Category: Bedminster

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

Mr. Local History
The Besties Mr Local History

Post Views: 7,531 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. Also check out the Facebook Group – Jersey’s Epic Comfort Food group discussion. Best Food Best Bread: Biagios’  (Stirling) Best Meat/Butcher: Green Village Packing Company (Green Village) Best Bagels: Tie: O’Bagel and Bagels 4 – U…

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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: 1,254 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…

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Most People Don’t Know The Meaning Behind These Town Names

Local History

Post Views: 682 The Mr. Local History Project took a moment out to answer a very simple set of questions of which we’ve learned many people just didn’t know the correct answer. The Somerset Hills is an area of northern Somerset County, New Jersey, named after Somerset in England. But do you know the origins of each of the towns in the Somerset Hills? How about the difference between Bernards Township and Basking Ridge? Is Bernardsville and Bernards Township pronounced the same? We try to answer all of these questions.…

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Retrospective: Snowstorms and Sledding in The Somerset Hills

Mr. Local History
Snowstorm and Sledding Somerset Hills - Mr Local History Project

Post Views: 1,589 Snow is an interesting thing. Some love it. Some hate it. But when there’s a major storm in the area there’s the battle between getting a snow day, and whether to play in it or dread dread removing it. Update: 2/1/2020 – The record books had a close call Monday the First of February. Official totals: Basking Ridge 19.5 inches, Bedminster: 19.7 inches. 10th largest snowfall on record. Snowstorm Slideshow If you live in the area and would like to share an image, or story, feel free…

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Retrospective: Somerset Hills Cartographer John Smith Showcases Local History

Mr. Local History
Somerset Hills Country Club History Map - John Charles Smith Mr Local History

Post Views: 704 National Award Winning Landscape Architect Lives and Breathes History with His Map Creations. The Mr. Local History Project introduces you to a dear friend and history connoisseur that has taken cartography to a whole new level overlaying history on top of mapmaking producing beautiful poster sized objects disguised as art. Meet John Charles Smith and his maps of the Somerset Hills. The Somerset Hills is a northern section of Somerset County, New Jersey. Known by friends and locals as the the John Smith maps, the maps are…

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Colonial Christmas Holidays in Bedminster

Mr. Local History
Colonial Christmas at the Jacobus Vanderveer House

Post Views: 2,534 The historic Vanderveer House in Bedminster celebrates the holiday season with Colonial Christmas in 2021. Who likes history? Who likes Christmas? There’s an event that’s been going on just after Thanksgiving for 16 years at a beautifully restored colonial home in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event is called Colonial Christmas and it’s time to recognize what a great event it is. Called the Jacobus Vanderveer House (pronounced  Jake-O- Bus Vander Veer – it’s a Dutch thing), has transformed into one of the most beautifully restored revolutionary war era federal homes in America. But it’s…

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Bedminster History – Look To the Old Mellick Farmhouses

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 12,339 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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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: 869 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…

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Collectible: Preserving Bedminster’s History #summerwhitehouse

Mr. Local History
Lamington House and Trump National Bedminster New Jersey

Post Views: 1,135 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…

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The Lost Charters of Bernards Township & Bedminster

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 5,494 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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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: 1,157 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…

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Vote for Bedminster’s Most Historic Icons

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 1,113 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…

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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: 1,600 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: 2,167 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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Before the West Point Academy, There was Pluckamin

Mr. Local History

Post Views: 176,649 Pluckemin Encampment and America’s First Military Academy “One of the greatest untold stories of the American Revolution.” One of the lesser known stories of the American revolution is the truths 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 state so you can see…

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