Category: Bedminster

Bedminster History – Look To the Old Mellick Farmhouses

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 11,788 If you live in the Somerset Hills area around Bedminster and Tewksbury you hopefully have heard the name Mellick. The Mellick name goes back to one of the founding family names in the area. In fact, the name Mellick acquired three different spellings. In those days the people in charge of registering land titles and other legal documents spelled names as they sounded. The Bedminster branch became Mellick, the Tewksbury branch Melick, and a few spelled it Malick. There was a standing joke in the Melick family…

Read More

Why List a Historic District on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places?

Local History
Bernards Township Historic Districts - Liberty Corner and Franklin Corners

Post Views: 402 The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of New Jersey’s historic resources of local, state, and national interest. Created by the New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act of 1970 (N.J.S.A. 13:1B-15.128 et seq.) The New Jersey Register is closely modeled after the National Register program. Both Registers have the same criteria for eligibility, nomination forms, and review process. Nearly every municipality in New Jersey has properties significant in architecture, history, archaeology, engineering and/or culture that are eligible for the New Jersey and…

Read More

New Keepsake: Preserving Bedminster’s History #summerwhitehouse

Mr. Local History
Trump National Summer White House is No. 21 in the New Jersey Historic Village Collection

Post Views: 593 New Keepsake: Preserving Bedminster’s History – The Mr. Local History Project (MLH) has been preserving and promoting local history since our non-profit organization was established in 2019. The all volunteer group started a wooden miniature keepsake program to share history, artwork, in partnership with the world famous Cat’s Meow Village Company of Ohio to support New Jersey’s local history and grow the New Jersey Historic Village Collection. Congratulations Bedminster, New Jersey Supporting Bedminster’s history via our MLH keepsake project is in its early stages and we hope…

Read More

The Lost Charters of Bernards Township & Bedminster

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 4,873 UPDATE: While we wrote this piece years ago, the Bedminster Charter came back in the news on October 21, 2019 when it was announced that the Forbes family was donating the charter back to Bedminster Township. The story continues! This is a tale of three Charters in New Jersey that make for a great “what happened” story. Let’s first talk about what a Charter is. A Charter is a document, typically signed by the King of England granting rights to a particular area of land to a prospective…

Read More

The New Jersey Historic Miniature Village Keepsake Collection

Mr. Local History
Local History Wooden Collectibles - Cats Meow Village - Mr Local History Project

Post Views: 3,283 The MLH Project is proud to announce that the Somerset Hills Historic Village has joined forces with the New Jersey Historic Village Collection. The New Jersey Historic Village keepsake collection is a wood painted collectible series honoring historic iconic buildings, properties, and fixtures that are part of the historic fabric of New Jersey’s history. Each keepsake was selected based on community feedback and a voting process. Brooks Betz stated, “we’re really excited to see how the public reacts to the next additions to this historic series.” The…

Read More

Somerset Hills Historic Cat’s Meow Village Collection has Joined the New Jersey Historic Village Miniatures Collection

Mr. Local History
The New Jersey History Village Collection by Cat's Meow

Post Views: 694 The New Jersey Historic Village keepsake collection is a wood painted collectible series honoring historic iconic buildings, properties, and fixtures that are part of the historic fabric of New Jersey’s history. Each keepsake was selected based on community feedback and a voting process. Brooks Betz stated, “we’re really excited to see how the public reacts to the next additions to this historic series.” The Mr. Local History Project plans to introduce at least seven new keepsakes in 2021. Simply sign up to receive updates when the new…

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: 618 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

Vote for Bedminster’s Most Historic Icons

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 632 Hey Bedminster, we’d love your opinion. We’re looking to hear what the public think’s is the most historic icon in Bedminster. Vote in the Series:Know Bernardsville? Vote for their most historic Click HereKnow Bernards Township? Vote for their most historic Click HereKnow Bedminster? Vote for their most historic Click Here Loading…

Read More

MLH Honors Back to School with Historic School Images From the Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
Liberty Corner School in Bernards Township was founded in 1905. Liberty Corner School, located in the Liberty Corner Section of Bernards Township was built in 1905 for a farming community. It is a nationally recognized landmark registered with the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. It is the oldest school in the district.

Post Views: 1,025 Schools in the Somerset Hills area of northern Somerset County have been a mainstay back to the mid-1700s. We honor the history of these memorable facilities in images from various sources now in our digital research archives. For the 2020-2021 school children in the area are finally going back to school in with unique guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But have faith, this look back at our history tells us we will survive, and our children will thrive once again. NOTE:As with all Mr. Local History…

Read More

Reflection: Ice Cream around Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
Think back to simple times. Grab an ice cream and forget about EVERYTHING!

Post Views: 1,550 July is national ice cream month, so it’s time for Mr. Local History’s look back at the history, the good fun (and some “good humor”). NOTE: As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, we often update the post when we learn stories and are sent photos from our community. We will continue to grow this piece as information becomes available. Mr. Local History Project The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland’s Governor…

Read More

Before the West Point Academy, There was Pluckamin

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 175,854 Pluckemin Encampment and America’s First Military Academy “One of the greatest untold stories of the American Revolution” Mr. Local History Project One of the most interesting untold stories of the American revolution is the one about the Pluckemin Encampment, also known as the Pluckemin Cantonment. You see, a cantonment is different than an Encampment because a cantonment has actual buildings verses temporary tents. Back in 2005, we started on a quest to expose this story. While the notes below are raw, we’ve left them in their original…

Read More

A Unique Bedminster Cemetery-“God’s Acre”

Mr. Local History
Mr Local History takes a look at a unique burial ground in Bedminster, New Jersey

Post Views: 3,008 So we’re over at the Bedminster Farmers Market and while meeting a few of the locals, one of the patrons mentioned “why don’t you research what’s going on over at the slave burial grounds in Bedminster. Here we are. We love a good local history lesson, so let’s do this. Tucked behind the second Watchung Mountain off Lamington Road in Bedminster lies what had been identified as a slave burial ground. Back in the early 18th century the area was quietly farmed mostly by Dutch families who…

Read More

Somerset Hills Historic Sites on the National & State Registers

Mr. Local History
Part of the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Mr. Local History #mrlocalhistory

Post Views: 3,102 Tucked in the northern section of Somerset County, New Jersey, the area known as the Somerset Hills has a rich history that Mr. Local History is proud to document. Each property was researched prior to submitting documentation to the state historic register. IF it meets the criteria, it then can be nominated to the National Registry of Historic Places. Take a look at the great historic landmarks of our hometown area. Bedminster, New Jersey Historic Sites McDonalds/Kline’s Mills, Klines Mill Road (1) Bedminster Township, New Jersey A…

Read More

The Tale of Two Bedminsters

Mr. Local History
Mr. Local History Archives - Bedminster England

Post Views: 3,687 Sister Towns in New Jersey and England Share a Common Bond – and a Name How fun was it when we were contacted by our friends across the pond who were inquiring about what they were calling a “sister town” in New Jersey. The small town in Bedminster, New Jersey ties back to Somersetshire (Somerset County) in England. We thought it’d be fun to start an exchange and see where it goes. The project began when we got an email from Paul Breeden, a writer and editor…

Read More

The Besties – The Best of the Best in Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, Bedminster

Mr. Local History
Mr Local History Archives - The Best of the Best food entertainment and tidbits in Bedminster, Bernardsville and Basking Ridge. #mrlocalhistory

Post Views: 6,633 Bedminster, Bernardsville, Basking Ridge, Far Hills, Peapack/Gladstone also known as The Somerset Hills. It’s time for a real discussion on where to get the best things based on what the LOCALS say! Don’t agree? Post what you think is is best. And if we couldn’t find local, we gave best option. Best Food Best Bread: Biagios’  (Stirling) Best Meat/Butcher: Green Village Packing Company (Green Village) Best Bagels: Bagels 4 – U (Fat Bagels) (Bernardsville), Bagel Bin (Thinner ) – (Bernardsville) Best Pizza:  Lennys (Bernardsville), Venetos (Basking Ridge),…

Read More