Stories that inspire Americans to learn about their local history. Each of these stories from the Mr. Local History Project dig into great tales from America’s past.
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The Annins of Liberty Corner[/caption]
Views: 2,825 It’s hard to believe that in 2026, the United States will be celebrating its 250th anniversary. That means it’s also been 50 years since the Bicentennial, and hopefully, almost everyone remembers that one. As this researcher was just… Read More »America’s 250th Anniversary is Coming – Looking Back at the Bicentennial… Jersey Style
Views: 5,314 Presidents #22 and #24 and Now #45 and #47 – Only Two Presidents to Serve Non-Consecutive Terms. Here’s how four presidential elections went down. Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, defeated Republican James G. Blaine of Maine and became the… Read More »Non-Consecutive Term Presidents: Jersey’s Grover Cleveland and Now Donald Trump
Views: 3,289 PREVIEW RELEASE:Our researchers continue to work with this story as there are several conflicting points of view we want to continue researching. We will update over the next few weeks, but we wanted to let people see this… Read More »Newark New Jersey’s Incredible Velodrome and Motordrome Racing Venues
Views: 8,270 Over the last few years, researchers at the Mr. Local History Project here in New Jersey have been busy at work and have released several stories related to the motorsports racing history in New Jersey. We’ve even now… Read More »Mr. Local History Motorsports Special Edition Magazine – Free!
Views: 4,049 As a huge motorsports fan, this topic came up with a few of our researchers who can’t let it go! While the Mr. Local History Project normally focuses on New Jersey history, they had to discover more once… Read More »Lost Motorsport Board Tracks Across America – Mapping Them All
Views: 4,137 This is a tale about auto racing legends of the early 1920s, known as daredevils and speed freaks, who traveled to a tiny new track built outside New York City in the small town of Woodbridge, New Jersey.… Read More »1928 – Woodbridge Speedway – World’s Fastest 1/2 Mile Track
Views: 3,459 on Mischief Night, Cabbage Night, Goosey Night, or whatever you call it – October 30th – RE-LIVE the WAR OF THE WORLDS. GO LISTEN WITH YOUR FAMILY The date was October 30, 1938, and Jerseyans tuned in to… Read More »The World’s Greatest Broadcast in New Jersey History – War of the Worlds
Views: 7,052 UPDATE:USA TODAY says Wildwood is Home to One of the Country’s Best Pop Culture Museums. The museum received USA Today’s 2025 10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Award. Anyone who’s visited Wildwood, New Jersey, knows it’s the Garden State’s… Read More »Wildwood History: Boardwalk, Beach, Neon and the Doowop Universe
Views: 2,725 Jersey Lost Racetrack Series We found a story in the Paterson Call newspaper on April 22, 1936, stating that on May 15, 1936, after spending over $100,000, the Union (Township) Speedway would open with a 1/2-mile oval, including… Read More »Lost Racetrack Series: Auto Racing’s 10,000 Seat Track In Union, New Jersey
Views: 16,968 Flag Designer Betsy Ross and Her Basking Ridge Ties – Lore or Fact? “Here lies the woman who made the first banner containing the stars and stripes after that honored old ensign had been adopted, June 14, 1776.”… Read More »Betsy Ross is Really Buried in Basking Ridge, New Jersey?
Views: 2,204 Somerset 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… Read More »Raritan, NJ Was the Venue Officially Ending World War I
Views: 718 It takes around two minutes and eighteen seconds to sing God Bless America. Mr. Local History took a trip to the “Field of Honor,” an annual tradition at the Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster, New Jersey. Sit back,… Read More »Take 2 Minutes and 18 Seconds to Celebrate America
Views: 3,612 Wildwood, New Jersey, drew summer tourists seeking respite from the Great Depression. Among the attractions on the boardwalk was the “Motordrome Wall of Death,” featuring motorcycles and race cars whirling around a wooden bowl-like enclosure. But the real… Read More »Wildwood’s Motorcycle Wall of Death is Back in New Jersey
Views: 2,227 As a recent subscriber to Ancestry.com the first thing everyone does is they create a family tree. After you’ve added your basic living and deceased family members and started your frame, you are now a slave to what… Read More »Ancestry Comes Up Short on Analytics
Views: 8,232 Just the word S&H green stamps immediately brings you back in time to what seemed to be simpler times. No cell phones, no internet, but just a time when you knew if you collected green stamps, someday when… Read More »Hey New Jersey – Who Remembers S&H Green Stamps