Historic Happenings Blog

Enjoy a Prohibition-Era cocktail tasting, guided by master bartender Chris Asay, complete with period finger foods, live music, and dancing. This isn't just any Prohibition party - this one is hosted at a historic tavern that experienced its own liquor raids! Period Dress Encouraged! $100 Donation Per Person Purchase tickets online or call for more information at 732-381-0441 All proceeds from this event help support the nonprofit Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum, including the preservation of our two historic 18th century structures. Click for Info or to Reserve Online

Sunday, March 15 – Hunterdon County Brian Armstrong Speaks about Prohibition in NJ, 1919-1933, at THS Rescheduled THS Annual Meeting     Due to inclement weather and the subsequent cancellation of the Tewksbury Historical Society Annual Meeting in January, Brian Armstrong, independent historian, researcher, and author,  will speak at the rescheduled Annual Meeting on March 15th, Sunday, at Society's Headquarter, 60 Water St., in the Mountainville section of Tewksbury at 1 PM. The meeting is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.      Armstrong will trace the development of Prohibition in New Jersey - how it happened, its enforcement problems and its ultimate repeal. Its unforeseen consequences - the increased size of government and the development of organized crime - will be addressed.     Armstrong lectures throughout the state about local NJ history including Women'...

Sunday, January 19 – Hunterdon County Brian Armstrong Speaks about Prohibition in NJ, 1919-1933 , at THS Annual Meeting January 19     Brian Armstrong, independent historian, researcher, and author speaks at the Tewksbury Historical Society's Annual Meeting on January 19th, Sunday, at Society's Headquarters, 60 Water St., in the Mountainville section of Tewksbury at 1 PM. The meeting is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.      Armstrong will trace the development of Prohibition in New Jersey - how it happened, its enforcement problems and its ultimate repeal. Its unforeseen consequences - the increased size of government and the development of organized crime - will be addressed.     Armstrong lectures throughout the state about local NJ history including women's suffrage and the 19th Amendment, World War I and the Spanish Influenza.  He is co-author with Stephanie Bartz and Nan W...

Sunday, September 29 -  Raritan Township, Hunterdon County Prohibition Talk at  Hunterdon Land Trust  Farmers’ Market Toast the centennial anniversary of Prohibition with a free program led by historian, researcher and author Brian Armstrong at the Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers' Market on Sunday at 10:30 am in the Dvoor Farm wagon house. Armstrong will discuss the "noble experiment" that constitutionally banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages a century ago. He’ll cover the back story on how Prohibition came to be passed, the problems with enforcement, and how it ultimately was repealed. He also will tell some interesting tales about New Jersey and Hunterdon County during the Prohibition era. Armstrong holds a BAs in history and political science from American University. He's the vice-president, Central Region, for the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and past president of the South River Historical & Preserv...

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...

"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/