, New Jersey by Edmund Raftis and Summit's Story by Robin Little.
The Mason Room is a treasure trove of local history materials. It is located at the back of the library and is open on Tuesdays 10 AM - 12 PM, and the first Saturday of the month, 11 AM - 1 PM, when members of the New Providence Historical Society can provide you with assistance. To contact the Historical Society, call (908) 665-1034, or email the Historical Society.
