There is a wealth of history to be learned from a map. We have historical and interactive maps embedded in many of our stories, and we try to list the research here. If you’re looking for something specific, try our search feature in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
The Forgotten Victory Trail – New Jersey Marking History & Telling Stories
Views: 1,121💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 Comments Remembering the Revolution from New Jersey’s Suburbs. In June 1780, the fate of the American Revolution hung in the balance once again. British forces marched into New Jersey, determined to crush…
America’s “Mr. Shuffleboard” is a Jersey Guy – Meet Union’s Sol Lifkin
Views: 606💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsIsn’t it interesting how history becomes history? Take pay phones, for example. When you used them, you never thought about it, and then they’re gone, not just gone… totally gone. Then you…
25 of New Jersey’s Oldest Taverns & Inns Still Serving Today
Views: 1,774💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsEating Your Way Through New Jersey History Long before New Jersey had diners, highways, turnpikes, or even became a state, the local tavern often served as the center of community life. These…
Trekking Native American Trails in Northern New Jersey
Views: 1,539💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsLong before anyone divided North and Central Jersey, Native American people lived, hunted, farmed, and traveled throughout the region. Archaeological evidence shows an Indigenous presence in New Jersey extending back more than…
Day Trips – Four Historic Fall Locations You Must See
Views: 11,535💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 Comments. The 2026 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progression of leaf change. While no tool is 100% accurate, this tool helps travelers time their trips to maximize…
Mashing Crime History to Maps and Apps
Views: 7,096💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsImagine relocating to a city or state where you have no family or friends to help you evaluate different neighborhoods. You can easily compare home prices, property taxes, schools, commute times, restaurants,…
History of Housing Developments in Bernards Township
Views: 16,334💬 Leave a Comment | View 4 CommentsBernards Township has a long history of being a sleepy rural town. Then, the US built the Lyons VA, and everything changed as the population grew. Then AT&T came to town in…
1766 Somerset County, New Jersey Map Tells So Many Stories
Views: 1,099💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 Comments The 1766 Morgan–Hills Map of Somerset County Unlike most eighteenth-century maps that depict only towns and transportation routes, the Morgan–Hills map provides a remarkable snapshot of the county’s agricultural landscape by…
The Museum in the Streets – Bernardsville Shares its History
Views: 2,630💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsBERNARDSVILLE, NJ — Did you know that Bernardsville now has its own “Museum in the Streets”? On June 1, 2025, the town unveiled 9 historical markers across downtown, turning a simple walk…
New Jersey Taverns of the Revolutionary War
Views: 5,649💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentA fun community-driven Mr. Local History post where we need history sleuths who’ve read all those old documents and maps to help build the largest list of New Jersey Revolutionary War-era taverns.…
The West Line Railroad: Fate That Created a Community Instead of an Industry
Views: 4,319💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsThe iron rail that brought the steel horse to the Somerset Hills.This story is as much about the railroads that were built as it is about the railroads that weren’t. As our…
Garden State’s Top Historic Gardens and Estates
Views: 10,375💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentApril 14 is National Garden Day, so make sure you get out there and enjoy our Garden State’s beauty (and history) While the Mr. Local History Project typically focuses on historical research,…
New Jersey and America’s 250th Exhibits
Views: 2,579💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 Comments“It’s the most extensive 250th Exhibit List we’ve seen for New Jersey.“ This free statewide exhibit list is open to all New Jersey organizers to share information about America’s 250th-anniversary exhibits happening…
Map Research & Archives: Sharing Local History with Maps
Views: 16,892💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentResearching Local History with Maps As a historian, I believe maps are one of the greatest sources of information, capturing a time and place. We use these maps to research history and…
Sir Francis Bernard Honored With American Town Names
Views: 8,513💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsSir Francis Bernard’s Legacy Carries On as Towns Honor the Royal Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts In 1758, Francis Bernard, originally from Lincolnshire, England, was appointed Governor of the province of…
Lord Stirling Deep Dive Series
Views: 8,393💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentSome called him William, others called him General. Some even called him Lord Stirling. Whoever you called him (WA below), aka Lord Stirling, was one of the most interesting people of the…
The History of Burgers and Mapping the Best Burgers in America
Views: 33,796💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsStart This Journey with 2 minutes of #burgerporn. Enjoy as we did! UPDATE:March 2026 – This Arch is a problem to the crappy chain burger wars….. Who doesn’t love a good burger?…
Bernardsville’s Lost Dayton Home, Orchards and Mount Airy Nursery
Views: 4,107💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsUPDATE:Another Dayton family discussion came up…. we couldn’t refuse the query. MLH Introduces Ezra Dayton and the Dayton Families The name “Mount Airy” first appears in printed atlases and maps as early…
Pocono Pines and Lake Naomi Area – Map Collection Showcases History
Views: 7,268💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentI’ve been creating a series of memories and researching the History of Lake Naomi, Pocono Pines, and the greater Pocono Mountains area. While some call me a historian, I’m more of a…
Meet the Historians Series
Views: 7,985💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 Comments Featured individuals include longtime resident and historian Ruth Thomson (with ties to the Peapack-Gladstone area) and her son, Barry Thomson, along with other local history advocates dedicated to preserving the region’s cultural heritage.…
The New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Keepsake Collection Keeps Expanding
Views: 50,905💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsThe MLH Project is proud to be the exclusive reseller of the New Jersey Historic Wooden Keepsake Collection, created by the world-famous Cat’s Meow Village. Made in the USA!!! Latest Editions to…
Col. Samuel Colt Got His Start in Paterson, New Jersey
Views: 15,268💬 Leave a Comment | View 1 CommentStarting 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…
Jersey Bar Shuffleboard – 100 Years and Still Slinging Pucks
Views: 32,253💬 Leave a Comment | View 6 CommentsUPDATE:We just got word that the iconic Liberty Tavern in Union Township (Union County, NJ) closed its doors for good on October 15, 2026. If you’re looking for an ORIGINAL, and perhaps…
The History of AT&T Headquarters in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Views: 25,950💬 Leave a Comment | View 20 CommentsAT&T’s headquarters in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, marked a monumental shift for corporations moving to the suburbs. As the world’s largest company at the time, AT&T took a bold risk by moving…
Best Crumb Cake in New Jersey – Discuss Now
Views: 107,535💬 Leave a Comment | View 19 CommentsMaybe we’re taking this too seriously, but we’ve been searching for bakeries serving New Jersey’s best crumb cake. If you’re not a fan of the cake, you might want to leave now…
New Jersey Hills are Alive with Distilling History
Views: 14,982💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsDistilling Revival across New Jersey and a Renaissance New Jersey has a deep history of distilling spirits that goes back to colonial times. The Somerset Hills is an area in central New…
Where is West Millington, Lyons and Madisonville Sections of Bernards Township
Views: 8,205💬 Leave a Comment | View 4 Comments NOTE: 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 grow this piece as…
Local Cemetery History Research
Views: 2,178💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsThere is a wealth of history to be learned from a cemetery. We have a rich genealogy embedded in many of our stories, and we strive to describe other facts, analytics, and…
Franklin Corners and William Childs Williamsburg-esque Vision
Views: 12,043💬 Leave a Comment | View 3 CommentsTucked in the northernmost section of Bernards Township, New Jersey, along the Passaic River lies a small historic district. If you drive through it, you’ll notice the area’s rich history, marked by…
Grand Mansions and Historic Estates Mapped in New Jersey’s Somerset Hills
Views: 47,287💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsMany people have asked why you post all this history stuff on the area you’re calling the Somerset Hills. Well, call it passion. Call it intrigue. Call it local awareness. I think…
Remembering 5 Historical Sites in Bridgewater, New Jersey
Views: 10,740💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsBridgewater is the second largest town by population in Somerset County, with 45,977 residents according to the 2020 Census. Its population boomed in the 1970s-1990s, but has been an important part of…
Bernards Township Charter Day Streetfair Memories
Views: 5,070💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsBernards Twp. 2025 Charter Day is A MEMORYBut You’re Early for 2026 🙂 Weather Forecast Stop by the Mr. Local History Booth #89 on Henry Street Just outside the Washington House Side…
Gotta Love the Irish in Jersey – The History and All the Parades
Views: 4,418💬 Leave a Comment | View 0 CommentsQuick History – Irish Immigration to New Jersey By the mid-19th century, Irish immigration from Ireland to the United States surged, mainly due to the Great Irish Famine (1845-1852), which drove hundreds…