Category: Township Historian

News and articles of historic interest from the official Bernards Township historian.

Bernards Township & Bernardsville Honor Veterans and The Fallen

Mr. Local History
Bernards Township Honors our local veterans - Mr Local History

Post Views: 2,591 UPDATE: There is a Go Fund Me Campaign called “Buy A Veteran a Burger” that will feed vets on the Lyons VA campus this Memorial Day weekend. Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day Bernards Township and Bernardsville honors our military veterans with a banner salute around the Bernards Township Municipal building and in downtown Bernardsville area. The banners usually stay up between the two holidays and grace our townships with honor and sacrifice and a true sense of what these people mean to our community and our…

Read More

Fundraiser Offers Exclusive Bernards Township Flag- Honors Bernards Township Day

Local History

Post Views: 693 For the first time in 62 years, an original Bernards Township flag by the Annin Flag Company is available as a fundraiser May 24th is Bernards Township Day – the inaugural celebration where you can share your pride in the community or provide a small community service a give back. This fundraiser offers a large Bernards Township exclusive flag produced by the Annin Flag Company allowing residents to honor Bernards Township. Now is your chance own a piece of our history with the the flag designed by…

Read More

Inaugural Bernards Township Day – May 24 – Day of Community Service and Pride

Mr. Local History
Bernards Township Day May 24 Day of Community Service Banner #bernardstownshipday

Post Views: 382 Day Focuses on Community Service and Pride for Bernards Township Tuesday, May 24 is the day where the community gives back to Bernards Township with acts of community service and pride. It’s called Bernards Township Day, celebrated annually on the day of the townships founding- May 24, 1760. It is NOT Charter Day, a street fair held typically the third Saturday in May. Inaugural #bernardstownshipday Bernards Township Day commemorates a day of community service to be held every May 24th – the same day as May 24,…

Read More

UPDATE: Bernards Township Charter Day – Saturday, May 21, 2022

Mr. Local History
Charter Day 2019 mr local history

Post Views: 332 We lost 2019 to Charter Day to storms.We lost 2020 Charter Day to Covid-19. Now we lost 2021 Charter Day to Covid-19 AGAIN!2022 Charter Day is ON! Real Time Weather Update Get ready for a fun filled street fair and festival on Saturday, May 21 2022 in the Historic Basking Ridge Village as Charter Day is BACK! On Charter Day – Add Your Photos to the Charter Day Instagram Wall.ADD #btcharterday to your Instagram or Facebook post! Charter Day Street Fair Schedule 12:00 Opening Ceremonies – Town…

Read More

2022 Historic Basking Ridge Village Walking Tour Scholarship Fundraiser

Local History
A few of our fantastic hosts and docents for the Basking Ridge walking tour.

Post Views: 401 Book Your Spot Today. UPDATE: Friday, May 13 We are a go for Saturday. Chance of showers. Warm (yay). Maybe bring a small umbrella just in case. Only a few tickets for our only tour this year of the Historic Basking Ridge Village! Tell your friends! Tell a friend. bring a guest. Make it a girls afternoon out! it’s a high school scholarship fundraiser! A GREAT LOCAL TOUR! Join the Mr. Local History Project as we present our annual walking tour of the historic village of Basking…

Read More

A Real Liberty Pole in Liberty Corner, New Jersey

Local History

Post Views: 276 PREVIEW RELEASE POST: New Jersey has a rich history way before the founding as a country. As one of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey has often been called the “Cockpit of the American Revolution” based on all of the events that took place in New Jersey during the revolutionary war. Before the war, a small area in Bernards Township was noted as Annin’s Corner. The war changed all that and after the Annin’s and many separatists supported, the town name was renamed “Liberty Corner”. At the…

Read More

Honoring Black History Month in the Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
Celebrating Black History Month in Bedminster, Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peapack and Gladstone in the Somerset HIlls - Mr. Local History Project

Post Views: 1,207 NOTE: As with many Mr. Local History retrospectives, we often update the post when we learn stories and are sent photos from our community. We will continue to expand this piece as information becomes available. Mr. Local History Project The Mr. Local History Project is often asked to dig into particular historic events, historic properties, and historic people. Every February the nation celebrates black history month so we wanted to do some digging, and crowdsource to the local communities to build on honoring the month with stories…

Read More

Retrospective: Snowstorms and Sledding in The Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
Snowstorm and Sledding Somerset Hills - Mr Local History Project

Post Views: 1,517 Snow is an interesting thing. Some love it. Some hate it. But when there’s a major storm in the area there’s the battle between getting a snow day, and whether to play in it or dread dread removing it. Update: 2/1/2020 – The record books had a close call Monday the First of February. Official totals: Basking Ridge 19.5 inches, Bedminster: 19.7 inches. 10th largest snowfall on record. Snowstorm Slideshow If you live in the area and would like to share an image, or story, feel free…

Read More

Retrospective: Somerset Hills Cartographer John Smith Showcases Local History

Mr. Local History
Somerset Hills Country Club History Map - John Charles Smith Mr Local History

Post Views: 599 National award winning landscape architect lives and breathes history with his map creations. The Mr. Local History Project introduces you to a dear friend and history connoisseur that has taken cartography to a whole new level overlaying history on top of mapmaking producing beautiful poster sized objects disguised as art. Meet John Charles Smith and his maps of the Somerset Hills. The Somerset Hills is a northern section of Somerset County, New Jersey. Known by friends and locals as the the John Smith maps, the maps are…

Read More

The Basking Ridge Christmas Eve Community Sing

Mr. Local History
2021 Christmas Eve - Drone - Mr Local History FB

Post Views: 9,561 Live and in Person – Be On the Green in Basking Ridge Village – Dec. 24 @6:55pm – We sing promptly at 7:00!!!!!! Every year on December 24th for 98 years starting promptly at 7pm on what’s known as “The Green”, residents, families, friends, and guests in Basking Ridge, New Jersey gather for less than 20 minutes to sing Christmas carols, wish good tidings, then move on to their personal family traditions. Church bells begin ringing at about 6:45pm. 10 songs are sung and the caroling ends…

Read More

History of the Basking Ridge Fire Company and the Town Christmas Tree

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 3,107 Every year the Basking Ridge Fire Company accepts a large evergreen tree donated by a local resident or business. The all volunteer Basking Ridge Fire Company members take responsibility for cutting the tree down and placing it on the village green in Basking Ridge center. Firefighters and volunteers also decorate the tree for the holidays, relying on fire equipment to reach the top. The Fire Company will arrive to down the tree, clean up afterward, and transport the tree away in a couple of hours. The traditional…

Read More

December 13 – The Day that Altered American History Happened in Basking Ridge, New Jersey

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 2,571 If it wasn’t for this event, the world might have had a different look. Basking Ridge, New Jersey’s most famous Incident occurred at about noon time on December 13,1776. General Charles Lee (1731-1782), was “alarmed” by Major Wilkinson while he was writing a letter to General Gates about George Washington in an upstairs bedroom of the Widow White’s Tavern. Widow White’s Tavern, named after Ebenezer White’s wife Mary Brown White, became the centerpiece of Revolutionary War history on that day, because It was on this most unfortunate…

Read More

Widow White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge was more than a Grog Stop

Mr. Local History
Capture at Widown Whites Tavern - Mr Local History Project

Post Views: 14,077 Basking Ridge, New Jersey’s Most Famous Incident At about noon time on December 13,1776, General Charles Lee (1731-1782), was alarmed by Major Wilkinson while he was writing a letter to General Gates about George Washington in an upstairs bedroom of the Widow White’s Tavern. Widow White’s Tavern, named after Ebenezer White’s wife Mary Brown White, became the centerpiece of Revolutionary War history on that day, because It was on this most unfortunate day for General Lee that General Lee became a prisoner of the British Army, leaving…

Read More

Exclusive Holiday Cards – Get Yours

Mr. Local History
Holiday Greeting Cards - Available Now.

Post Views: 1,373 “T’was the night before Christmas in the village of Basking Ridge” and the Bernardsville Center Community Holiday Cards with a purpose! In our first year of being, the Mr. Local History project presents an exclusive holiday card for our Bernards Township friends and families. We call it the “T’was the night before Christmas in Basking Ridge village” card. The card was created by our dear friend Linda Arnold, a resident of Liberty Corner. For a limited time, you can get a set of 5 cards with envelopes…

Read More

Lord Stirling- Basking Ridge’s Most Famous Resident

Mr. Local History
Lord Stirling - Washington's top general from Basking Ridge.

Post Views: 3,192 Is William Alexander Basking Ridge’s Most Famous Resident? William Alexander was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish lineage (being the senior male descendant of the paternal grandfather of the 1st Earl of Stirling, who had died in 1640), and he sought the title sometime after 1756. Raised on Broad Street in Lower Manhattan, he decided to move west to the country. He chose Baskinridge (Basking Ridge) and became what many feel is the area’s most famous resident. Let’s take a…

Read More