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Top Ten Stories This Week
This Week’s Top 10 Posts
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- So What Separates Peapack from Gladstone
Views: 2 Many may not know, but Peapack and Gladstone were originally part of Bedminster, New Jersey. Yes, if you go back to 1749, a Royal Charter was signed by King George II officially recognizing the Township of Bedminster, which included the villages to the north, that later became known as Peapack and Gladstone. Sooooo…Where… Read More »So What Separates Peapack from Gladstone - A Historic Boardwalk on Jersey’s Lake Mohawk
Views: 138 Just when you think you know everything about New Jersey, the state pulls another surprise from its seemingly bottomless bag of tricks. We already have ocean beaches, mountains, waterfalls, sprawling farms, colonial villages, busy cities, and some of America’s most famous boardwalks. What else could possibly be hiding here? Then you arrive at… Read More »A Historic Boardwalk on Jersey’s Lake Mohawk - Bardy Farms: From a Russian Immigrant’s Fields to a Somerset County Farming Dynasty
Views: 637 Walk into Bardy Farms on Washington Valley Road in Warren Township, and you are entering one of New Jersey’s increasingly rare family farm businesses. Fresh produce still fills the market, plants crowd the greenhouses in Spring, pumpkins arrive in autumn, and Christmas trees and wreaths mark the holiday season. It feels like a… Read More »Bardy Farms: From a Russian Immigrant’s Fields to a Somerset County Farming Dynasty - Then & Now: Post 9/11-Somerset Hills Family, Friends and Neighbors & Their Legacy
Views: 33,706 Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 2001, we lost friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones in a tragedy that changed our nation forever. Their absence is felt every day, yet in the years since that heartbreaking morning, we have also witnessed countless examples of strength, kindness, and resilience. Out of loss has come… Read More »Then & Now: Post 9/11-Somerset Hills Family, Friends and Neighbors & Their Legacy - “The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem
Views: 268 For Over Half a Century, the Frippery is Watchung’s Original Treasure Hunt Long before thrift shopping became trendy, generations of bargain hunters were already climbing the stairs and rummaging through the shelves at one of Watchung’s best-known hidden gems: The Frippery. The Frippery officially opened for the first time on March 10, 1971,… Read More »“The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem - Washington’s Rev War Fortress – It Was New Jersey Itself
Views: 330 Washington Didn’t Build His Fortress. New Jersey Did. So we start by coining a phrase, one that defines what we think Washington knew all along. A geological fortress is not an artificial fort of stone walls, towers, and cannon. It is a naturally defensible landscape whose mountains, rivers, valleys, cliffs, and narrow passages… Read More »Washington’s Rev War Fortress – It Was New Jersey Itself - Donate Today and Get a Great Gift: 2026 US Mint RevWar 250 Quarters Collectible Pack
Views: 236 Minimum donation: $25, but feel free to donate at any of the levels below. Your contribution is TAX DEDUCTIBLE. We only have a limited supply of these great keepsakes, so act fast. First come, first served, while supplies last. Donate Now Mr Local History has finally found a keepsake worthy of our endorsement… Read More »Donate Today and Get a Great Gift: 2026 US Mint RevWar 250 Quarters Collectible Pack - Crane Farm: The Little Farm Stand Preserves Basking Ridge’s Farming Past
Views: 1,471 RUMOR CONFIRMED:As Crane Farm approaches another turning point, word has begun circulating that Tyson and Doris Mertz are retiring October 31, 2026 and will not be renewing their lease with Somerset County. The Mertzes have not owned the property, but for decades they have been Somerset County’s leaseholder, keeping the fields productive and… Read More »Crane Farm: The Little Farm Stand Preserves Basking Ridge’s Farming Past - Mashing Crime History to Maps and Apps
Views: 6,373 Imagine 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, and traffic. But finding reliable, current,t and understandable information about reported crime remains surprisingly difficult. The information exists, but it is… Read More »Mashing Crime History to Maps and Apps - Meandering Basking Ridge’s Newest Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 2,137 The Millington Quarry property in the Millington section of Bernards Township is one of the largest former industrial sites in Somerset County and has been the focus of redevelopment discussions for more than a decade. Covering approximately 180 acres along Stonehouse Road, the site operated for many years as a trap rock quarry… Read More »Meandering Basking Ridge’s Newest Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry - Noe Pond & the Browers- Chatham’s Swim Club People Remember
Views: 976 Noe Pond began as a natural, spring-fed farm pond on the Noe family’s roughly 800-acre property in Chatham Township. Dating to before the Revolutionary War, the pond supplied water to the family’s dairy farm, rose greenhouses, and surrounding property. It was also used for harvesting ice in winter and eventually became a popular… Read More »Noe Pond & the Browers- Chatham’s Swim Club People Remember - Millington’s Millridge Swim Club Bulldozed Back into the Great Swamp Landscape
Views: 219 Before the Millridge Swim Club existed, it was known as Reggie’s Playland Farm, and we found a strange real estate listing from 2002 that read: This story is part of the Mr. Local History Project’s New Jersey Swim Club Series, exploring the neighborhood pools, freshwater ponds, and private clubs that shaped generations of… Read More »Millington’s Millridge Swim Club Bulldozed Back into the Great Swamp Landscape - Westfield’s Rialto Theater History and Next Chapter
Views: 123 UPDATE: A New Life for Westfield’s Rialto After sitting largely dormant since closing as a movie theater in 2019, Westfield’s historic Rialto is now headed toward a major rebirth. In July 2026, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a $43.38 million tax credit award through its Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion (CAFE) Program… Read More »Westfield’s Rialto Theater History and Next Chapter - Celebrating 100 Years of the Cranford Theater
Views: 469 As Cranford prepares to celebrate the theater’s 100th birthday on November 29, 2026, we’re taking a look back at the little movie house that became a Cranford institution, and the generations of people who have kept coming through its doors. SIGN THE CARD IN THE COMMENTS SECTION AT THE END OF THIS POST… Read More »Celebrating 100 Years of the Cranford Theater - NJ Cinemas Honored in Exclusive Miniature Wooden Collection
Views: 8,164 Remembering classic movie theaters that not only showed first-rate films, but anchored our towns and kept us full of memories. Three of the last remaining old-time, downtown movie theaters in New Jersey, each with over a century of service, the Mr. Local History Project 501 (c) nonprofit honors the Cranford Theater, the Rialto… Read More »NJ Cinemas Honored in Exclusive Miniature Wooden Collection - History Remembers Lost Swim Clubs – Now It’s Your Turn
Views: 617 For many families growing up in the Somerset Hills and surrounding communities, summer meant one thing: the local swim club. From the 1950s through the 1980s, private clubs, lakes, beaches, and municipal pools became summertime gathering places where generations of kids learned to swim, competed on swim teams, played tennis, worked their first… Read More »History Remembers Lost Swim Clubs – Now It’s Your Turn - Looking Back at Millington’s Clover Hill Swim Club
Views: 1,397 Clover Hill Swimming ClubA Beloved Summer Retreat That Changed New Jersey History This story is part of the Mr. Local History Project’s New Jersey Swim Club Series, exploring the neighborhood pools, freshwater ponds, and private clubs that shaped generations of summer memories. Part of the project’s mission is to encourage those who remember… Read More »Looking Back at Millington’s Clover Hill Swim Club - Reggie’s Playland & Farm: A Forgotten Jazz Club in Millington, NJ
Views: 1,736 Our story begins as we were researching another story tied to swim clubs in New Jersey’s Basking Ridge area, and we were preparing a story about Millington’s Clover Hill Swim Club. A fun story you can read later, but what we uncovered had us all say, “stop that work, as we found another… Read More »Reggie’s Playland & Farm: A Forgotten Jazz Club in Millington, NJ
Recent Comments
Thanks for writing but nothing in this story is AI-generated. If anything, we sometimes use AI to enhance an image…
“Artist rendering of the Vailsburg Velodrome c.1920s. Still looking for the artist of this beautiful interpretation.” The image with this…
I worked for Phil Bardy, the family patriarch, at the South Maple Ave farm stand in 1965. To this day,…
I worked there for 2 years, and over the years Rob and I became very good friends! I guess the…
I lived in the house on South Maple across the street from what is now the entrance to the Barrons.…
I remember Bardy Farms in Union, on Morris Ave. I lived between his farm and the store; it is where…
My son, David, won the dog show with his Great Dane, Marin!! The picture was on front page of Bernardsville…
The Ridge High Marching Band was in charge of the ping pong toss booth and bagging up the live gold…
I worked there in high school. It was so close to my house I could walk or ride my bike.…
We shopped there for our corn, veggies and fruit ‼️ I remember, when I worked at Queen City Savings bank…
We have been going to Cranes Farm for years. I’m saying over 40 years. It will be a shame to…
I will truly miss this special little farm stand, along with Doris and Tyson. They are such good stewards to…
I worked there in high school. It was so close to my house I could walk or ride my bike.…
The wire handles of a bushel basket cutting into your fingers as Mr. Crane made you walk hurriedly backwards as…
In the 1970-80s, there was a milk vending machine directly in front of the VFW Post 2140 on Willow Ave…
Millridge is where I was a member. Lots of fun summer days. Bill Friars was our swim team coach. Ridge…
I remember our family belonged to Millridge swim club back in the mid 60’s. I was very young (younger than…
I was one of the fortunate children who got to grow up at Clover Hill. It was truly a magical…
Our researchers should be able to help. Drop them a note at info@mrlocalhistory.org – oh and a donation never hurts…
I walked past the Bardy homes and farm on Spruce St every day on my way to Battle Hill. Rene…