In 1760, lawyer William Livingston sought out to build a country retirement home. He purchased 120 acres in a bucolic suburb called Elizabethtown (modern-day Union, NJ), just across the river from his New York home. For the next 12 years, Livingston developed the extensive grounds, gardens, orchards and oversaw the building of a beautiful fourteen room Georgian-style home known as Liberty Hall. William Livingston would go on to become New Jersey’s first elected governor, and a signer of the U.S. Constitution.
William Livingston’s niece, Susan (Livingston) [Kean] Niemcewicz purchased the home in 1811. The property continued to be the Kean household until 1995. During this time, the mansion expanded from Livingston’s fourteen room colonial home into the exquisite 50-room Victorian mansion you see today. The museum houses collections of furniture, ceramics, textiles, toys and tools owned by seven generations of the Livingston and Kean families.
Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University chronicles more than 250 years of American and New Jersey history through the eyes of one family’s household.
Tours are 1 hour long and run every hour on the hour from 10am-3pm, Wednesday-Sunday. All tickets must be pre-purchased at least 1 hours ahead of scheduled tour time. Max. Capacity for house tours are fourteen(14) visitors
Tickets are timed to help us manage our capacity restrictions. Please arrive as close to your reservation time as possible. If you are late for your reservation, entry will be permitted at the discretion of the museum staff. Please check in at the Visitor's Center, the Blue House.
