Historic Happenings Blog

Thursday, March 12 – Morris County The next meeting of the NJ American Revolution Round Table takes place on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Museum at Washington's Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Pl, Morristown NJ 07960. Attendance is free for students and first time Round Table attendees.     The speaker is Christian McBurney on  George Washington's Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee.      Major General Charles Lee, a former British Army officer was George Washington’s second in command at the start of the Revolutionary War. He was kidnapped in Basking Ridge in December of 1776 and spent a year as a British prisoner. Following his release, he was given a major command at the Battle of Monmouth where he retreated in the face of the British army and was subsequently court-martialed and suspended from the Continental army. Christian McBurne...

Thursday, February 13 – Morris County     Eric Schnitzer is the speaker for the February 13 th  meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table at the Museum at the Morristown National Historical Park. Schnitzer will talk on his newly released book,  Don Troiani’s  Campaign to Saratoga – 1777 .      The Battles of Saratoga are often cited as a critical point in the Revolutionary War. Historical painter Don Troiani and historian Eric Schnitzer combined their talents in this new book. This illustrated history features many new artworks, previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, photographs of important artifacts, and a solid, detailed historical narrative including background on the campaigns leading up to Saratoga. Eric Schnitzer is park ranger/historian at Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield), where he has worked since 1997. Schnitzer earned his degrees in History and Fine Art from the Uni...

Thursday, January 9 -- Morris County J American Revolution Round Table January Meeting: John Buchanan,  The Road to Charleston John Buchanan is the speaker at the January 9 meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table at the Museum at the Morristown National Historical Park. Since his retirement as Registrar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Buchanan has published four notable works on Revolutionary and Jacksonian history as well as works of fiction. The Road to Charleston  is the long-awaited sequel to Jack Buchanan’s acclaimed military history,  The Road to Guilford Courthouse . Buchanan follows the story of Major General Nathanael Greene, a brilliant architect of the critical Southern Campaign of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. Buchanan describes not only General Greene’s challenges with manpower, transportation, and supply (problems he had faced as Quartermaster General at Morristown), but a bloody civil war between “Patriots a...

Thursday, December 12 – Morris County Sing We All Merrily: A Colonial Christmas Concert at Morristown National Historical Park 7 pm, Thursday, December 12, 2019   Morristown NHP’s Washington's Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown,  Free Admission Join Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) for the festive  Sing We All Merrily: A Colonial Christmas , presented by Linda Russell and Companie. The program begins at 7 pm on Thursday, December 12, 2019, and will occur in Morristown NHP's Washington’s Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, New Jersey.     Linda Russell and Companie's holiday concert will bring to life Christmases' past. While Christmas was outlawed in 1659 by the New England Puritans, down in Jamestown, Virginia the Englishman John Smith noted a very merry celebration held by the settlers. Christmas in colonial times was kept – or not kept – according to one’s religious background and...

Friday - Sunday, December 6 - 8  - Morris County Holly Walk 2019

Sunday, December 1  - Morristown, Morris County An Afternoon with John & Dorothy Hancock The Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey (JHSNJ) and Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) invite you to join them at 2:00 pm on Sunday for an afternoon with John and Dorothy Hancock to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a 1944 donation by the local Jewish community to Morristown NHP. The program will occur in Morristown NHP's Washington’s Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ. The gift to Morristown NHP was of an 18th-century highboy chest of drawers, and served as a thank you to the nation for its support of the Jewish community during the Second World War. The donation was enhanced by the provenance of the chest to John Hancock. The event will feature period appropriate light refreshments, a program by Mr. & Mrs. Hancock, portrayed by actors from the American Historical Theater, and an opportunity to see the chest currently on limited-time exhibit in the Fo...

Saturday,  November 23  - Morristown, Morris County Creating Color - Natural Dyeing Demonstration How did the colonists create color from plants for their clothing and household fabrics? Stop by the Wick House at Jockey Hollow to see a demonstration of natural dyeing using plant materials. Throughout the day (11:00 am - 3:00 pm), we will be preparing the dyebaths using various natural materials and transforming white wool yarn into various colors. Come and see what colors can be made! Jockey Hollow at Morristown National Historical Park is located at 580 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown NJ (address is approximate). This is a  FREE event. For more information, call 973-543-4030 or visit  www.nps.gov/morr .

Thursday, November 14 – Morris County North Jersey American Revolution Round Table     The next meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table (NJARRT) will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 14 when the speaker will be  Joel Farkas. Mr. Farkas’ topic is  “Remembering the American Revolution”  which explores our collective memory of historical events highlighting myths and truths of the American Founding.     Mr. Farkas is a graduate of The Ohio State University and a retired US Army officer. He is a student of the American Revolution and a popular lecturer on a variety of topics pertaining to the Revolutionary War and the early days of the Republic. He is a volunteer guide at the Ford Mansion at Morristown National Historical Park.    The meetings of the NJARRT take place in the Great Hall at the museum at Morristown NHP, 30 Washington Place, Morristown.   The public is invited....

Thursdays, September 19, October 17 and 24 – Morris County Morristown NHP Participates in “LatinX ConeXiones” through Film Series Collaboration with Fairleigh Dickinson University September 19th, October 17th, and October 24th *6 pm, Thursday, September 19, 2019 *6 pm, Thursday, October 17, 2019 *6 pm, Thursday, October 24, 2019 Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown Free Admission       Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) is pleased to partner with Fairleigh Dickinson University to offer a three-part film series as part of Arts and Culture Collaborative’s first project “LatinX ConeXiones.” All of the films are free of charge and will be screened in Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, New Jersey.    Arts and Culture Collaborative notes that “LatinX ConeXiones” is an “interdisciplinary exploration of the arts and culture of Latinx artists and communiti...

Thursday, October 10 – Morris County     The October meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table (NJARRT) will be held on Thursday, October 10 at 7:00 pm. Meetings are held in the Great Hall of the museum at Washington’s Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Place, Morristown.     The speaker for September is  Matthew Costello, a senior historian at the White House Historical Association. His topic will be “George Washington and White House History.”    Costello worked on the George Washington Bibliography Project for the George Washington Papers at the University of Virginia. His book,  The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President  will be published in fall 2019. He also teaches a course on White House history at American University.     Attendees are invited to their first NJARRT meeting f...

Saturday, October 5 – Morris County The Art of Phoneography October 5 th  Workshop at Morristown National Historical Park 10 am – 2 pm, Saturday, October 5, 2019 Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Area, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, New Jersey  07960 Free of Charge Registration required; space limited      Due to the popularity of the August Phoneography workshop at Morristown National Historical Park (NHP), nationally exhibited photographer and published author Xiomaro has agreed to offer another program on Saturday, October 5, 2019.     Morristown NHP is offering Xiomaro’s smartphone photography workshop,  The Art of Phonoegraphy , from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, October 5, 2019.     The workshop will begin in Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Museum auditorium. The program is free, but registration is required. To register, please call Jude Pfister at...

Friday, September 13 – Morris County Evening Bat Walk in Jockey Hollow 6:30-8:30 pm, Friday September 13, 2019 Morristown NHP’s Jockey Hollow Area, 586 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown, NJ Free of Charge Registration required; space limited    Morristown, NJ –  Dusk is when the bats come out! Nine species of bats call New Jersey home, and many can be seen flying around your neighborhood at dusk. To help you identify which species of bat you’re looking at, Morristown National Historical Park is offering two evening Bat Walk programs.    The Bat Walk will be offered at 6:30-8:30 pm, on Friday September 13, 2019. The program is free, but registration is required. To register, please contact Bob Masson at email:  robert_masson@nps.gov  or 908-766-6841.    On the Bat Walk, you’ll join staff from the Rutgers University Wildlife Conservation and Management Program to learn about the unique ecology of bats. You’ll watch them hunt insec...

Thursday, September 12 – Morris County    The September meeting of the  North Jersey American Revolution Round Table (NJARRT)  will be held on September 12 th  at 7:00 pm. Meetings are held in the Great Hall of the museum at Washington’s Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Place, Morristown.     The speaker for September is  Bruce Chadwick, author of several books on George Washington including  The General and Mrs. Washington . His topic will be “George and Martha, a Love Story.”     Chadwick holds a doctorate in American History from Rutgers University where he now teaches. Prior to his academic career, Chadwick was a journalist with the New York Daily News for 23 years.     Attendees are invited to their first NJARRT meeting free of charge. NJARRT membership is $40 for individuals and $50 for couples/families. Checks may be sent to PO Bo...

Sunday, September 8   -  Morristown, Morris County Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson Debate This Sunday, the Jacobus Vanderveer House and Morristown National Historical Park invite you to join them for an exciting historical debate between Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson. Admission is free, but  pre-registration  is required! John Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, but the first to establish the judiciary as an equal branch of the federal government. Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, but the first to preside during and after a change of power from one political party to another political party on a national scale. Their opposing views on the authority of the judiciary and its role in our government formed the groundwork of how the judicial, legislative, and executive work together—and sometimes at odds with each other—to this day. Marshall and Jefferson were dist...

A ll summer – Morris County Summer 2019 Special Exhibits at  Morristown National Historical Park Special Items on Loan -  “Ingenuity in the Face of Adversity” at the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center “The Ties That Bind” from Bethel Church of Morristown; at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum Free Admission   Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) is pleased to announce its  summer 2019 special exhibits available for public viewing at both its Jockey Hollow Visitor Center and its Washington’s Headquarters Museum.  Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Museum is located at 30 Washington Place, Morristown, New Jersey 07960. The Jockey Hollow Visitor Center is at 586 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown, New Jersey 07960. The summer hours for both buildings are Wednesday-Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. In addition to the four permanent exhibit galleries in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, the park is offering four temporary exhibits designed to appeal to many different inte...

Sunday, August 18 -- Morris County Peter Toth Piano Recital on 1873 Steinway 1 pm, Sunday, August 18, 2019 Free Admission. Please join Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) as it welcomes back acclaimed Hungarian pianist Peter Toth for a piano recital at 1 pm on Sunday, August 18, 2019. The free event will be held in Morristown NHP's Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, New Jersey. Dr. Toth will play the park’s 1873 Steinway Grand piano for a program that will feature: W. A. Mozart:  Sonata in D, K. 311 Lajos Megyeri:  Suite Franz Liszt:  Variations on a Theme by Bach, S. 180 Frédéric Chopin:  Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, Op. 22 For more information on the recital, contact Chief of Cultural Resources, Dr. Jude Pfister at 973-539-2016 x 204; or email:  jude_pfister@nps.gov . Mark your calendars! The next Peter Toth recital is Saturday, December 7, 2019 , which will coincide with the  Morris County Tourism Bureau's  annual  Holly Wa...

Saturday, August 3 – Morris County The Art of Phoneography at Morristown National Historical Park 10 am – 2 pm, Saturday, August 3, 2019 Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Area, 30 Washington Place, Morristown,  Free of Charge Registration Required; Space Limited  “The secret to better photographs is not in the camera. It’s in applying the principles of seeing used by artists for centuries,” notes nationally-exhibited photographer and published author Xiomaro. To help reveal those principles to you, Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) is offering Xiomaro’s smartphone photography workshop,  The Art of Phoneography , from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, August 3, 2019. The workshop will begin in Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters Museum auditorium. The program is free, but registration is required. To register, please call Jude Pfister at 973-539-2016 x 204.  Xiomaro’s workshop will introduce five key artistic principles through slides of photogra...