Historic Happenings Blog

Fall Speaker Event - " Blazing Skies:  Nike Missles at Fort Hancock" West Park Recreation Center, 615 West Park Avenue, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 7:15 pm The end of WWII saw the birth of a new era, the Cold War Era, and the threat of nuclear attack on the United States. To counter this threat, the US Army deployed the Nike Guided Missile Anti-Aircraft System around the major metropolitan centers to defend against just such an attack on our nation. A presentation by members of the Fort Hancock Nike Association will tell the story of the once highly classified Nike System and how it worked to protect these cities from attack by placing nuclear-armed missiles literally in people's back yards. Several of these Nike Missile Bases were once located right here in Monmouth County defending the New York and Philadelphia areas. The members of the Fort Hancock Nike Association are veterans of the Nike Guided Missile System having served at missi...

"Deal Test Site: 100 Years of History ”  Our Town Gallery, Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712  Deal Test Site exhibit premieres The mini-exhibit opening December 1 features the story of the Township’s most historically significant site. Bounded by Deal Road, Whalepond Road, and Dow Ave., the 208 acres we know today as Joe Palaia Park were once the Deal Test Site, an internationally renowned research facility. The same buildings that park visitors pass by today once held scientists from AT&T’s Western Electric research arm (later known as Bell Labs) working on telecommunication breakthroughs that made history. Later in those same buildings, the U.S. Army Signal Corps ran satellite tracking operations that attracted scientists from around the world. The exhibit traces the site’s history from prehistoric times to today, focusing on the 100 years since AT&T chose rural Ocean Township as an ideal spot to conduct its experiments in wireless communications. Th...

Fall Speaker Event - A Halloween Special Presentation, “Lifting the Dark Veil on Victorian Mourning” Ocean Township Board of Education Headquarters Auditorium, 163 Monmouth Road Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 7:15 pm Halloween has co-opted the month of October as a time to celebrate scary stories, images of skeletons, black cats, and things that go bump in the night. Here at the Township of Ocean Historical Museum, we are staging our own special presentation to “lift the dark veil” on some historic and eerie bereavement practices that originated in Victorian England. On October 23rd at 7:15 p.m., Laurie Smith and Glenn Vogel of the Shore Antique Center in Allenhurst will share their research and artifacts on a period of time that set a somber tone for decades.   Queen Victoria of England mourned the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert for over thirty years. Many of the grieving customs that are still prevalent today reflect the Queen’s elaborate style o...

Wet as the Atlantic Ocean: Prohibition in New Jersey  -  Richmond Gallery, Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 The 18th Amendment—the measure that made the manufacture, sale, or transport of alcoholic beverages a federal offense for the 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, and 17 hours of Prohibition—was repealed in 1933. It is the only Constitution Amendment ever to be undone. And its doing and undoing were the results of a tug-of-war between the “Wets” and the “Drys” that played out across the country. A new exhibit in the Richmond Gallery of the Eden Woolley House reveals where New Jersey stood in that tug-of-war. “Wet as the Atlantic Ocean: Prohibition in NJ” brings the debates, glamour, and violence of the Roaring Twenties home. How did it happen? The prohibition debate had been argued across the country for nearly a century before the 18th Amendment outlawed alcohol nationwide. Maine passed the first state prohibition law in 1846 and by the Civil War, several oth...

Winter Speaker Event - "The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant: Preserving the Civil War's Legacy" This is a joint event with the Long Branch Historical Association Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 7:15 pm Township of Ocean Board of Education (Old Oakhurst School), Auditorium,  163 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755  A new take on the Grant presidency, 7:15, Wednesday, April 17 Next up in the Speaker Series: Assessing Grant’s Presidency At 7:15, Wednesday, April 17, in the auditorium of the School Board Offices, 163 Monmouth Road, Dr. Paul Kahan, a leading expert on 19th century American history, shares insights from his latest book, The Presidency of Ulysees S Grant: Preserving the Civil War’s Legacy. Historians have long portrayed Grant as a flawed, if not failed, President. His two terms were are notorious for their corruption and scandal. Grant himself admitted in his final address to Congress, ”Mistakes have been made... But they were failures of judgment, not of intent.” Kahan...

Ocean Township Easter Egg Hunt and Visit with the Easter Bunny We are excited to bring back our  Easter  Egg  Hunt  during our Sunday, April 14  Eggstravaganza  at the Oakhurst Firemen's Field next to the Oakhurst Firehouse, 72 Larkin Place, Oakhurst.  Beginning at 11:00, children ages 3 - 10 will enjoy crafts, games, and fun.  Then, beginning at noon, the egg hunts will take place.  Be sure to bring your own basket or container!  Also, from 8:00 a.m. to noon that morning, the Oakhurst Fire Department will host a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny.

"The Public Enemy" (1931) [NR] Tuesday, February 19, 2019 - 2:00 pm and 6:15 pm "As Wet As the Atlantic Ocean Prohibition Film Series" - In conjunction with the Ocean Township Historical Museum's new Prohibition exhibit, enjoy this series of films to 'wet your whistle' for the temperance vs. the indulgence of the Prohibition Era. Take in the Ocean Township Historical Museum's 2018-2019 exhibit. Wet as the Atlantic Ocean: Prohibition in New Jersey, on your way to the show. This Month: A young hoodlum rises up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld, even as a gangster's accidental death threatens to spark a bloody mob war. (1 Hour 23 Minutes). Director: William A. Wellman  Stars: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods The Ocean Township Library is located directly behind the Museum at 701 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022286/

"City Streets" (1931) [NR] Tuesday January 15, 2019 - 2:00 pm and 6:15 pm "As Wet As the Atlantic Ocean Prohibition Film Series" - In conjunction with the ocean Township Historical Museum's new Prohibition exhibit, enjoy this series of films to 'wet your whistle' for the temperance vs. the indulgence of the Prohibition Era. Take in the Ocean Township Historical Museum's 2018-2019 exhibit. Wet as the Atlanic Ocean: Prohibition in New Jersey, on your way to the show. This Month: A shooting gallery showman joins a gang in order to free his girlfriend, a feared racketeer's daughter, from prison. What will this chivalry lead The Kid to?. (83 Minutes). Director: Rouben Mamoulian Stars: Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas The Ocean Township Library is located directly behind the Museum at 701 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021750/

34th Annual Holiday Weekend Saturday, December 1, 2018, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Sunday, December 2, 2018, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712​ Holiday open house and mini-exhibit premiere Stop by the Museum the first weekend in December. It’s our annual holiday open house, this year December 1 and 2, when we open the doors for extended hours and transform the Museum into the best place around to start the season. The halls are decked. Homemade goodies and handcrafted gifts fill the “Hearth and Home” Gallery. Living history interpreters entertain visitors with holiday songs and traditions. Young children hunt for hidden sleds. The Garden Club sells wreaths on the porch. We draw the winning 2018 handmade quilt raffle ticket at 3 o’clock Sunday afternoon. And, this year for the first time, we are staying open to welcome those arriving at the Museum grounds at 4:30 Sunday for the Township’s annual tree lighting festivities—complete with hot chocolate and a vi...