The collection, which comprises individually scanned images from the department’s physical archives, is a rich and varied time capsule that documents farming in the Garden State from the 1930s through the late 1970s; a few of the photos date back to the late 19th century. The archive contains everything from aerial shots of enormous farmland tracts to the more intimate moments of sepia-toned apple pickers, fur traders and commercial fishermen. The site’s detailed search fields allow you to look up images by key words and criteria like date and location.
These 2,000-plus photos are just the beginning. According to the department’s website, a total of 7,160 exist in the state’s physical archives, and the hope is that every shot will eventually be scanned and saved online. Visitors to the website can continually check back for updates and to even purchase physical prints of their own. If you are at all interested in New Jersey’s history (particularly of the pastoral type) set aside an hour or so and start digging in.