About

The Carman ceramic collection is located at the Alan E. Carman Museum of Prehistory in Greenwich, New Jersey. The building for the Museum of Prehistory, originally a nineteenth-century barn, was provided to the Cumberland County Historical Society by the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders to house the pre-Contact period Native American and fossil collections of Alan Ewing Carman. 

Our Mission

The Cumberland County Historical Society is very active in promoting knowledge concerning the history of Cumberland County and has much to offer its members. The Carman Ceramic collection provides an educational experience for visitors of all ages!

Alan E. Carman

Carman (1923-2011) was an avocational archaeologist who spent 52 years collecting, excavating, and researching Native American artifacts from southern New Jersey. The museum was dedicated in 1997, and Carman became the first director. Carman’s generous gift to the society and his subsequent efforts managing the Museum of Prehistory helped to spread awareness and education about the Native American ancestors who lived in the region. Since Carman’s original gift, the museum has acquired a variety of artifacts and specimens from different donors, which have enhanced the collection’s research and educational potential.