Ongoing historical research on a variety of topics.
Views: 2,033 Our Fall 2024 cover photo pays homage to the history of the Somerset Hills area in Northern Somerset County, New Jersey, and the iconic Ravine Lake, located on the border of Far Hills / Bernardsville. The lake was… Read More »Mr. Local History 2024 Fall Magazine Vol 6. Issue 3
Views: 6,625 Congratulations, Basking Ridge and Bernardsville, on being the foundation for the New Jersey Historical Wooden Village collection, a group of over 40 Jersey collectibles. Each keepsake brings to mind historic area icons created by the world-famous Cat’s Meow… Read More »Bernards Township/Bernardsville Historic Wooden Village Keepsake Collectibles
Views: 5,415 Just like the racetrack that was on the southern end of Westfield in the 1930s, another lost icon, the Westfield Airport, sits at the coordinates 40°36’36.0″N 74°19’08.4″W. Our research started here. As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives,… Read More »The Lost Westfield Airport In Union County
Views: 4,996 Jersey Lost Racetrack Series We found a story in the Paterson Call newspaper on April 22, 1936, stating that on May 15, 1936, after spending over $100,000, the Union (Township) Speedway would open with a 1/2-mile oval, including… Read More »Lost Racetrack Series: Auto Racing’s 10,000 Seat Track In Union, New Jersey
Views: 5,257 Jersey Lost Racetrack Series For a short period, racecar drivers from all over the tri-state area gathered just off Raritan Road on the Westfield/Clark border for the most exciting spectacles of the time, sanctioned midget dirt car racing.… Read More »Retrospective: Auto Racing on Jersey’s Westfield-Clark Border
Views: 1,544 1924 is the year Bernardsville passed a resolution to separate from Bernards Township and form an independent borough. Just a year after Far Hill did it in 1921, Bernardsville had to try once previously before succeeding the second… Read More »Bernardsville 100 – A Birthday Party – Ah the History
Views: 10,264 On the clear crisp morning at 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, the first plane hit the North Tower, and our community was changed forever. Please take a moment to remember those 21 residents from Basking Ridge, Bernardsville,… Read More »#911neverforget in the Somerset Hills
Views: 3,346 Walk down memory lane as we journey back to a time when Westfield was a much younger community. “Penny postcards” were primarily used in the early 1900s when you wanted to write to your family and friends from… Read More »Westfield Penny Postcards
Views: 16,111 Lord Stirling, the Revolutionary War Buildings, the First Airmail, World Record Gliders, the Tuskegee Airmen, the VA, a proposed Super Airport, and more historic moments tie back to this small strip of land in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.… Read More »The Somerset Hills Airport in Basking Ridge – Lost but Not Forgotten
Views: 21,586 How about a game? A fun game. A game that mixes history and memories and will take you back to the simpler times growing up in Westfield, New Jersey. We take two businesses no longer in town and… Read More »Loved Businesses Lost In Westfield – The H-GOAT GAME
Views: 10,542 Television executives have always known people have an obsession with true crime. It is quite possible that this obsession can trace its roots back to an unfortunate event that occurred in Somerset County. On the night of September… Read More »The Hall-Mills Murder: The Country’s First Sensationalized Trial
Views: 4,649 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… Read More »Wearing Lost Jersey Local History and Our Foodie Collection
Views: 5,242 The Westfield (NJ) Historical Society presented ‘My Recollections of Westfield, ‘ or, as I transcribed it, Frank Betz’s recollections of his childhood thoughts while growing up in the mid-1900s in Westfield, New Jersey. The Betz family came to Westfield in… Read More »Egypt Hill, Brown’s Pond and The Great Loves of My Childhood in Westfield, New Jersey
Views: 10,192 Investigating the tales of lost caves in Peapack, New Jersey, our first visit was to Town Hall in mid-2006, and the township administrator. They provided two articles she had on file regarding the Peapack Caverns, which became the… Read More »The Secret Peapack Caves Caverns & Grottos
Views: 26,341 Founded in 1932 and situated on 38 acres in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Go Figure is pleased to offer a discounted membership to township residents. It’s called a “naturist community for families and couples” (not a nudist colony). It’s members… Read More »More: America’s First Nudist Colony is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey