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Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
As 2024 draws to a close, our gift to you is some of the great traditions and local history around New Jersey.
It’s also a great time for Jersey History gifts as we open our Mr. Local History Holiday History Boutique.
Please also consider an end-of-year donation to our 501c3 efforts, as they are tax deductible!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Featured Stories
Our Top 10 Most Viewed Posts For the Week
Latest Research
- Mr. Local History 2024 Holiday Magazine Vol 6. Issue 4
Views: 250 The holiday season in New Jersey is one of the most magical seasons of the year. Our annual holiday edition takes the board of trustees on a journey to tell the history of events and history from our hometown of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Join us and enjoy the history of the area.… Read More »Mr. Local History 2024 Holiday Magazine Vol 6. Issue 4 - History of the Basking Ridge Christmas Tree and the Fire Company
Every year, the Basking Ridge Fire Department erects a locally donated 30-foot evergreen tree on the town green. The fire personnel also decorate the tree which becomes a central piece for the town’s holiday celebrations. - Basking Ridge Live Webcam
Views: 4,721 How’s life in Basking Ridge? Click the play button to take a live look at downtown Basking Ridge. Basking Ridge Village Web Cam Special thanks to David Kippel for his efforts to keep this beauty running! More Fun MLH Links Additional Stories: Retrospective: Meryl Streep Was From Basking Ridge BEFORE Bernardsville The History… Read More »Basking Ridge Live Webcam - Keepsake: 100th Anniversary of Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Carol on the Green
Views: 7,222 The Mayor of New Jersey’s Historic Keepsake Village has decreed a new icon be added to the New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Collection expanding the exclusive set of New Jersey collectible icons. Introducing the “Winter and Christmas Eve on the Green in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The 100th Year Anniversary! Every year on… Read More »Keepsake: 100th Anniversary of Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Carol on the Green - Colonial Christmas Shines at Bedminster’s Vanderveer House
The Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster, New Jersey, is celebrating its 22nd Colonial Christmas, an annual fundraiser event that combines history, tourism, tradition, and Christmas spirit. It offers an array of activities including music, reenactments, crafts, and holiday shopping. The event typically takes place on the last weekend of November and the first week of December. - Live Stream 2024 – Basking Ridge Caroling On the Green
The town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, welcomes its 100th anniversary Christmas Eve Sing on The Town Green at 7pm on Dec. 24, 2023. The town’s residents, friends, and guests gather to sing traditional carols and celebrate local history, documented by the Mr. Local History Project. - Top 10 Trending Posts Right Now Mr. Local History
Views: 838 400+ Posts Honoring Jersey History Top Weekly Posts Top History All Time #5 Post – All Time #4 Post – All Time #3 Post All Time #2 Post – All Time #1 Post – All Time Additional Stories: Mr. Local History’s #growlocalhistory Project December 13 – The Day that Altered American History Happened… Read More »Top 10 Trending Posts Right Now Mr. Local History - Bucket List Invitation – Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Sing 100th Anniversary
The town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, welcomes its 100th anniversary Christmas Eve Sing on The Town Green at 7pm on Dec. 24, 2023. The town’s residents, friends, and guests gather to sing traditional carols and celebrate local history, documented by the Mr. Local History Project. - SHOP LOCAL – Small Business Saturday is Everyday at Mr. Local History!
Views: 1,883 The Mr. Local History Project is probably the “smallest of small businesses” and needs your support. We have great gifts that bring fun and memorable local history to all! Please consider #justoneitem. It makes a big difference and shows you care. Historic gifts as low at $2! ALL of our historic keepsake items… Read More »SHOP LOCAL – Small Business Saturday is Everyday at Mr. Local History! - Mom & Pop Hardware Stores are Disappearing Across Jersey
Views: 236 We 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 screws and some drain cleaner is being lost to changing times. This story is… Read More »Mom & Pop Hardware Stores are Disappearing Across Jersey - Our MLH Holiday Boutique is Open
Views: 2,487 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 gift of locally made limited edition keepsakes and collectibles to give or decorate your home.… Read More »Our MLH Holiday Boutique is Open - Who Brings Their Jersey Village Collectibles out Just for the Holidays?
Views: 27 We have been told a terrible rumor. Is it true? Do some people bring out their Jersey Cat’s Meow collectibles only for the holidays? Read on…. Yes, we have been told many people bring out their Cat’s Meow Village keepsakes specifically for the holiday season. These collectible wooden village pieces, often depicting nostalgic… Read More »Who Brings Their Jersey Village Collectibles out Just for the Holidays? - MGM’s Lion Rests in Gillette, New Jersey
Views: 705 His stage name was Leo, but his real name was Slats. He was a 750-pound lion born on March 20, 1919, in Dublin, Ireland, and now rests peacefully in Gillette, a small New Jersey town. Meet MGM’s first lion mascot. Preview Release: Looking for more local connections to this story. More updates are… Read More »MGM’s Lion Rests in Gillette, New Jersey - Jersey Presidental Legacy: Grover Cleveland and Now Donald Trump
Views: 224 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 first president after the Civil War. The 21st President, Chester Arthur, did not seek reelection.… Read More »Jersey Presidental Legacy: Grover Cleveland and Now Donald Trump - President Trump’s Historic Summer White House in Bedminster, New Jersey
Views: 159,102 In a sleepy equestrian area in the Somerset Hills of central New Jersey, the former President of the United States still comes to summer at a house with a storied history. UPDATE: Congratulations to Present-Elect Donald John Trump on his victory. There has been tremendous demand for our New Jersey Historic wooden collectible… Read More »President Trump’s Historic Summer White House in Bedminster, New Jersey - Museums and Historical Societies Must Change or Die
Views: 11,837 Several museums are closing permanently, including the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York City, and the Texas Civil War Museum. It’s funny how things work. Museums and historic sites are created to preserve landmark works for the public to view and enjoy. However, with… Read More »Museums and Historical Societies Must Change or Die - Wearing Lost Jersey Motorsports Icons is Fun History
Views: 153 Mr Local History loves history with a social twist. In fact, it’s our motto! So we thought how fun it would be to share some of the most loved New Jersey businesses that have disappeared. We started researching and putting our artists to work to recreate an offering of vintage retro clothing and… Read More »Wearing Lost Jersey Motorsports Icons is Fun History - 1928 – Woodbridge Speedway – The Fastest 1/2 Mile Track in the World
Views: 245 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. What opened as a spectacle and a death-defying event, this Woodbridge Speedway quickly became the… Read More »1928 – Woodbridge Speedway – The Fastest 1/2 Mile Track in the World
Recent Comments
There was a milk vending machine on Belmont Avenue, in North Haledon, in front of Ideal Farms.
I heard Dublin Zoo was so good at breeding lions that it was known as the Lion Factory!
My grandparents were on Morristown Rd and were friends with the Phifers. A quarter got you in to look around.…
Grew up there in the 50s. Sat on that ground under the tree many times. We knew that was where…
We checked here – https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/waterloo-village?date=past nothing listed.
I remember seeing Emmylou Harris at Waterloo on August 22, 1992. It isn’t included in your list and I have…
When my boys were young, their Dad did some renovation work at the M&M’s factory in Hackettstown. One Saturday, we…
Thanks for the tip. We’ll investigate!!!!
Supposedly, Mead Hall at Drew University is haunted. Before the campus Safety office moved to a newly built building, night…
I am 78 yrs old. Born in Newark and grew up in Irvington. I moved to Kentucky 6 yrs ago.…
I was able to get onto the property back in 2019 with a small group of friends we walked through…
My father, H. Neil Carlson, was working on his Cessna 170B one weekend when the actor Burgess Meredith (penguin on…
Yes, the drive to Matheny from Main St through the stone pillars and up the hill. The farm estate where…
I really enjoyed your article about the old airport. If you would like more information you might go speak with…
Carol, that must have been around the same time that she moved her horses out of Fox Chase where I…
Jackie also rented a small ranch house in Peapack owned by Anne Casey in the 1970s. We lived on that…
Diedre Locati That was so much fun; although I’ve been gone for 50+ years, there wasn’t one I didn’t remember.…
Gus Manz I’ve lived in Flemington for the past 30+ years and Flemington Speedway existed for almost 100 years from…
Dan Becker I love that race track photo. That is larger than the UHS football stands. I wonder if the…
Jersey History Posts
Jersey history – over 450 researched stories.
From Fort Lee to Cape May and everywhere in between.
Take a look.
“Wear Local History” Collection
Brings Back Memories
MLH has digitally recreated lost businesses from the 1900s to the 1980s, producing over 250 designs of iconic vintage logos.
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Stories, Stories, and More Stories
Researched by Mr. Local History himself, see over ten years of research on the internet to share the history.
The Mr. Local History 2024 Holiday Magazine
See our quarterly digital magazine for FREE. Full of great local Jersey History.
Events Calendar
Signature Events, Tours, Fundraisers, and Speaking engagements.
The New Jersey Historic Village Wooden Collection
30 iconic local Jersey Collectibles made exclusively for the Mr. Local History Project by the world famous “Cat’s Meow Village” of Wooster, Ohio. Once they sell out, they’re usually gone forever.
Like Historic Photos?
Over the years our researchers have gathered some great historic photos. Take a look as we “Dig In the Archives”
“I love sharing stories about the history of Jersey food. If one thing people miss when they leave Jersey, it’s the food. We dig in!”
Brooks Betz aka Mr. Local History
“What is the point of being alive if you don’t know history?”
Meg Wastie – Education Team Lead
“The Mr. Local History Project covers some really unique stuff. I mean who digs into the history of Jersey Food? MLH does”
Ms. Paula Axt – Tour Guide and Education
Frequently Asked Questions
The Mr. Local History Project is a 100% volunteer organization. Want to join us? No problem. There are no membership fees, and you only need to support one of our efforts. Programs include education, research, guided tours, or one of our many events.. You can even start something of your own. Visit our Contact Us page and drop us a note to get involved.
No, but we are a 501c3 registered charity non-profit, meaning you can donate to the Mr. Local History Project, and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Every penny goes back into our programs.
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Wood Ave. Hardware, Linden NJ. Closed up in the early 90’s. I worked there is the mid – late 80’s…