Views: 919 From Horsepower to Jeep Power — 117 Years and Still Rolling! Before Jeeps had four-wheel drive, Far Hills had four-legged horsepower! Back in the early 1900s, this little railroad village ran on coal furnaces, hand-pumped water, and horse-drawn… Read More »Welsh Motors – Far Hills (Est. 1909) From Horse Power to Jeep Power
Views: 1,749Maps are such a great source of history, and this 1766 map doesn’t disappoint those looking to learn more about Somerset County, New Jersey’s history. Completed in 1766 by surveyors Benjamin Morgan and Joseph Hills, the Morgan–Hills Map is… Read More »Five Landowners That Owned Half of Somerset County, New Jersey
Views: 1,914Railroads did more than move people and freight. They shaped towns, determined where businesses grew, and influenced where people chose to live. Across New Jersey and throughout the Northeast, the arrival of the railroad in the nineteenth century transformed… Read More »Railroad and Train History Series – Mr Local History Project
Views: 551While researching the rich history of the West Line to Bernardsville, New Jersey, here are just some of the images from the series, gathered from various sources, to share as an online local photo collection that spans from the… Read More »Railroad Photo Collection – The West Line of Central New Jersey
Views: 1,761Most people think they know New Jersey. They picture highways, traffic, and a place you pass through on the way to somewhere else. But if you could step back into the mid 1800s, you’d see a very different state… Read More »Why are We Called “The Garden State?” Spring Gardens- History and Happenings
Views: 2,100From Rev War Soldiers to Gliders to Gun & Rod Clubs: The Transition on Schley Mountain There is no well-documented evidence of a formal, dedicated police or public shooting range in the “The Hills” development itself. But we’re hoping… Read More »Remembering Gun and Rod Clubs Around Schley Mountain in the Somerset Hills
Views: 2,523Stations in the News Railroad service into the Somerset Hills began in 1872 when the Passaic Valley and Peapack Railroad opened a new line running west from Summit into northern Somerset County. The original route established stations at New… Read More »Looking Back at Train Stations Along the Peapack Gladstone Line
Views: 1,584Part of our Mr. Local History Train Series….. For years, the Mr. Local History research team has been digging into New Jersey’s railroad history. As we traced old rail lines town by town, something curious began to appear in… Read More »Northside or Southside – Train Determines Socio Economic Town Dynamics
Views: 977A Retrospective The Mr. Local History Project conducted a deep dive into the beginnings of railroads in New Jersey, focusing on east-west corridors that sought to connect Pennsylvania with New York through New Jersey’s crossroads. Long before the railroads… Read More »Passaic Valley & Peapack and the West Line Railroad – What if the West Line Succeeded?
Views: 7,337 As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, we often update the post when we learn stories and are sent photos from our community. We will continue to expand this piece as information becomes available. If you have any stories to… Read More »Retrospective: Lost & Torn Down Memories From the Somerset Hills
Views: 5,616Want a quick way to search for articles about the history of one of the towns we love to cover?The Mr. Local History Project has created a few quick searches to give you a head start. Our researchers choose… Read More »Quicklinks – Tracking History From Selected Jersey Towns
Views: 11,749An annual tradition for the Essex Fox Hounds of Peapack, New Jersey Blessing of the Hounds Back in 2007, before there was a Mr. Local History, there was just a local looking for fun historic events to go to.… Read More »The Blessing of the Hounds – A Countryside Tradition
Views: 23,592It’s 2025, and the US Open is at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, but the ties to New Jersey and the USGA are significant. MOVE RUMORS UPDATE:OK, now the story is getting better! Janeen Driscoll, USGA director of brand… Read More »History of the US Golf Association Headquarters, Museum and the US Open
Views: 10,581Celebrating over 100 years of New Jersey’s fall classic, the Far Hills Race Meeting, with this beautiful wooden painted collectible as part of the New Jersey Historic Village Cat’s Meow wooden keepsake collection. Beautifully handcrafted wood, hand-painted edges, and… Read More »Far Hills Race Meeting Collectible & Century Old History of this Fall Jersey Classic
Views: 11,453 NOTE: The Borough of Far Hills celebrated its 100th anniversary #farhills100, with Council President Karner and the Mayor’s wife, Janis Vallone, spearheading “what will be a great community event on May 15, 2021, with a parade and picnic… Read More »One Man’s Vision: How Grant Schley Imagined Far Hills, New Jersey
