Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
As the Holidays and Year-End draw closer…
The holiday season is a time to reflect on what truly matters: family, tradition, community, and history. At the Mr. Local History Project, we celebrate the stories that bring our towns and families together, preserving the moments and memories that shape who we are. As the year comes to a close, this is also a critical time for giving. Your donation helps sustain our nonprofit mission to honor local heritage, educate future generations, and keep the spirit of community alive year-round. From all of us at Mr. Local History, we wish you peace, happiness, and cheer this holiday season, and our heartfelt thanks for being part of our story.
50 years of Iconic Toys
Our 2025 Advent Virtual Histoic Toys Calendar
What’s Behind Today’s Door?
Basking Ridge’s live portal to the world.
Check in on Mr. Local History’s Hometown
New Jersey Exclusive Cat’s Meow Wooden Collectibles and Flags Section
Exclusive keepsakes commissioned exclusively for the Mr. Local History Project. What started to honor Basking Ridge history has now expanded to over 40 collectibles across New Jersey, including Bernardsville, Westfield, Cranford, Wildwood, Asbury Park, and Jersey Food Icons like White Mana hamburgers, Krugs Tavern, and Jimmy Buff’s Italian Hot Dogs, and of course, NJ Diners. Check out the entire collection and availability HERE.
Clothing, Stickers, Bags Section
Print on Demand Services
Over 300 lost businesses have been digitally remastered from original ads from their time. We have collections for Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, Cranford, Westfield, Route 22, Diners, Jersey Food, Jersey Motorsports, and more. You pick sizes, colors, and styles, and we ship right to your door.
Check out the entire collection HERE.
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Posts for the Season
- General Charles Lee’s Capture at Widow White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge Study
Views: 46 Paper presented to the Basking Ridge Historical Society in 1933 by Reverend Oscar Vorhees December 13, 1776, stands as the most electrifying day in Basking Ridge’s history, when the sleepy colonial crossroads suddenly became the center of the Revolution. At dawn, the infamous capture of General Charles Lee sent shockwaves through Washington’s struggling… Read More »General Charles Lee’s Capture at Widow White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge Study - Wreaths Across America – Saturday, December 13
Views: 28 The Mr. Local History Project Volunteers will be at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church and the Somerset Hills Cemetery in Basking Ridge this Saturday, December 13, 2025. If you’re in the area and would like to help, please feel free to stop by sometime after 12 pm. Wreaths Across America will return to… Read More »Wreaths Across America – Saturday, December 13 - December at Widow White’s Tavern History Series
Views: 84 December 13, 1776, stands as the most electrifying day in Basking Ridge’s history, when the sleepy colonial crossroads suddenly became the center of the Revolution. At dawn, the infamous capture of General Charles Lee sent shockwaves through Washington’s struggling army and the entire young nation. British dragoons thundered down the roads, militia scrambled… Read More »December at Widow White’s Tavern History Series - The Candy Cane Man – Basking Ridge’s Own Christmas Eve “St. Nick”
Views: 190 I think I first heard of who I call St. Nick about 20 years ago, gathering on the town green in Basking Ridge on Christmas Eve, as thousands of people before me have done since 1924, for the annual Basking Ridge Community Christmas Eve sing. Mr. Local History has been documenting some of… Read More »The Candy Cane Man – Basking Ridge’s Own Christmas Eve “St. Nick” - The Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Carol Sing – Black River Journal
Views: 226 The editors of the Black River Journal recently reached out to the Mr Local History Project with a simple request. They wanted to help tell the story of one of the region’s most cherished holiday traditions, the Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Community Sing on the town green. For generations, this gathering has brought… Read More »The Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Carol Sing – Black River Journal - Mr. Local History’s 2025 Advent Calendar of Memorable Toys/Gifts & Their History
Views: 1,138 Holiday Memories is such great history, and what better way to look back than remembering how Advent Calendars worked, but this time we mix gift memories with some history. Call it our Vintage Toys Advent Calendar – New Day – New Vintage Toy, so make sure you bookmark and come back to see… Read More »Mr. Local History’s 2025 Advent Calendar of Memorable Toys/Gifts & Their History - American Board Game History
Views: 229 We all know the feeling. Say the words board games, and something instantly pops into your mind. With the holiday season bringing family and friends together, it is almost guaranteed that a board game will hit the table at some point. So we decided it was the perfect moment to dig into an… Read More »American Board Game History - Basking Ridge Live Cam – Mr. Local History’s Beautiful Town Green
Views: 8,944 Yes, there is sound too. You can mute it if you like. Basking Ridge Village Web Cam How’s life in Basking Ridge? Check in on the Basking Ridge Town Greene from atop the Presbyterian Church. Signature downtown village events to check in on:Saturday, May 17, 2025 – 12:00 – 6 pm – Basking Ridge… Read More »Basking Ridge Live Cam – Mr. Local History’s Beautiful Town Green - Vintage Toys Are the Best History Ever – Playing, Collecting, Remembering
Views: 1,119 New Jersey has been shaping America’s toy box for more than a century. It began in Cinnaminson with Samuel Leeds Allen’s 1889 Flexible Flyer sled and in West Orange with Edison’s talking doll, the first to speak on its own. Newark followed with tin windups, toy trains, and the first plastic army men… Read More »Vintage Toys Are the Best History Ever – Playing, Collecting, Remembering - Jersey Businesses That Have A Line Out the Door Every Christmas Eve
Views: 4,857 One thing is for sure: You can guarantee that each of these businesses in New Jersey will have lines out the door and down the block every Christmas Eve. Most are also “CASH ONLY,” so make sure you have planned for all the necessary protocols if you want to put “Jersey’s Best” on… Read More »Jersey Businesses That Have A Line Out the Door Every Christmas Eve - Mr. Local History 2025 Holiday Gift Giving Guide / Magazine
Views: 475 If you got the word, you get the head start on the End Of Year Holiday News, Specials, Events, and MLH Stories The magazine is free and our gift to you.Please consider making a REALLY BIG YEAR-END DONATION to support our writers and our non-profit organization so we can hold events in 2026.… Read More »Mr. Local History 2025 Holiday Gift Giving Guide / Magazine - Basking Ridge Christmas Eve On the Green – Watch on Your Device
The town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, welcomes its annual Christmas Eve Sing on The Town Green at 7pm on Dec. 24th. - Colonial Christmas To Shine Again at Bedminster’s Vanderveer House
The Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster, New Jersey, is celebrating Colonial Christmas, an annual fundraiser event that combines history, tourism, tradition, and Christmas spirit. It offers an array of activities including music, reenactments, crafts, and holiday shopping. - The Exclusive New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Keepsake Collection
Views: 14,523 The MLH Project is proud to be the exclusive reseller of the New Jersey Historic Wooden Keepsake Collection, created by the world-famous Cat’s Meow Village. Made in the USA!!! The New Jersey Historic Wooden Keepsake Village Collection The New Jersey Historic Village keepsake collection is a wood-painted collectible series honoring historic iconic buildings,… Read More »The Exclusive New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Keepsake Collection - Wearing Lost Jersey Businesses is Fun History
Views: 9,328 Mr Local History loves history with a social twist. In fact, it’s our motto! So we thought how fun it would be to share some of the most loved New Jersey businesses that have disappeared. We started researching and putting our artists to work to recreate an offering of vintage retro clothing and… Read More »Wearing Lost Jersey Businesses is Fun History - Holiday Tradition – Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Community Sing
The town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, welcomes its 100th anniversary Christmas Eve Sing on The Town Green at 7pm on Dec. 24, 2023. The town’s residents, friends, and guests gather to sing traditional carols and celebrate local history, documented by the Mr. Local History Project. - Keepsake: Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Caroling on the Green
Views: 9,999 The Governor of New Jersey’s Historic Keepsake Village has decreed that a new icon should be added to the New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Collection, expanding the exclusive set of New Jersey collectible icons. Introducing the “Winter and Christmas Eve on the Green in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Every year on December 24th… Read More »Keepsake: Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Caroling on the Green - SHOP LOCAL – Small Business Saturday is Everyday at Mr. Local History!
Views: 2,621 The Mr. Local History Project is probably the “smallest of small businesses” and needs your support. We have great gifts that bring fun and memorable local history to all! Please consider #justoneitem. It makes a big difference and shows you care. Historic gifts as low at $2! ALL of our historic keepsake items… Read More »SHOP LOCAL – Small Business Saturday is Everyday at Mr. Local History! - Who Brings Their Jersey Village Collectibles out Just for the Holidays?
Views: 952 We have been told a terrible rumor. Is it true? Do some people bring out their Jersey Cat’s Meow collectibles only for the holidays? Read on…. Yes, we have been told many people bring out their Cat’s Meow Village keepsakes specifically for the holiday season. These collectible wooden village pieces, often depicting nostalgic… Read More »Who Brings Their Jersey Village Collectibles out Just for the Holidays?
Recent Comments
Great stuff. I grew up in Short Hills as neighbors of Al Bridges, who owned the nearby White Diamond and…
Hi there! Is there a way where I can receive notifications about future barn tours? If there is a mailing…
The comment above mine is a pathetic one to see on a historically-oriented article. McPherson, leave history to people who…
I remember my Mom told me about this. She was a teenager when this broadcast happened. She remembered sitting around…
It went down and down into a ravine with little waterfalls sliding down rock walls and at the bottom, a…
That was before she was in Bedminster at Fox Chase Stables, but that’s Winchester, and Macaroni. I knew those horses…
My mom used to tell us stories that when she was a kid, she would see them at local horse…
I was a nurse at Matheny School/Hospital in Peapack and had to make a run to the pharmacy (which looked…
Plenty of places to sign up on the site. Real simple.
The Mr. Local History 2025 Holiday Shopping Guide / Magazine
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When I was a young kid my dad had an Aeronca champ tail dragger he kept at this airport he…