Accolades to the Marx Room
Walking into the Marx Room is a journey through time. The preservation of so many important records from our area, including those from before the Revolutionary War to present day. These records are from churches that no longer stand, cemeteries where the history is being lost and personal histories of those who have come before us in this area.
Luckily, we have been gifted an opportunity to see into the history of Easton through individuals who had the foresight to document these records. They took the initiative to seek out and create these records from various sources for the benefit of future generations. Because of their contributions, the community can see the growth from a small town to one that stands today. One of three towns that had the Declaration of Independence read here and an American flag that may have flown overhead can be found in the Marx Room. Irreplaceable items, records & stories from the beginning of our new nation, the town of Easton and surrounding areas can be found here.
Those who enter looking for these stories, records and artifacts are amazed at what has been preserved. Treasures found in this room tell of the ancestors who came before us, their struggles, those they married and the families they raised that led to us being here.
The Marx Room is a living gift to the community, sharing a wealth of information, histories and stories that would otherwise have been lost to time. We are grateful for the dedication of those, past and present, who have preserved the history of our community for future generations.
Carol Hoff
The histories of Easton, Northampton County and the Lehigh Valley have been preserved in Easton Public Library Marx Room's collections of books, maps, church records, municipal documents and photographs.Local and national researchers have been fortunate to find important clues and artifacts in these collections which are well organized and free to examine in their original form.
The collections are so extensive that many local historians visit the Marx Room as their first step when searching for evidence relating to the subject they are pursuing.The staff at the Marx Room provides expert guidance to both a novice and a seasoned researcher that streamlines the time needed to find pertinent information.
No other historical resource in the Lehigh Valley matches the content and expertise provided by the Marx Room with the availability that meets the tight time schedules of local residents or visitors from other area.We are very lucky to have the Marx Room' s treasure trove of information within a short drive from anywhere in the Lehigh Valley.
~Joel Hoffner~
Reflecting upon the importance of the Marx Room brings back many memories. These date back well over 60 years and my early visits to the second floor of the library and an introduction to Mrs. Jane Moyer. My how some things have changed yet there are still many constants.
The Marx Room has always been and hopefully will continue to be a real gem in the rich historical crown of Easton and Northampton County. The size and scope of the collection is amazing considering the population of the city and surrounding area. This is a testament to the recognition of our rich local history by the previous administrations. These earlier leaders realized the value and need for the preservation of the collection and the education of the local citizens, students and researchers.
Having provided professional local historical and genealogical research for more than 25 years, I have become familiar with many research libraries and historical societies. Easton can be very proud of what they provide in the Marx Room. This includes some unique offerings i.e.; many topic specific vertical files, photograph files, church and cemetery records, donated family records, indexed newspapers etc.
It must also be noted that a collection of this sort is only as good as the staff managing the shelves, drawers and displays. What good is a fantastic collection if a patron’s request cannot be successfully addressed and the answer found? The Marx Room has been blessed with knowledgeable attendants from Ms. Moyer through the present staff. Because of my confidence in the staff’s knowledge and ability, I have always advised clients to make the Marx Room their first choice for local history research in this area.
As we continue to move further into the digital new world, now including Artificial Intelligence, the relevance and uniqueness of our hardcopy physical collections should not be lost. Some collection items may never be digitized and found on-line. AND, how do you compare the experience of viewing a 200+ year old flag on a computer monitor versus seeing the physical flag within arm’s length? Can you equate a screen image of a century’s old document versus holding the actual document in your hand; a document possibly with the original signature of a direct ancestor?
Hopefully we can keep the Marx Room alive and thriving. Promoting the collection through our schools and communities is of utmost importance. In the past 300 years many families have passed through our area and are now dispersed throughout the country. They have roots and stories yet to be found in the Marx Room. Promote it and keep it accessible.
Regards,
R. A. Musselman
It’s been more than two decades since I first found the Marx Room. Ginny and I had retired to the area, in large part because of Easton’s general reputation for historical importance, supported by its historic architecture. I soon discovered that, at that time, Easton didn’t have a modern, footnoted history, or detailed research into many of its historic buildings. Ginny basically told me to stop complaining, and (if I wanted some detailed Easton history), to do the research myself. And so, I did.
The Marx Room and its staff provided the indispensable central repository of resources, the knowledge of other local repositories, and the encouragement that I needed to begin this project, and to organize my findings ever since. While other repositories provided specialized court or land records, or some family history items that supplement the Marx Room’s impressive collection, nothing was as useful in linking and making sense of raw data as the Marx Room’s huge repository of local historical books and articles, family genealogical research and oral histories, old newspapers, street directories, maps, and other local history materials. Perhaps more importantly, no organization’s staff in the area was as broadly knowledgeable and consistently willing to help. Without the Marx Room, my overall contributions would probably never have progressed.
Accordingly, the results of my research have been added to the Marx Room collections over the years, and the books of other researchers have also been added to further enrich the library’s collection. I know that the community of researchers have actively encouraged each other to make their books and research work available to future generations, through the Marx Room. In addition, the Marx Room has also received specialized items such as the map containing the Penn Family clerks’s notes on early Easton property-occupiers; indices of various collections such as The Irregular; and a set of research forms and instructions (’tools’) on how to research the history of a house or building in Easton; all of which may provide help to researchers. Finally, I cannot stress enough the importance of the Marx Room’s staff as an indispensable resource in this area.
For all these reasons, I would strongly recommend that anyone who wants to do historical research about Easton or the general area, should begin at the Marx Room.
Richard F. Hope