New Jersey Online Historical Photos Research

An old proverb states that “the eyes are the windows into the soul.” A genealogy corollary is that “a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors.”

I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos for the period when they lived. And it is important to a complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors’ lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through. 

So where can they be found?  Obviously the best resource is our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, name of a building or historical event and find what is available.

For the state of New Jersey what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online?  Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.

Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.

Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not be constantly checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.

(Updated June 2022)

• Atlantic City, NJ Images
• Atlantic County Photographs
• Bayonne Public Library Digital Collections
• Bayshore Center at Bivalve – Port Norris 
• Bloomfield Historic Photos
• Bordentown Historical Images
• Caldwell University Archives Digital Exhibits
• Camden County Historic Photos
• Camden Old Historic Photos
• Chester Postcards and Images
• Courier News Photograph Archive
• Englewood Photos and Postcards
• Franklin Township Public Library – Somerset 
• Glassboro Summit Exhibit Photos
• Historic Images of Burlington County
• Historic Images of Hunterdon County
• Historic New Jersey Photos
• Historical Photos Of Atlantic City From 1900’s
• Historical Society of Princeton – Princeton 
• Hoboken Historical Museum – Hoboken 
• Hoboken Images
• Hunterdon County Historical Society – Flemington 
• Images of Early 20th Century Morristown
• Kean University Digital Collections
• Landing, New Jersey Historical Photos
• Leonia Public Library – Local History Collection – Leonia 
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs – New Jersey
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
• Long Branch Historic Views
• Mercer County Vintage Postcards
• Middlesex County Historical Archives and Library – Piscataway
• Montclair Online Photo Collection
• Montclair Photo Collections
• Montclair State University Digital Collections
• Moorestown Historic Photographs
• National Archives – Digital Photograph Collections
• New Brunswick Area Photo Collections
• New Jersey Ancient Faces
• New Jersey Archives – Abandoned Building Photography
• New Jersey Dead Fred
• New Jersey Department of Agriculture Photographs
• New Jersey Department of State Image Collections
• New Jersey Digital Highway – Images
• New Jersey Historic Photos
• New Jersey National Guard Photograph Collection
• New Jersey Old Family Photos
• New Jersey Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, ca. 1935 – 1942
• New Jersey, DP.LA Photos
• New Jersey, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives
• New Jersey, Portraits of Civil War Soldiers
• Newark Public Library Photo Collections
• North Bergen Old and New Photos
• North Jersey History & Genealogy Center Digital Collections
• Old Collingswood
• Old Newark Photos
• Plainfield Public Library Guillermo Thorn Photograph Collection
• Plainfield Public Library Historical Photograph Collection
• Plainfield Public Library Lloyd Grimstead Photograph Collection
• Plainfield Public Library Paul R. Collier Photograph Collection
• Plainfield Public Library Vintage Postcard Collection
• Point Pleasant Historic Images
• Reformed Church in America Archives
• Ridgewood Public Library – Ridgewood 
• Smithsonian Images
• South Jersey Historic Photos
• Trenton Old and New
• Union Township Historical Society Photos
• Vintage Aerial Photos – New Jersey
• Vintage East Brunswick Photos
• Vintage Jersey City
• Vintage Mount Holly 1920s
• Vintage Passaic County Photos
• West Jersey Post Card Images

For historic photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.