The famous and sometimes not-so-famous people and stories from the Mr. Local History Project researchers. Over 30 stories and counting.
Views: 10 Just to the south of the former Millington quarry entrance on Stonehouse Road sits a tiny roadside cemetery that honors one of the original families of Basking Ridge. The plaque at the cemetery recognizes Daniel Vail and the… Read More »A Tiny Roadside Cemetery in Basking Ridge
Views: 286 Commemorating the 247th Anniversary of the Wedding Heard ‘Round the ColoniesJuly 27, 1779 – July 27, 2026 July 27, 1779Basking Ridge’s Biggest Event – Kitty Stirling’s Wedding On July 27, 1779, the Revolutionary War was entering one of… Read More »The Wedding Heard Round the Colonies: Lord Stirling, Washington & New Jersey’s Most Famous Revolutionary War Wedding
Views: 1,083 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… Read More »Igniting New Jersey’s Revolutionary Signal Beacons for America 250 Effort
Views: 685 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… Read More »Meet HistOracle AI: New Jersey Team Brings History’s Voices Back to Life
Views: 842 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… Read More »Archaeological Dig – America’s Grandest Estate in Basking Ridge
Views: 292 Part of the Mr. Local History Rev War and Lord Stirling Series As we were researching another story, we came across this really interesting piece published in 1914 about one of the Revolutionary War’s greatest generals, William Alexander,… Read More »Overlooked Heroines of the Revolutionary War – Sarah Livingston Alexander
Views: 12,237 UPDATE: We published this story a while back, and we said people needed to see it again. It is a classic American tale that goes unnoticed, but we continue to root out these great American tales. Stop by… Read More »The American Flagman Honors Patriotism Every Day
Views: 1,676 Did you see that another Basking Ridge resident hit the silver screen, sharing the screen with Basking Ridge’s Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2? Meet Basking Ridge’s HelenJ. Shen. On the Devil Wears Prada 2 set, Shen… Read More »Helen Shen of Basking Ridge, NJ Shines in Breakout Film Devil Wears Prada 2
Views: 596 “Every day, thousands of drivers wind their way up Anderson Hill Road, one of Bernardsville, New Jersey’s defining roads, without ever stopping to ask who Anderson was or why the hill carries his name. Yet behind that familiar… Read More »Bernardsville’s Anderson Hill Road and Judge John Anderson, Esq.
Views: 918 If you live in Basking Ridge and you went to Brush’s Deli, you were bound to see Jimmy DeCoste holding court with his friends at the table by the window. They would meet just about every day, shoot… Read More »Jimmy DeCoste – Mr Local History Honors a Friend
Views: 2,406 At a recent Somerset County 250th Celebration gathering at the Grain House Restaurant, a simple sign pointed visitors toward the Hunt Room. It was an ordinary moment, but it captured something bigger, the quiet buildup of a once-in-a-generation… Read More »NJ 250 Idea – Build a Rev War Signal Beacon – Then Burn It
Views: 1,225 From Rev War Soldiers to Gliders to Gun & Rod Clubs: The Transition on Schley Mountain There is no well-documented evidence of a formal, dedicated police or public shooting range in the “The Hills” development itself. But we’re… Read More »Remembering Gun and Rod Clubs Around Schley Mountain in the Somerset Hills
Views: 6,313 Participating in the Olympics is a great accomplishment. Winning an Olympic medal is the pinnacle for some. With the 2026 Winter Olympics underway, who from New Jersey is going, and who has a chance to win or place?… Read More »New Jersey’s Historic Olympians – Who Shined in 2026?
Views: 3,919 MLH Mini-Series: The Basking Ridge Rushmore 5 Series Now It’s the Ladies Turn…The Basking Ridge Ladies Rushmore 5 Okay, so I live in Basking Ridge, which is part of Bernards Township, but we all refer to it as… Read More »Basking Ridge’s “Rushmore 5” Ladies Honored
Views: 3,495 Paula Grossman’s dismissal from the Bernards Township school system in the early 1970s is widely regarded as one of the first public cases of transgender discrimination in American public employment. A tenured music teacher removed not for misconduct… Read More »The Paula Grossman Story – 50+ Years Later Forever in Basking Ridge History