Historic Happenings Blog

Presentation: An Introduction to Lenape People Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 7:00-8:00 PM Freneau Woods Park Visitor Center,  360 Monastery Ln, Aberdeen Township, NJ 07747 (adults) Join a Park System Naturalist as we learn via a PowerPoint presentation about our local native people. We will discover the daily life, beliefs, and history of a people that once lived in New Jersey, southeastern New York, eastern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware at the time of European exploration and colonization. Along the way, we will also discuss some of the myths that people often attribute to the Lenape.

Friday, November 23 – Salem County   Historical Society Opens New Exhibit      The Salem County Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit entitled, “The First Inhabitants: The Lenape and Their Predecessors.” The Salem County Historical Society collection includes thousands of Native American artifacts from the past 10,000 years.  The exhibit will provide a sample of the Society’s collection to show the diversity of tools and techniques applied to survive and thrive in our region for thousands of years.      Families and individuals have been donating locally found artifacts since the founding of the Society in 1884. These donations of large personal collections and individual artifacts have grown into a significant historical record of the early inhabitants of Salem County. This exhibit will provide a sample of the Society’s Native American artifacts collection and intends to show the diversity of t...

Saturday,  November 9  - Mount Laurel, Burlington County Tour Paulsdale & A Conversation with Native American Women Paulsdale is open to the public for Second Saturday Tours at 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm. Paulsdale is the birthplace of Quaker suffragist Alice Paul. Tours include a 15-minute presentation about Alice Paul's life and work and a guided tour of the first floor of the property where visitors learn about the Paul family's daily life in the house and its present day use as a girl's leadership center. Tours are $10.00 per person. From 2:00 - 3:00 pm, the Alice Paul Institute will honor Native American Heritage Month with an informative discussion exploring the politics and personal experiences of contemporary Native American identity. Listen in as speakers, Claire Garland of the Sand Hill Indian tribe, and Jesalyn Keziah of the Lumbee Indian tribe, share a meaningful conversation exploring how they each navigate the unique intersections and identities within conte...

Saturday, November 2  - Paterson, Passaic County Native American Heritage Month at Paterson Great Falls NHP Join the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park on Sunday for a Native American Heritage Month Celebration.  At 10:00 am, meet historian Tony DeCondo at the Paterson Museum located at 2 Market Street, Paterson, NJ 07501 for a tour of the Lenape exhibit. All other events will be held in the amphitheater in Overlook Park, located at 72 McBride Ave, Paterson NJ, 07501 Opening Ceremony by Turtle Clan Chief Mann of the Ramapough Lunaape will start at 11:30 am.  Performances by The Silver Cloud Singers and Dancers will start at 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm.  Storytelling by Patrick Littlewolf and Emelie Jeffries will start at 1:00 pm.  Closing Ceremony by Turtle Clan Chief Mann of the Ramapough Lunaape at 2:30 pm. For more information and updates, visit  www.nps.gov/pagr .

Saturday,  October 12 - Chatham Township, Morris  County Lenape Day Join us for this annual event on Saturday from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm celebrating the Lenape with dancing, drums, and historical talks by the Ramapough Lenape People. Enjoy games, crafts, touring a replica wigwam, and more. Great fun for the entire family! This event will be held at  the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, 247 Southern Blvd., Chatham Township, NJ.  Cost: $5 per person age 3 and older.  For more information, visit  www.morrisparks.net .

Friday, May 24 – Mercer County     On Friday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m. the Hopewell Valley Historical Society president and local  historian Larry Kidder will present a heavily illustrated program about the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the students it placed with Hopewell Township farm families for either a summer or a full year as part of the controversial government effort to remove their Indian culture, and hopefully eliminate the all too popular belief that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. Over 200 young Indian men, mostly teenagers, from about 50 different tribes, spent time living in Hopewell during the 1880-1918 period this "outing" program was active. Mr. Kidder's presentation includes the stories of several individual Hopewell farm families and the Indians they sponsored. Those stories will also include information about the lives of the Indians before and after their time spent in Hopewell. This will be HVHS’s contributi...