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: 2,277These are a series of posts that provide local insight into Ken Burns’ American Revolution series and ties to local history that the Mr. Local History Project has been covering. Episode 1, titled “How Land, Taxes and Rebellion Sparked… Read More »Royal Governor Francis Bernard and the Stamp Act
Views: 16,150Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Bernards Township and Bernardsville honor our military veterans with a banner salute around the Bernards Township Municipal building and in the downtown Bernardsville area. The banners usually stay up between the two holidays… Read More »Honoring our Bernards Township Armed Service Veterans this Veterans Day
Views: 2,975On 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 George… Read More »Thanksgiving Proclamations Way Before Lincoln Did It -Thanks Jersey Guys
Views: 28,163 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: 12,138In 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 perfect… Read More »Remembering the Waterloo Village Concert Series
Views: 15,160Starting 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, MLH… Read More »Col. Samuel Colt Got His Start in Paterson, New Jersey
Views: 21,815William 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 American… Read More »The Annins of Liberty Corner: Patriots, Flag Company and a Middle School
Views: 22,088Flag 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, now… 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: 10,845Presidents #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 first… Read More »Non-Consecutive Term Presidents: Jersey’s Grover Cleveland and Now Donald Trump
Views: 8,357Our 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 you’d… Read More »Newark, New Jersey’s Incredible Velodrome and Motordrome Racing Venues
Views: 16,021Over 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 branched… Read More »Mr. Local History Motorsports Special Edition Magazine – Free!
Views: 10,733As 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 they… Read More »Lost Motorsport Board Tracks Across America – Mapping Them All
Views: 8,770This 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: 13,906UPDATE: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
