Category: Bedminster

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: 230 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…

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Reflection: Ice Cream around Somerset Hills

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

Post Views: 414 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…

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The Somerset Hill Historic Cat’s Meow Village Keepsake Collection

Mr. Local History
Somerset Hills Historic Cat's Meow Village Wooden Collectibles exclusively at the Mr. Local History Project

Post Views: 2,121 The Somerset Hills Historic Village is part of the World Famous Cat’s Meow Wooden Keepsake Collectibles The Somerset Hills 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 the Somerset Hills community. 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 potential addition to this historic series. Additional keepsakes will be added to…

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Before the West Point Academy, There was Pluckamin

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 174,666 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…

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The Lost Charters of Bernards Township & Bedminster

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 4,055 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…

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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: 1,687 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…

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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: 2,104 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…

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The Tale of Two Bedminsters

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

Post Views: 2,830 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…

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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: 5,429 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. The premise is simple…. if you were going to recommend to your best friend where to go, who to use, what would it be? If you have a better one, tell Mr. Local History – Click…

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The History of President Trump’s Summer White House

Mr. Local History
Trump Summer Whitehouse Bedminster Mr Local History Project

Post Views: 7,921 In a sleepy quiet horse and farming area in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey, the most powerful man in the world comes to summer at a house with a storied history. The Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey now known as President Trump’s Summer White House occupies 535 acres of rambling countryside in central New Jersey, 45 minutes away from New York City. Most of the property was once the private estate of John DeLorean, the auto industry playboy whose stainless-steel car is remembered best in its…

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Finding the Truth About the KKK in Basking Ridge & the Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
KKK in Basking Ridge - Mr Local History

Post Views: 5,568 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. History is a strange thing. The myth often outweighs the truth in many cases sometimes distorting the truth just to make a better story. Sometimes it’s like the game where you whisper something to someone, then they whisper to the next and by the tenth person hears the whisper, the story is totally…

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Bedminster Map Project Reveals Historic Pluckemin Artillery Park

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 1,317 Map Identifies Historic Properties, Owners, Building Locations, Local History Including the Lost Pluckemin Artillery Park With over 2,000 hours of painstaking research and countless renderings, the landscaping firm of John Charles Smith & Associates of Far Hills is preparing to release their latest effort, a historic look back at the history of Bedminster Township. The rendering highlights historic property lines, roads, buildings, and even the lost Pluckemin Artillery Park, home to America’s first military training academy.  The map project is a culmination of over two years of…

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Liar – Route 31 Did Go Thru Bedminster

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 4,592 Did you know that US Route 206 actually used to be Route 31 and what is US Route 202 was actually Route 32? So now you tell your friend “Take Route 31 North Thru Bedminster and Turn Right onto Route 32 straight into Bernardsville.” Huh. “Route 31 goes to Clinton right? Left? WRONG! Confused? Travel back to 1935 and you definately would have been. Maybe you could travel down Mine Brook Road to Bernardsville and the directions read take Route 32 south to Bville and stop at…

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Bedminster History – Look To the Old Mellick Farmhouses

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 10,822 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…

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