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 of 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, the name of a building, or a 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 constantly be checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.
(Updated April 2023)
New Jersey Historical Photo Archives
- Atlantic City, NJ Images
- Atlantic County Photographs
- Bayonne Public Library Digital Collections
- Bayshore Center at Bivalve – Port Norris
- Bergen County History Archives
- Bloomfield Historic Photos
- Bordentown Historical Images
- Caldwell University Archives Digital Exhibits
- Camden County Historic Photos
- Camden Old Historic Photos
- Chester Postcards and Images
- Collingswood Images
- Courier News Photograph Archive
- Englewood Photos and Postcards
- Franklin Township Public Library – Somerset
- Glassboro Summit Exhibit Photos
- Gloucester County Photographs
- Hammonton History Project Images
- 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
- Jersey City Free Public Library Digital Collections
- 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 Postcard Collection
- 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 Hoboken Photos
- Old Newark
- 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
- Rowan University Glassboro Summit Collection
- 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 Jersey City Images
- Vintage Mount Holly 1920s
- Vintage New Jersey Images
- Vintage Passaic County Photos
- Weehawken Time Machine
- West Jersey Post Card Images
- William Paterson University, University Galleries – Wayne
For historic photos from other states and articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.
For all Free New Jersey Links, click on the category of interest:
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Digital Archives
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Photos
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