Lake Hopatcong Resident Writes Book About Morristown

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or, for Lake Hopatcong resident Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika, between about $1 to $20.

That is what Nadzeika, a former Morris County Historical Society director, said she has paid for the bulk of her collection of postcards showing scenes from Morristown through the years.

As part of Arcadia Publishing's "Postcard History Series," those and others have been compiled to create "Morristown," released Oct. 15.

Like its more widely-recognized "Images of America" series, Arcadia's "Postcard History" series provides a snapshot serving of towns across the country, but through the lens of postcards.

Compiling the hundreds of postcards across 126 pages of "Morristown" was an inviting task for the self-professed history geek, who has for the past 20 years worked for the Morris County Historical Society, Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, Macculloch Hall and Historic Speedwell, among others.

"They were looking for someone to do a new Morristown book," Nadzeika said, noting it had been a number of years since Morristown's "Images of America" book had been published.

The title "Morristown," however, is a bit of a misnomer. Since the town and township did not separate until 1865, it made sense for both to be included, Nadzeika said. There even are a couple photos from outside Morristown and Morris Township, including one of the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital because the card said "Morristown."

Postcards in the book—many of which Nadzeika purchased for between $1 and $20 from eBay—range from the iconic (the Green, First Baptist Church), to the less-expected.

Nadzeika said two of her favorite postcards showed a former pharmacy, now the long-vacant building at the corner of South Street and Park Place, as well as the former Morristown Trust Company, now Chase Bank's South Street location. There, she said a mural of George Washington's Morristown encampment was painted by noted muralist Francis Scott Bradford, and still remains to this day.

"People probably go there all the time and nobody realizes a nationally recognized artist painted that," Nadzeika said.

This is the history buff's first published work, to which she said was pretty cool.

But, she's not done. "I would love to do more," Nadzeika said. "There's so much left to be said in Morris County. And, there is way more history—especially in Morristown—I found that could fit into this book."

Ultimately, Nadzeika's goal with the "Morristown" postcard series book is to get people interested in history.

"I hope someone would pick this up and say, 'wow, that's something I didn't know about Morristown,'" she said. "And maybe they will go further. Maybe they will visit there."

For more information about the "Morristown" book in the "Postcard History" series, click here.