Ongoing historical research on a variety of topics.
Views: 24,199You wouldn’t think it, but in a quiet suburb of New York City, a man has amassed what is often called the world’s largest collection of Mack and antique trucks. We introduce you to the Mahan Foundation of Basking… Read More »Largest Antique Truck Collection in the World is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Views: 12,932The 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… Read More »Keepsake: Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Caroling on the Green
Views: 4,101We were reading a story on social media about a town losing its local hardware store after over 100 years of operation. The place you’d go to have a nice chat about local things and grab a bunch of… Read More »Mom & Pop Hardware Stores are Disappearing Across Jersey
Views: 6,102 We’ve been spending all year creating some of the most unique Jersey history gifts this holiday season. The Mr Local History Holiday Boutique is OPEN 24/7 and ready to spread history and cheer this holiday season. Give the… Read More »Our MLH Holiday Boutique is Open
Views: 15,677Over the past twenty years, a number of museums and historical institutions have closed, downsized, or transferred their collections because of declining attendance, rising operating costs, and changing patterns of public engagement. Institutions such as the California Historical Society… Read More »Museums and Historical Societies Must Change or Die
Views: 6,298Mr Local History loves history with a social twist. In fact, it’s our motto! So, we thought it would be fun to share some of the most beloved New Jersey businesses that have disappeared. We began researching and putting… Read More »Wearing Lost Jersey Motorsports Icons is Fun History
Views: 8,682This is a tale about auto racing legends of the early 1920s, known as daredevils and speed freaks, who traveled to a tiny new track built outside New York City in the small town of Woodbridge, New Jersey. What… Read More »1928 – Woodbridge Speedway – World’s Fastest 1/2 Mile Track
Views: 4,687While researching the Southard family of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, we uncovered something we never knew about Samuel Southard. MLH believes Basking Ridge’s own Samuel Southard was the Vice President of the United States for over a year after… Read More »Samuel Southard of Basking Ridge – A US Vice President
Views: 11,861The year is 1926, and MLH welcomes you to the “Board Bowl,” which had 80,000 fans and was one of the world’s greatest motorsport spectacles, and it was right here in New Jersey! It’s funny how history weaves in… Read More »1926: Atlantic City Opened One of the Greatest Speedways in the World
Views: 15,380UPDATE:The latest reports clarify that M&M’s are not leaving New Jersey entirely. Mars Snacking is leaving its Newark corporate office, while its major Hackettstown M&M’s manufacturing operation is staying. Mars plans to close its Newark Market Hub by December… Read More »Jersey’s Halloween Candy Lady Will Always Be Jackie Mars
Views: 4,974Believe it or not, the dead are alive in central New Jersey, especially in northern Somerset County. The question is not whether they are real or not, but rather whether they are disturbing or friendly. As we share, the… Read More »Haunted Tales From Central New Jersey #3
Views: 13,769UPDATE:USA TODAY says Wildwood is Home to One of the Country’s Best Pop Culture Museums. The museum received USA Today’s 2025 10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Award. Anyone who’s visited Wildwood, New Jersey, knows it’s the Garden State’s greatest… Read More »Wildwood History: Boardwalk, Beach, Neon and the Doowop Universe
Views: 2,199Our 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 created… Read More »Mr. Local History 2024 Fall Magazine Vol 6. Issue 3
Views: 7,079Congratulations, 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 Village… Read More »Bernards Township/Bernardsville Historic Wooden Village Keepsake Collectibles
Views: 6,012Just 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, updates… Read More »The Lost Westfield Airport In Union County
