Historic Happenings Blog

Twin Lights Opens New Exhibit 1828 Monmouth Banknote Written by Muriel J Smith Published: 27 December 2019 Museum-goers can get a close-up look at the year the first set of Twin Lights was built with the opening of the newest exhibit at the Twin Lights Museum,  the 1820s. The 1820s were also the time of primaries and presidential elections, mud-slinging and politics, notably with the 1828 election of  Andrew Jackson when he defeated incumbent John Quincy Adams.  That election is widely regarded as the beginning of the down-and-dirty “mud-slinging” tradition in United States politics. What might it have been like to live in Monmouth County during that pivotal year? The new exhibit at the Museum explores that question and transports visitors back nearly two centuries through a group of rare artifacts from the 1820s. The year 1828, in addition to the highly controversial election,  marks the completion of the first set of Twin Lights atop the Navesink Highlands. The two...

Monday, January 20 – Essex County    THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY IN AMERICA, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY CHAPTER                        Presents Another Place and Time: Style-Setting and Social Climbing with Jewelry in the 19 th  Century                                                                                             Monday, January 20, 2020    7:30 P.M. Montclair Women’s Club, 82 Union Street, Montcl...

December 1 to January 5 -- Morris County A Very Merry 19 th -Century Christmas  MORRISTOWN, NJ  – This holiday season, travel back in time to 19 th -century Morris County to learn more about the introduction and evolution of our most beloved Christmas traditions.           Not only our long-lived Yuletide customs but more than 30 period-appropriate 19 th -century costumes from Morris County Historical Society’s collections, will be on display at Acorn Hall from Sunday, Dec. 1, to Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020.          While many English customs such as the Christmas tree, mistletoe, and caroling took on a uniquely American flavor, their earliest beginnings remain as evident as ever in  A Very Merry 19 th -Century Christmas . Focusing on the Victorian woman’s role as “the ministering angel of domestic bliss,” the authentically decorated and interpreted exhibit comprises many costumes that hav...