Stories that inspire Americans to learn about their local history. Each of these stories from the Mr. Local History Project dig into great tales from America’s past.
Views: 2,691 On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated Thursday, November 26, 1863, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. While many recognize President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation, many don’t know that two New Jersey statesmen persuaded President… Read More »Thanksgiving Proclamations Way Before Lincoln Did It -Thanks Jersey Guys
Views: 25,736 Known as The Race of Gentlemen, the event has been revived since the 1950s by a local club called the Oilers of New Jersey. For one weekend in early October, racers, gassers, and fans gather on the beach… Read More »TROG – The Race of Gentlemen – Pure Jersey History Right in Front of Your Eyes
Views: 11,386 In 1977, Waterloo Village opened an open-air concert field about a mile down the road from the historic village to raise funds for restoration. Actually, in Byram Township, New Jersey, locals remember (and I grew up at the… Read More »Remebering the Waterloo Village Concert Series
Views: 14,330 Starting in 1836 in Paterson, New Jersey, Samuel Colt’s revolver is one of the 10 most influential inventions EVER produced. The Colt Paterson revolver was the first practical revolving-cylinder handgun, and it was made in Paterson, New Jersey. For years,… Read More »Col. Samuel Colt Got His Start in Paterson, New Jersey
Views: 21,173 William Annin has a prominent place in the history of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and Liberty Corner. The Mr. Local History Project looks back at one of Liberty Corner’s founding families, known worldwide as the largest manufacturer of… Read More »The Annins of Liberty Corner: Patriots, Flag Company and a Middle School
Views: 21,310 Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 to commemorate the Continental Congress’s adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777. The flag was immediately couriered to General Washington’s camp in a field just north of Route 22,… Read More »The American Flag Means Liberty Corner’s Annin Family
Want to go to the #Daytona500 Speedweeks and feel like you know where to go? Here’s 20 years of experience all in one place where we’ve highlighted the top 15 Daytona spots to hit during Speedweeks. We’ve loaded THE BEST.
Views: 10,223 Presidents #22 and #24 and Now #45 and #47 – Only Two Presidents to Serve Non-Consecutive Terms. Here’s how four presidential elections went down. Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, defeated Republican James G. Blaine of Maine and became the… Read More »Non-Consecutive Term Presidents: Jersey’s Grover Cleveland and Now Donald Trump
Views: 7,719 Our researchers continue to work on this story, as there are several conflicting points of view we want to explore further. We will update over the next few weeks, but we wanted to share this preview in case… Read More »Newark, New Jersey’s Incredible Velodrome and Motordrome Racing Venues
Views: 14,980 Over the last few years, researchers at the Mr. Local History Project here in New Jersey have been busy at work and have released several stories related to the motorsports racing history in New Jersey. We’ve even now… Read More »Mr. Local History Motorsports Special Edition Magazine – Free!
Views: 9,829 As a huge motorsports fan, this topic came up with a few of our researchers who can’t let it go! While the Mr. Local History Project normally focuses on New Jersey history, they had to discover more once… Read More »Lost Motorsport Board Tracks Across America – Mapping Them All
Views: 8,268 This 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.… Read More »1928 – Woodbridge Speedway – World’s Fastest 1/2 Mile Track
Views: 6,548 on Mischief Night, Cabbage Night, Goosey Night, or whatever you call it – October 30th – RE-LIVE the WAR OF THE WORLDS. GO LISTEN WITH YOUR FAMILY The date was October 30, 1938, and Jerseyans tuned in to… Read More »The World’s Greatest Broadcast in New Jersey History – War of the Worlds
Views: 13,226 UPDATE: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… Read More »Wildwood History: Boardwalk, Beach, Neon and the Doowop Universe
Views: 5,126 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
