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Mission Statement

The North Jersey Mineralogical Society is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1945 whose goal is to bring together people with an interest in the Earth Sciences in general, and mineral studies in particular. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. Young people under 17 years of age are welcome to attend if accompanied by a parent or adult friend.

History

In the early days of our Society, we were closely associated with both the Paterson Museum and the Paterson Library. The museum itself had been founded to house the various collections that had been stored in the library. The museum opened in January of 1927 with the collection of honorary member, Prof. Conrad Moeller, forming the base of what is one of the finest mineral collections in New Jersey.

Regular science discussions were held at the museum and on Dec. 21, 1944, a decision was made to form a mineral society. On Jan. 18, 1945, the first meeting was held, with Curator William C. Casperson acting as chairman. At the fourth meeting, on May 10th, The North Jersey Mineral Society was adopted as our name and William C. Casperson was elected President. On Jan 9, 1947, our name was changed to North Jersey Mineralogical Society, and a constitution and by-laws were adopted. Our Society was organized under the direction of Nicholas O. Berry, well-known lawyer and legislator of Passaic, whose generous contribution of his time and advice was recognized by our Society by granting him honorary membership.

In the early years, our Society sponsored field trips to many localities, occasionally hiring construction companies to allow the use of dynamite and bulldozers to insure good collecting. But in recent years, the legal interpretation of liability, workman's compensation, and environmental regulations made it difficult for property owners to allow casual visitors, and individual collecting has declined. At the same time, clubs have been able to arrange field trips into active quarries by securing insurance for our members acceptable to the owners of active quarries.

In recent years our club has continued to make field trips, but on a smaller scale than before. The importance of the micro mineral and proper recording of the mineral and locality with good photography has been stressed. There are still many good minerals being found and preserved through the efforts of our members. We are proud to have influenced several young people to pursue a career in the earth sciences. We are also proud of those members of our Society who have had minerals named after them:

• Baumite - after John Baum
• Gerstmannnite - after Ewald Gerstmann
• Haucckite - after Richard (past President) and Elan Hauck
• Kraisslite - after Fred (past President.) and Alice Kraissi
• Paulmoorelte - after Dr. Paul B. Moore
• Petersite - after Tom (past President.) and Joe Peters
• Welshite - after Wilfred Welsh (past President)
  
  

We continue to try to influence our members and visitors to expand their knowledge in the mineral sciences and to understand the importance of preserving this record for future generations.