WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS
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Saturday, May 25 - Ocean Grove, Monmouth County
Memorial Day Weekend Auction
The Historical Society of Ocean Grove continues its 2013 season of Special Fundraising Events with the popular Memorial Day Weekend Auction on Saturday at the Young People's Temple in Ocean Grove, NJ. Preview starts at 9:00 am; Auction at 11:00 am. The 17th Annual Auction will feature collectible and antique dolls, baseball collectibles - many signed, Roseville, including large Corinthian Jardinière and Pedestal, Cherry Blossom & Jonquil pieces, vintage pictures and nuttings, Lenox, glassware, linens, marble top table, old teddy bear, doll houses and antique clocks. Other items include toys, textiles, children's items, tobacco silks, postcards and stereoviews, antique and vintage furniture and box lots of ephemera. As in the past, they will also feature a wide array of Ocean Grove, Asbury Park and Shore area memorabilia including early souvenir china, ruby flash glass, sterling spoons, pennants and rare ephemera. Many items on display in the HSOG window.
The next auction will be held on Labor Day weekend; Friday, August 30, 2013. Directions from the Garden State Parkway: North take exit 100B or South exit 100. Proceed to Route 33 east and proceed five miles to Ocean Grove. Follow signs to the Great Auditorium. The Ocean Grove Young People's Temple is located at 22 Pilgrim Pathway and the corner of McClintock Street across from the Great Auditorium.
Absentee bids are accepted. Buyer's Premium 12%. A complete auction list, with descriptions, is available for $3.00. Refreshments will be available. For more information visit www.oceangrovehistory.org or call 732-774-1869.
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Saturday, May 25 - Princeton, Mercer County
2nd PA Encampment
Come and enjoy this annual event by the 2nd PA regiment, hosted by the Princeton Battlefield Society at Princeton Battlefield State Park. For further information, e-mail brianjkovacs@aol.com. www.theprincetonbattlefieldsociety.com
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We remember George Washington as the father of our country and arguably the greatest American to ever live. Join a Park Ranger to discover the early years of Washington’s life and see how he became the man Americans love and idealize. Programs at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 pm at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum located within Morristown National Historical Park. Cost: $4.00 per adult. http://nps.gov/morr
Saturday, May 25 - Morristown, Morris County
Soldiers on Strike Hike
Civilian workers can strike for better benefits or wages. Soldiers are forbidden to do it. In the army it is called mutiny. Yet some still try. Join a Park Ranger on this hike and learn for yourself about the May 25, 1780 Connecticut Line mutiny and what happened to them! Program begins at 10:00 am at the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center within Morristown National Historical Park. Cost: Free. http://nps.gov/morr
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Saturday, May 25 - Trenton, Mercer County
Exhibit Closing Ceremony
On Saturday at 1:00 pm, Elizabeth Carter Lacy, curator of the exhibit "Trenton's Educational Legacy: The New Lincoln School" will conduct a closing ceremony of the exhibit, celebrating the past (history made), the present (history remembered) and the future (preserving history). Howard Crossland, noted area singer, will sing several songs as part of the ceremony. Light refreshments will be served. The program will end at 3:00 pm.
The exhibit, which opened on February 9, 2013, examines the relationship between the New Lincoln School under segregation and Trenton's black community between the years of 1924 and 1946. Located on North Montgomery Street, New Lincoln School opened in 1924 as a school for Trenton's "Negro" students. Containing both elementary and junior high schools, it consolidated students from several other schools in the city where African-American children were educated.
Lincoln Homes was a housing project built for working low-income black Trentonians in 1940. It was one of two built in Trenton that year; the other, Donnelly Homes, was built for working low-income white residents. Lincoln Homes was built on Old Rose Street, across the playground from New Lincoln School. The exhibit includes the early years of the 118 families chosen to live in Lincoln Homes from 1940 - 1955.
The exhibit focuses on the important relationship among the school, the black family, the black church and the black community. Ellarslie is located in Cadwalader Park in Trenton, NJ. For more information, contact the Trenton Museum Society at 609-989-1191 or tms@ellarslie.org. www.ellarslie.org
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Saturday, May 25 - Morristown, Morris County
The Making of an American Icon
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Saturday, May 25 - Westfield, Union County
Aunt Carrie's Attic Sale
Housewares, books, furniture, linens, toys and more will be available for sale at the Miller Cory House Museum's annual "Aunt Carrie's Attic Sale." The sale is scheduled for Saturday from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. PLEASE NOTE: The raindate for the sale is May 26. All proceeds benefit the museum. No early birds please.
The Miller-Cory House Museum is located at 614 Mountain Avenue in Westfield. For more information, call 908-232-1776 or visit www.millercoryhouse.org
The Miller-Cory House Museum is located at 614 Mountain Avenue in Westfield. For more information, call 908-232-1776 or visit www.millercoryhouse.org
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Sunday, May 26 - Brielle, Monmouth County
Decoration Day Celebration
Looking to honor area residents, living or deceased of past wars, the Union Landing Historical Society (ULHS) will host its annual Decoration Day ceremony on Sunday. Currently, the ULHS is looking to pay recognition to Brielle area residents (living or deceased) who are members of various wars. Please call John Belding, president and historian at 732-528-6600, x 117 or Gordon Reinauer at 732-245-0918 to report names.
Each year, members of the ULHS commemorate Memorial Day with a Decoration Day ceremony. The ceremony, which will take place at the historical Osborn Family Graveyard, located on Holly Hill Drive off from Riverview Drive, will begin at 2:00 pm. The public is invited to attend. For some time, the Brielle community has found a unique way to honor fallen servicemen and women while connecting the ceremony to the historic borough's roots. According to Brielle Borough Historian John Belding, Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day. On Decoration Day in the past, widows and women of the family of fallen soldiers decorated the graves with flowers and ribbons. The historic graveyard is an appropriate place to hold a memorial service, because two of the soldiers buried there fought in wars. The two soldiers buried in the graveyard are Lt. Abraham Osborn, who fought in the Revolutionary War, and his son, Col. James Osborn, who was a private in the War of 1812. However, the borough did not always have a Memorial Day celebration, and so the idea to host the Decoration Day ceremony was born. In the past, many people from the Brielle community, including Mayor Thomas Nicol and council members, have spoken at the ceremony, and local Scout groups have contributed to the ceremony. A live performance with music is planned for this year's ceremony, thanks to local residents including Doug Moore, Ian Moore, and Candace Moore, who have connections with the Algonquin Arts Theatre, in Manasquan (N J) and the Spring Lake Community Theatre.
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Sunday, May 26 - Morristown, Morris County
Kid's Discovery Hike
Experience the life of a soldier as you join in a 2 ½ mile hike from the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center to the replica soldier huts and then back again. While at the huts you will try your hand at musket drill and marching. When you return to the Wick House, you can take on the challenge of some 18th century games that the soldiers played in camp. This will be an active program that is geared for kids at the 5th grade level and above. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Programs begins at 1:00 pm at the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center within Morristown National Historical Park. Cost: Free. http://nps.gov/morr
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Sunday, May 26 - Bay Head, Ocean County
Absorbing Sandy
A new exhibit called "Absorbing Sandy" opens at the Bay Head Historical Society Museum on Sunday from 3:00 - 6:00 pm, with a gallery talk beginning at 5:00 pm. This exhibit will display and document local experience and community recovery, including meteorological information, historic storm photographs, eyewitness accounts and photographs, and a screening of the Sandy documentary made by Point Pleasant Beach High School. Free and open to the public. The museum is located at 1643 Bay Avenue, Point Pleasant, NJ. For more information, please visit www.bayheadhistoricalsociety.com.
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Monday, May 27 - Mahwah, Bergen CountyMuseum Open House
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Monday, May 27 - Chatham, Morris County
Memorial Day 2013 Ceremony and Dedication
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Monday, May 27 - Cranbury, Middlesex County
Memorial Day Ceremony
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Monday, May 27 - Cranford, Union County
Civil War Monument Dedication
At this year's Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 27, 2013, the Cranford Historical Society will honor Cranford's Civil War veterans by dedicating a new monument in Memorial Park. The dedication will take place during the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, which began in 2011 and runs until 2015.
On October 27, 2009, the Township of Cranford adopted a resolution designating the Cranford Historical Society as the lead organization for commemorating that defining period of American history. The Society has been sponsoring programs throughout the war's anniversary to broaden public awareness of the transformative events leading to the conclusion of that great struggle. It is the Society's hope and intention that this new memorial stone will stand as a reminder to present and future generations of the contributions and sacrifices made by our town's prior residents.
About eighty people who fought during the Civil War either lived in the area prior to the war or moved to town after the war. Numerous veterans held key positions in early Cranford. Several served as mayor or township committee members. Another was Cranford's longest-serving town justice. Many Civil War veterans developed or farmed the land in Cranford. Others established churches in the community. Many of the town's residents took part in major battles during the Civil War. Some even had direct connections with President Abraham Lincoln, including two who were reported to be present in Ford's Theatre the night the president was fatally shot. Another helped foil the first assassination plot against President-elect Lincoln as he made his way to his first inauguration in Washington. Steven D. Glazer, Chairman of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee of the Cranford Historical Society, has for the past decade studied and written about Cranford and the Civil War.
He is the author of Discover Your Community's Civil War Heritage, in addition to being a contributor to New Jersey Goes to War and New Jersey's Civil War Odyssey, official publications of the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association's Sesquicentennial Committee. The Civil War monument's installation and accompanying dedication pamphlet are the culmination of over ten years of research and fundraising by the Cranford Historical Society's Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and was supported by a Union County History Grant from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
For more information, please call 908-276-0082. or visit www.cranfordhistoricalsociety.com.
On October 27, 2009, the Township of Cranford adopted a resolution designating the Cranford Historical Society as the lead organization for commemorating that defining period of American history. The Society has been sponsoring programs throughout the war's anniversary to broaden public awareness of the transformative events leading to the conclusion of that great struggle. It is the Society's hope and intention that this new memorial stone will stand as a reminder to present and future generations of the contributions and sacrifices made by our town's prior residents.
About eighty people who fought during the Civil War either lived in the area prior to the war or moved to town after the war. Numerous veterans held key positions in early Cranford. Several served as mayor or township committee members. Another was Cranford's longest-serving town justice. Many Civil War veterans developed or farmed the land in Cranford. Others established churches in the community. Many of the town's residents took part in major battles during the Civil War. Some even had direct connections with President Abraham Lincoln, including two who were reported to be present in Ford's Theatre the night the president was fatally shot. Another helped foil the first assassination plot against President-elect Lincoln as he made his way to his first inauguration in Washington. Steven D. Glazer, Chairman of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee of the Cranford Historical Society, has for the past decade studied and written about Cranford and the Civil War.
He is the author of Discover Your Community's Civil War Heritage, in addition to being a contributor to New Jersey Goes to War and New Jersey's Civil War Odyssey, official publications of the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association's Sesquicentennial Committee. The Civil War monument's installation and accompanying dedication pamphlet are the culmination of over ten years of research and fundraising by the Cranford Historical Society's Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and was supported by a Union County History Grant from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
For more information, please call 908-276-0082. or visit www.cranfordhistoricalsociety.com.
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Monday, May 27 - Jersey City, Hudson CountyHonoring Our Heroes
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Monday, May 27 - Bridgeton, Cumberland County
Memorial Day in Broad Street Cemetery
Let yourself be carried back in time. Start with a red-white-&-blue parade from Bridgeton City Park along West Commerce Street, punctuate with a drum-and-bugle ceremony, set yourself down in the ancient cemetery for a picnic lunch amid the handsome trees and headstones....
Then celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in history, song, poetry and more, and tour the cemetery with the guy who literally wrote the book!
The formal program will run about an hour beginning 12:45 pm or so at Old Broad Street Presbyterian Church. This two-century icon of South Jersey history still sits in the midst of the cemetery, in perfect nick: Sturdy old walls will ring with the reading of the 150-year-old Emancipation Proclamation and clarion choir voices of Trinity AME Church of Gouldtown and Mt. Zion and First Presbyterian Churches of Bridgeton. Mayor Albert Kelly, Bridgeton's first African American mayor, will share his thoughts about the meaning of the day and the proclamation, while historian Jack Wood of the Friends of Old Broad Street Church will tease out a few of the tales hidden in these ancient bricks for hundreds of years. For the piece de resistance, Tom Lane, Bridgeton's own poet laureate, will read a poem about the Emancipation Proclamation written especially for this celebration.
This event is FREE. Bring lunch to munch in the shade of the trees. Stay till 3:00 pm, and when it winds up amid the din of Civil War cannon, remember how captivating true old stories can be.
You are going to want to buy (or order) a $20 copy of Jim Bergmann's absolutely new book: Broad Street Cemetery, Bridgeton, N.J. - A History, 1791 to 2013, and Guide. Even more so after he leads you on his free tour of the ten-acre cemetery, highlighting unusual monuments and back-stories. Thanks to Jim and Bruce Hankins, the basement of a small chapel in the middle of the cemetery will also be open for the first time in decades, with historic literature and local history displays and the chance to talk to the author and buy a signed copy of this new Broad Street Cemetery Association-produced authoritative history and guide.
The out-tro at around 3:00 pm? That blast of Civil War cannon by the Mead-Woodward VFW Post No. 1795 Honor Guard, and an evocative taps in memory of those who gave themselves so selflessly for our country.
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Then celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in history, song, poetry and more, and tour the cemetery with the guy who literally wrote the book!
The formal program will run about an hour beginning 12:45 pm or so at Old Broad Street Presbyterian Church. This two-century icon of South Jersey history still sits in the midst of the cemetery, in perfect nick: Sturdy old walls will ring with the reading of the 150-year-old Emancipation Proclamation and clarion choir voices of Trinity AME Church of Gouldtown and Mt. Zion and First Presbyterian Churches of Bridgeton. Mayor Albert Kelly, Bridgeton's first African American mayor, will share his thoughts about the meaning of the day and the proclamation, while historian Jack Wood of the Friends of Old Broad Street Church will tease out a few of the tales hidden in these ancient bricks for hundreds of years. For the piece de resistance, Tom Lane, Bridgeton's own poet laureate, will read a poem about the Emancipation Proclamation written especially for this celebration.
This event is FREE. Bring lunch to munch in the shade of the trees. Stay till 3:00 pm, and when it winds up amid the din of Civil War cannon, remember how captivating true old stories can be.
You are going to want to buy (or order) a $20 copy of Jim Bergmann's absolutely new book: Broad Street Cemetery, Bridgeton, N.J. - A History, 1791 to 2013, and Guide. Even more so after he leads you on his free tour of the ten-acre cemetery, highlighting unusual monuments and back-stories. Thanks to Jim and Bruce Hankins, the basement of a small chapel in the middle of the cemetery will also be open for the first time in decades, with historic literature and local history displays and the chance to talk to the author and buy a signed copy of this new Broad Street Cemetery Association-produced authoritative history and guide.
The out-tro at around 3:00 pm? That blast of Civil War cannon by the Mead-Woodward VFW Post No. 1795 Honor Guard, and an evocative taps in memory of those who gave themselves so selflessly for our country.
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Through June 30, 2014 - Piscataway, Middlesex County
Got Work? Exhibit
View the exhibit "Got Work? New Deal/WPA in New Jersey" at the 1741 Cornelius Low House Museum in Piscataway. The museum is open Tuesday - Friday, 8:30 - 4:00 pm and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The exhibit will run through June 30, 2014.
The Cornelius Low House, built in 1741, was the home to its namesake and is only one of two remaining buildings from historic Raritan Landing. This high-style Georgian mansion is listed on the National Register and operated by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Admission to the museum is FREE. The museum is located at 1225 River Road, Piscataway, NJ . For more information, visit
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Through October 6, 2013 - Paterson, Passaic County
Remembering the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913
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Lambert Castle, the Victorian-era mansion located on the Garrett Mountain Reservation on the border between Paterson and Clifton, will be home to an exhibit highlighting the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913 now through October 6, 2013. The exhibit, entitled "We Had to be Rebels: Remembering the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913." This year marks the centennial of the landmark 1913 Paterson Silk Strike, which would forever change the face of labor relations in the Silk City. Thousands of workers walked away from their looms to be herded into court rooms and jail cells in a strike that took months to resolve. The exhibit will be open during regular museum hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Lambert Castle is located at 3 Valley Road, Paterson. For more information, call 973-247-0085 or visit www.lambertcastle.org.
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Sundays through July 28, 2013 - Cranbury, Middlesex County
Wedding Display
The Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society's temporary exhibit entitled "The Look of Love - Bridal Fashions of the Twentieth Century" features wedding gowns, dresses and accessories from 1901 though the 1990s. A large collection of photographs, cards, wedding gifts, and assorted ephemera that span the century will also be on display. The Cranbury Museum is located at 4 Park Place East, Cranbury. www.cranburyhistory.org
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Some event listings courtesy of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey