Views: 564Your History Tour Guide to Basking Ridge, and Yes, We Know It’s Bernards Township (officially). Let’s start with the elephant in the room. Although the municipality’s official name is Bernards Township, most people have embraced Basking Ridge as the… Read More »Greetings From Historic Basking Ridge
Views: 926Fall in New Jersey is more than colorful leaves, crisp mornings, and roadside farm stands; it is a season filled with great history and stories. In this issue, the Mr. Local History research team travels from the historic boardwalk… Read More »Fall Is In the Air – So Much to Do and See in Mr. Local History’s 2026 Fall Magazine
Views: 640For 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:… Read More »“The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem
Views: 652Washington 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.… Read More »Washington’s Rev War Fortress – It Was New Jersey Itself
Views: 2,703The 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… Read More »Meandering Basking Ridge’s Newest Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 934Isn’t it strange that you might drive by something 1,000s of times and never notice something….until you do. This is one of those stories. Just to the south of the former Millington quarry entrance on Stonehouse Road sits a… Read More »A Tiny Roadside Cemetery in Basking Ridge
Views: 2,512UPDATE: Yes, it happened. A NEW flagpole replaced the old, nasty, rusted version, and it finally happened on July 10, 2026. While America’s 250th birthday is underway, the Basking Ridge town green is about to get a major upgrade.… Read More »Basking Ridge Town Green – The Town’s Smallest Park History & a New Flagpole
Views: 8,021Plans for New Jersey’s 250th Anniversary include Somerset County Going Big to Back Local history in Central New Jersey 2026 marks 250 years of American Independence, and Somerset County is gearing up to participate in the national celebration. And YES, General Washington… Read More »Somerset County Revs Up History for America’s 250th
Views: 4,626Somerset County is well known for its significance during the Revolutionary War, but many may not be aware of its impact on World War I. In the early 20th Century, Raritan became the center of action for the very… Read More »Raritan, NJ Was the Venue Officially Ending World War I
Views: 5,791It wouldn’t come as a surprise to most people that mining is the most prevalent industrial sector in Somerset County. According to mining database, “thediggings.com,” there have been 17 separate mining companies in Somerset County since the founding of… Read More »The Bridgewater Copper Mines
Views: 4,937We love Somerset County, New Jersey history. We love it so much, we made it our home. The Mr. Local History Project is committed to preserving and promoting local history in Somerset County. Please search our site using the… Read More »Experience Historic Somerset County, New Jersey
Views: 23,028General Washington, the Continental Army, and General Lord Stirling of Basking Ridge drew inspiration from history and created a sophisticated communications network to track the British movement. They were called the “Beacons.” We start off with a classic Hollywood… Read More »Lord Stirling’s Rev War Beacon Signal Towers
Views: 6,811While searching the internet we found a few great books that showcases the history of the Somerset Hills and Somerset County, New Jersey from the early 1800’s. If you like local history, these two books really bring the detail… Read More »Somerset History – Two Historic Books
