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Top Ten Stories This Week
This Week’s Top 10 Posts
Latest News Updates & Research
- 1717 John Harrison Purchases What Becomes Basking Ridge
Views: 106 For the first time ever, our readers can see the original deed in which John Harrison purchased the land that later became Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Researchers at the Mr. Local History Project are so proud to have published the first ever share of this historic document. The Mr. Local History project is… Read More »1717 John Harrison Purchases What Becomes Basking Ridge - Five Landowners That Owned Half of Somerset County, New Jersey
Views: 510 Maps 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 the earliest known comprehensive landownership map of Somerset County, New Jersey. Created just ten… Read More »Five Landowners That Owned Half of Somerset County, New Jersey - 1766 Somerset County, New Jersey Map Tells So Many Stories
Views: 236 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 assigning numbered tracts to individual owners in an accompanying reference index. It captures the farms and estates of many of the families… Read More »1766 Somerset County, New Jersey Map Tells So Many Stories - Speaker Series: Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge….But What if
Views: 796 What would have happened if General Charles Lee WASN’T captured in Basking Ridge?Join the Mr. Local History Project as we break down the history with this interesting conversation. America250 Update: Presentation – Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge – What if…Mr. Local History Project’s researcher, Brooks Betz, will be taking this story on the… Read More »Speaker Series: Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge….But What if - Free Declaration of Independence & Constitution Booklet for Supporting MLH
Views: 200 Yes, it’s true, to celebrate America 250, we have a great gift for you from our friends and the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. Simply order anything from our fundraising gift shop or make a donation, then ask for the special booklet. While supplies last. More Local History - Hackensack’s Historic White Manna Burger Diner is MOVING – And Going BIG
Views: 357 Big News in the Jersey Burger World! Hackensack’s historic White Manna is going for it and made the decision to relocate one of New Jersey’s most iconic burger joints, lifting it up and moving it up the road, but it’s also going BIG. The new White Manna will preserve the restaurant’s iconic 1946… Read More »Hackensack’s Historic White Manna Burger Diner is MOVING – And Going BIG - America250 History Debunked: Separating Myth from Fact
Views: 620 In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, we’ve been on the road, attending many great speeches and presentations on our country’s history. But one speaker gave an interesting twist, asking the audience about some commonly stated facts that have since been debunked. We thought it’d be fun to share a few that we’ve heard… Read More »America250 History Debunked: Separating Myth from Fact - What America at 250 Means to Me Essay Series Open to All
Views: 541 As Americans experience our 250th anniversary, historians are asking how this moment should be understood and remembered. The Mr. Local History Project is preparing an in-depth story that brings together perspectives from respected voices across our region. This collection will be shared publicly as part of the historical record, capturing how our community… Read More »What America at 250 Means to Me Essay Series Open to All - Show us Your Red, White, and Blue Contest – Celebrating America 250
Views: 552 America’s 250th birthday is a once-in-a-generation celebration, and there’s no better time to proudly display what America means to you. Whether it’s a porch draped in flags, a family dressed in red, white, and blue, a neighborhood gathering, or a backyard Fourth of July picnic, every expression of patriotism helps celebrate the freedoms,… Read More »Show us Your Red, White, and Blue Contest – Celebrating America 250 - Middlebrook’s 1778-1779 Encampment – 10,000 Troops and Bridgewater’s Legacy
Views: 1,103 Military protocol in the eighteenth century generally called for armies to suspend major campaigning during the winter months. Harsh weather, poor roads, limited food supplies, and the difficulty of moving men, horses, artillery, and wagons made large-scale operations impractical. Rather than remain on the march, armies typically established winter encampments—temporary military communities where… Read More »Middlebrook’s 1778-1779 Encampment – 10,000 Troops and Bridgewater’s Legacy - Igniting New Jersey’s Revolutionary Signal Beacons for America 250 Effort
Views: 1,011 Long before telegraphs, radios, or cell phones, New Jersey’s mountaintops carried messages by fire. During the Revolutionary War, General William Livingston and Brigadier General William Alexander—better known as Lord Stirling—relied on a chain of signal beacons stretching across the Watchung Mountains and beyond to warn of British troop movements and summon militia. From… Read More »Igniting New Jersey’s Revolutionary Signal Beacons for America 250 Effort - Meet HistOracle AI: New Jersey Team Brings History’s Voices Back to Life
Views: 621 For centuries, historians have relied on books, letters, artifacts, and exhibits to tell the stories of the past. But what if visitors could do something more? What if they could actually sit down and have a conversation with Elias Boudinot, Henry George, or another historical figure and ask them questions directly? That is… Read More »Meet HistOracle AI: New Jersey Team Brings History’s Voices Back to Life - Communicating Life Stories – Digital Storytelling Oral History
Views: 7,676 Communicating Life Stories and Digital Storytelling For generations, family stories and personal memories were preserved through handwritten letters, photo albums, and conversations around the kitchen table. Today, those same stories can be recorded with a smartphone, shared across continents in seconds, and preserved for future generations with tools that would have seemed unimaginable… Read More »Communicating Life Stories – Digital Storytelling Oral History - Mr. Local History’s America’s 250th Commemorative Magazine
Views: 3,003 This Special Issue of Mr. Local History Magazine celebrates America’s SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL, the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, by bringing New Jersey’s Revolutionary past to life. From historic battlefields and museum exhibits to community events and county celebrations, the issue highlights the Garden State’s central role in the American story.… Read More »Mr. Local History’s America’s 250th Commemorative Magazine - America’s Grandest Estate in Basking Ridge Archaeological Dig Continues
Views: 737 As New Jersey commemorates the 250th anniversary of the American experience, the archaeological work at Lord Stirling Manor represents one of Somerset County’s most significant contributions to the America 250 effort. By uncovering the physical remains of William Alexander’s famed estate and preserving thousands of artifacts connected to colonial and Revolutionary-era life, archaeologists… Read More »America’s Grandest Estate in Basking Ridge Archaeological Dig Continues - The Great Swamp: Ice Age, Melting, Airports, Swampers, Raptors, Fireworks & Horror Tales
Views: 1,247 At first glance, the Great Swamp seems peaceful, a quiet stretch of reeds, willows, and winding creeks lying between Basking Ridge, Harding, and Chatham. Yet beneath its still surface lies a story that spans thousands of years, from the melting of Ice Age glaciers to the whispers of ghosts that haunt its mists.… Read More »The Great Swamp: Ice Age, Melting, Airports, Swampers, Raptors, Fireworks & Horror Tales - Perth Amboy’s Great Jersey History
Views: 913 One of the things we enjoy most about the Mr. Local History Project is discovering how seemingly unrelated stories eventually connect. Over the years, we’ve crossed paths with Perth Amboy through the lives of New Jersey’s Royal Governors, the East Jersey Proprietors, the construction of the Proprietary House, and even through figures like… Read More »Perth Amboy’s Great Jersey History - Historic Ice Yacht Gifted to Lake Hopatcong Club- It’s “Ours”
Views: 263 On February 9, 2026, Brian Haumersen and Mike D Achille returned the historic ice yacht OURS to the ice of the Navesink River at the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club for the first time in approximately two decades, marking a notable moment for the region’s ice boating community. The Navesink, also… Read More »Historic Ice Yacht Gifted to Lake Hopatcong Club- It’s “Ours”
Recent Comments
The Mount Prospect School shown in the picture was built in approximately 1998, not 1968. It was indeed named after…
Laird & Company in Colt’s Neck is considered America’s oldest distillery, renowned for producing Applejack and apple brandy. William Laird…
We used to walk to joralemons after school. We would get our root beer popsicles. My dad used to send…
We are a historical organization. If you wish to talk with them, contact them directly. Thank you.
Following up to previously sent e-mail to ensure I did it properly. Please respond at your earliest convenience if you…
Can I visit Sky Farm? I was a member 22+ years age with my wife who passed away 18 years…
Funny about this – we just saw Teddy Roosevelt talking with President Trump at the opening of his new library…
We held my youngest son’s baptism reception there in 1988. Very happy atmosphere and memories. When did it close?
Lord Stirling is my 6th great-grandfather. I’d like to keep on top of the research you do about him!
I worked for AT&T IMS from ’88 to ’92 on the first floor of building 7. Our organization was responsible…
As history buffs (particularly Revolutionary War), we were excited to visit Eagles’s Nest at Washington Valley Park today. From the…
My Grandfather, Boyd Happe, was a proud member. Raised pheasants on Prospect behind 148 Maple. Those houses had trouble with…
When I moved to Martinsville section of Bridgewater 44 yrs. ago, the western side of Shley Mtn. was a huge…
Grew up at on So. 10th EWR. Went to St. Ann’s grammar school on 16th and 7th. Graduated 1956. Mom…
Please advise if Sky Farm is having an open house because the date within this document says June 11th Saturday…
I was a resident of Peapack , living on the road known as Matheny road during the years that Jacqueline…
Jimmy was an integral part of the services throughout the town and was always actively involved. He was always very…
A wonderful man, a hero and true friend of Basking Ridge. My father-in-law grew up with Mr. D and remained…
Jimmy & I have been the greatest of friends since kindergarten in Basking Ridge, going through Maple Ave School, Oak…
Yes, not sure how it got confused so we’ve updated the piece. How did you remember?