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.
Views: 4,999 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: 3,900 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: 3,117 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: 6,813 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: 2,600 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: 16,673 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: 2,078 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: 659 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: 3,493 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
Don’t think you can’t make a difference because you can. The Mr. Local History Project is a 100% all volunteer organization. We give our time to share Jersey history with a social twist – and you have to admit we made this challenge with a social twist. Hope you picked up some history along the way.
The Mr. Local History Project is a 501c3 all volunteer non-profit organization. We have two goals. One is to create an ongoing scholarship fund to present annually to a Senior High School recipient. The second is to promote local history and create programs with a social twist. Your pledge goes fully to support those two efforts.
Mr Local History also accepts Venmo – Just scan the QR code or find us under “Charity” @mrlocalhistory
Each year the Mr. Local History Project works with area high schools to make a unrestricted scholarship to a worthy senior.
Please help us continue this annual tradition.
For those who prefer traditional mail to make donations, mail to:
Mr. Local History Project Giving Campaign
184 W. Oak Street, Suite 101
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Per IRS requirements, donations of $250 or more will be recognized with a receipt.
Views: 2,115 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: 8,053 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
Views: 107,346 Those following the Mr. Local History Project know we love Jersey food and iconic food outlets. Along with the grand ethnic diversity comes food concoctions that have become iconic Jersey staples on the Jersey food scene over the… Read More »Legendary Jimmy Buff’s Italian Hot Dog – A Newark, New Jersey Invention
Views: 12,893 Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Bernards Township and Bernardsville honor our military veterans with a banner salute around the Bernards Township Municipal building and in the downtown Bernardsville area. The banners usually stay up between the two… Read More »Honoring our Bernards Township Armed Service Veterans this Veterans Day
Views: 23,355 The Mr. Local History Project (MLH) has been preserving and promoting Jersey’s local history since the non-profit was established in 2019. For this piece, we are on a mission to create the definitive online history of Krug’s Tavern,… Read More »Deep Dive: Krug’s Tavern – Preserving Newark’s History