By: Michelle Jones, Follow South Jersey Corresponding Writer
Editor’s Note: As part of the commemoration of Salem City’s 350th Anniversary, Follow South Jersey and the Follow Salem Podcast will offer 350 stories about the past, present, and future of Salem throughout 2025. We’d love to hear your story. Please contact Dean Johnson, Editor-in-Chief of Follow South Jersey at dean@hopeloft.com.
SALEM, N.J. – Follow South Jersey had the opportunity to sit down with Richard Guido, the Executive Director and Librarian for the Salem County Historical Society Museum. He has been working with the Historical Society for the past decade and has been an asset to the Society and the community at large.
FSJ: What led you here?
RG: I saw a flier for an internship years back and since I had a great interest in the history of South Jersey and spent a great deal of time studying the surrounding area, I decided to apply and have been here ever since.
FSJ: Did you grow up around here?
RG: Yes, I grew up in Gloucester County, went to school in Camden County, and completed my studies in history at Rowan University.
FSJ: What projects have you enjoyed the most here in Salem?
RG: I really enjoy working with unique and rare items from a variety of different categories. For example, we have in our collection a daguerreotype taken by Robert Cornelius. Cornelius a was a very early American photographer and pioneer in the history of photography. One of his earliest photographs is the first photographic self-portrait ever taken and is generally accepted as the first known photographic portrait of a person taken in the United States. The photo we have in our collection was taken in Cornelius’ first few years working as a photographer and it’s not only the oldest photo in our collection, but one of the oldest in the US. When I was working on researching the photo, I contacted a Photograph Conservator at the Conservation Center of Historic Art & Artifacts in Philadelphia, who was working on compiling a database of all daguerreotypes taken by Cornelius that were still in existence. I invited her to the Society to scan the photograph and our image became plate #50 in her electronic database. Today, the database is electronically accessible and is housed in the Library of Congress.
FSJ: What historical event or artifact has shocked you the most?
RG: Items relating to Victoriana always surprise me. We have in our collection a Victorian hair wreath made in the 1870s or 1880s. It is exactly what it sounds like, a wreath, made out of human hair.
FSJ: What would you like to see happen here in the city when it comes to The Historical Society?
RG: I would love to see our museum and library get more foot traffic and for the Society to become more well known outside of the city and the county. It should be a destination for history buffs, researchers and students alike.
FSJ: We will be embarking on the 350th anniversary of the settlement of Salem City……can you give a rundown of things we can expect in to see in your museum to commemorate such a remarkable anniversary?
RG: Sure! One item we plan to feature in the 350th exhibit is a diorama of Fort Elfsborg, the first Swedish settlement on this side of the river. Also on display will be a deed signed by John Fenwick in 1675, the year the colony was founded, which was recently conserved and framed through a Cultural & Heritage Commission grant.
The 250th anniversary of the US falls in 2026 but we will have an exhibit that kicks things off for this milestone at the same time. This exhibit will tell the story of the birth of our nation through the Salem County perspective.
Visitors will learn the story of those involved in the nation’s founding, as well as the Revolution, and get to see items taken by the British when they came to Salem as well as other stories related to various battles fought in the area.
Another exciting piece of history will be available for the public to view as well: The dress of Sarah Hancock Sinnickson, the daughter of Judge William Hancock, owner of the Hancock house. The item is already on display and this dress was worn to the first Inauguration of President George Washington.
FSJ: Do you have a favorite book or reference here in the Research Library?
RG: I often point people to the many resources and references we have here as a good starting point for local research. We have a great reference book on the History of Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland counties and a book specifically on the History of Salem County by Joseph Sickler written in the 1930s. There’s also more up-to-date modern publications like Chick Harrison’s Tomatoes & TNT: A History of Salem County as well.
FSJ: Do you have any fun facts you would like to share with our readers?
RG: Sure! Since 2016, the museum has reopened a number of new exhibit spaces and rooms each year and continues to do so up to today. One of things that locals don’t realize is how much historical artifacts we have here. Our collection contains over 10,000 items including our library & archival materials and our museum is a series of historic homes interconnected along with four outdoor structures in our courtyard as well.
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