Historic Happenings Blog

Wednesday, March 11 – Burlington County The Blue Comet of NJ's Central Railroad   On March 11th @ 7:00 p.m., the New Jersey History Speaks Lecture Series (a joint venture between the Historical Society of Moorestown and the Moorestown Library) welcomes back Hank Cutler and Randy Acorcey to speak again on New Jersey’s railroad history.  This time they will present a program that explores the history of The Blue Comet, the “Seashore’s Finest Train.”     The Blue Comet served passengers of the Central Railroad of NJ from 1929 to 1941. Billed as a first-class train at coach fares, the Blue Comet broke all standards of railroading in 1929 ferrying passengers between Jersey City and Atlantic City. Unfortunately, the train didn’t always offer a smooth ride. Hank and Randy recently hiked extensively in an area where the Blue Comet crashed, and they have cleared up some misconceptions about the actual location of the crash through both reports and pictures. ...

Wednesday, November 6 – Burlington County    Join the Historical Society of Moorestown at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, at the Moorestown Library (111 W. 2 nd  St.) for a special talk: “Surviving the American Revolution.”     Historian Aaron Sullivan explores the British occupation of Philadelphia during the War for Independence, chronicling the experiences of a group of people who were pursued, pressured, and, at times, persecuted because they did not want to choose a side in the conflict. For these people, the war was neither a glorious cause nor an unnatural rebellion, but a dangerous and costly crisis to be carefully navigated.     Historian-author Aaron Sullivan lives near Philadelphia and holds a Doctorate in History from Temple University and a BA in Computer Science from Letourneau University. Sullivan’s new book,  The Disaffected: Britain’s Occupation of Philadelphia During the American Revolution , explo...

Wednesday, October 2 – Burlington County     The Historical Society of Moorestown is pleased to announce its Annual Fall Meeting, which will also mark the return of the New Jersey History Speaks Lecture Series! This event will take place on at the Moorestown Library on Wednesday, October 2, 2019, at 7 p.m.      Dominick Mazzagetti, author of  The Jersey Shore: The Past, Present and Future of a National Treasure , will be the speaker. He will talk about the history, culture, and landscapes of the Jersey Shore from the 1600s to the present. What did the beach look like to Native Americans and early explorers? What industries thrived along the coastline before amusement rides and carnival games? What factors propelled the region into a national tourist destination in the eighteenth century? And what does the future hold for this fragile but critically important ecological and economic treasure?  Mr. Mazzagetti bring...

Wednesday, April 10 – Burlington County Moorestown Historical Society Spring Meeting Offers Special Presentation: New Jersey’s Deadliest Train Wreck On April 10, 2019, at 7 p.m., the New Jersey History Speaks Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the Historical Society of Moorestown and the Moorestown Library, will continue at the library with  “The Wreck of the Broker: The Story of New Jersey’s Deadliest Train Wreck,” presented by independent scholar, historian, and author, Gordon Bond. Mr. Bond’s presentation was originally scheduled for this past February 20, but it was canceled due to inclement weather.  Now it is being coupled with the Historical Society’s Spring Meeting. On the drizzly evening of February 6, 1951, the Pennsylvania Railroad commuter train known as “The Broker” derailed in Woodbridge, New Jersey, killing 85 and injuring hundreds in what remains the deadliest railroad accident in the state’s history and among the top five in the United States . Gordon Bond autho...

Wednesday, March 13 – Burlington County Moorestown Historical Society presents  “New Jersey Women and Royal Marriages.”     Join the Historical Society of Moorestown at The Moorestown Library on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, at 7 p.m., for “New Jersey Women and Royal Marriages.” (The Moorestown Library, the event co-host, is at 111 W. 2 nd  St., Moorestown NJ 08057.)      As all  Downton Abbey  fans know, before Cora Crawley became the Countess of Grantham she was Cora Levinson, American heiress. As part of the marriage contract, Cora’s fortune was tied to the Grantham family’s failing estate to prevent it from going bankrupt.     While  Downton Abbey ’s Granthams are fictional, the idea of wealthy American heiresses marrying impoverished European nobility is not. There were hundreds of these marriages, including several featuring brides from New Jersey.     Melissa Zioboro, A...

Wednesday, February 20 – Burlington County New Jersey's Deadliest Train Wreck  7 P.M. at the Moorestown Library, 111 W. 2nd St., Moorestown NJ 08057    WHAT: The New Jersey History Speaks Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the Historical Society of Moorestown and the Moorestown Library, continues with  “The Wreck of the Broker: The Story of New Jersey’s Deadliest Train Wreck,” presented by independent scholar, historian, and author, Gordon Bond.      On the drizzly evening of February 6, 1951, the Pennsylvania Railroad commuter train, known as “The Broker”, derailed in Woodbridge, New Jersey, killing 85 and injuring hundreds in what remains the deadliest railroad accident in the state’s history and among the top five in the United States.  Gordon Bond authored the definitive book on this tragedy, and he uses eyewitness accounts, news reports, and investigation transcripts to recount the disaster and explore its impact.  ...

Wednesday, January 16 – Burlington County 7 p.m., at Moorestown Library, 111 W. 2nd St., Moorestown NJ 08057 Ellis H. Parker: “Sherlock Holmes of America” & Burlington County’s First Chief of Detectives, Marisa Bozarth, Burlington County Museums     In early 1906, Florence Allison of Moorestown was murdered at a home she had created for homeless children. To identify the killers and bring them to justice, the county relied upon Ellis H. Parker, Burlington County’s first Chief of Detectives (photo right). Parker was known across the country as the “Sherlock Holmes of America” and he resolved the Allison case as well as approximately 300 other major crimes, from local New Jersey murders to cases that perplexed Scotland Yard. Then Parker took on the “crime of the century” — the Lindbergh baby kidnapping — and his life was changed forever.     Join the Historical Society of Moorestown when Marisa Bozarth, museum curator for Burlington County, takes us ...