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...

“Election Memorabilia: The Stuff of American Campaigning” Township of Ocean Historical Museum 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, through Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 Election Memorabilia exhibit opens Holiday Weekend The mini-exhibit, “Election Memorabilia: The Stuff of American Campaigning,” opens in the "Our Town" Gallery on December 7. Even before we moved to the Eden Woolley House, the Museum boasted an impressive collection of election artifacts, a gift from Ocean Township resident and Museum member William Mullaney, assembled over decades of an active career in politics. The new exhibit shows off gems from the collection—buttons, banners, jewelry, and hats, to name a few. There are invitations to national political conventions and presidential inaugurations, a plastic doll of Barry Goldwater, Al Smith and Herbert Hoover medallions, and handmade signs in support of local candidates many oldtimers will remember. Colorful stuff It’s no surprise tha...

"Votes for Women: Suffrage in New Jersey " Richmond Gallery, Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712​ When the Founders crafted the U.S. Constitution, they gave the authority to decide who could vote to the states. All but one decided it would be men—white, property-owning men, 21 years old and older. The one exception was New Jersey. For the first few decades of our new nation, property-owning women in New Jersey could vote. But in 1807, state legislators took a step backward and rescinded the right. New Jersey women joined their sisters across the country who were shut off from the ballot. The start of a movement Most historians mark the start of the American suffrage movement from the 1848 Women’s Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Both women had discovered their political voice fighting for the abolition of slavery. Both had felt the sting of being shut out by male-dominated leadership....

Digital interactions for Friends of the Township of Ocean Historical Museum! Even though the Township of Ocean Historical Museum is closed and our events are suspended in order to preserve public health during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we remain committed to our mission to bring history to life and explore its relevance. We’ve compiled a number of history-related activities for you to do from the comfort and safety of your own home! Watch this space — we’ll be adding more content regularly. Explore Here!

The Ocean Township Historical Museum's  (Doors open at 1:30, Tea served 2 to 4)  Woman's Club of Asbury Park Building  57 Wickapecko Dr., Ocean  $25 per person  (Open to the public)  Homemade tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Gift basket raffle. Hand-crafted items. Fancy Hot contest, 50/50 raffle. Table Prizes. 

The Ocean Township Historical Museum's  (Doors open at 1:30, Tea served 2 to 4)  Woman's Club of Asbury Park Building  57 Wickapecko Dr., Ocean  $25 per person  (Open to the public)  Homemade tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Gift basket raffle. Hand-crafted items. Fancy Hot contest, 50/50 raffle. Table Prizes. 

Turn old jewelry and more into cash and benefit the Ocean Township Historical Museum Wednesday, February 19,  2020, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Eden Woolley House, Ocean Township Library Complex, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 www.oceanmuseum.org 732-531-2136,  Fully licensed local jeweler and appraiser Earth Treasures will  buy your unwanted jewelry and donate 15% of its profit to the Museum.*  Bring your gold, silver, and platinum items (not just jewelry), costume and estate jewelry. An appraiser will meet with you in a private session.  You walk away with cash.  Visit shopearthtreasures.com/sell-your-jewelry for a full list of saleable items. (Earth Treasures will keep the fundraiser open at its store one week past the event.)  Tell a friend. * The donation comes from Earth Treasures’ profit, not your payment.  You receive the same price for your items as you would at its store.

Township of Ocean Tree Lighting and Celebration (Monmouth County) December 8 @ 4:30 pm   Free Please join the Mayor & Council as well as Santa Claus at our Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony to take place on Sunday, December 8, beginning at 4:30 p.m., at our museum, 703 Deal Road.  You’ll be warmed from the inside out with hot chocolate and treats, music performed by the Navesink brass, and much more while we await the arrival of Santa Claus and gather together to light the Christmas Tree!

35th Annual Holiday Weekend Saturday, December 7, 2019 - 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Sunday, December 8, 2019 - 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8 Holiday open house and mini-exhibit premiere It’s become a time-honored custom. On the first weekend of each December, we open the doors of the Museum and invite the public in to launch the holiday season. This year, our annual Holiday Open House falls on Saturday (11 to 4) and Sunday (11 to 5:30), December 7 and 8. The halls are decked The galleries are filled with model trains, seasonal collections, handmade crafts, and home-baked delicacies. Living history interpreters entertain visitors with holiday songs and traditions. Children hunt for hidden snowmen. The Garden Club sells wreaths on the porch. And we draw the winning quilt raffle ticket at 3 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon blends into the evening as guests arrive at the Museum grounds starting at 4:30 for...

"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...

Luncheon Commemorating the Township of Ocean Historical Museum Saturday, October 26, 2019, at 1:00 pm  Deal Golf and Country Club, 1 Golf Lane, Deal, NJ 07723 Sign-Up Now Honoring: Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Berry,    Recipient of the Museum's "History Champion" Award and The Volunteers who created the Museum 170th Birthday of the Township of Ocean 35th Anniversary of the Museum Formation 10th Anniversary of the Opening of the Eden Woolley House Let’s do lunch—and celebrate Museum milestones Mark your calendars! On Saturday, October 26 at 1:00, we are hosting a sit-down luncheon at the historic and elegant Deal Golf and Country Club to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Township of Ocean Historical Museum and the 10th year in our new home, the Eden Woolley House. We would love for you to join us in the celebration. The thirty-five years of our history are filled with milestones, successful events, and award-winning recognition. Ours is an American success story...

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...

2019 American Girl and Teddy Bear Tea Sunday, July 14, 2019 - 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Rain Date - Sunday, July 21, 2019 - 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712​ Each July, young girls have brought their dolls and favorite adults to the Eden Woolley House for the annual American Doll Tea. This year, the popular event is set for 1 to 3:30, Sunday, July 14, (rain date, July 21). Guests who have also visited the American Girl Stores know it as the best value around! The grounds of the Woolley House are dotted with tents and tables where the girls complete a custom-made craft with the help of our teen docents and at the end of the day, enjoy homemade, child friendly treats, lemonade, and iced tea.  The girls hear an original story of the sisters who lived in the Wolley House in the 1800s. They tour the Museum, filled for the day with doll collections and living history demonstrations. A fully stocked Doll Shop offers hand-made doll clothes and accessories. Tic...

Wine and Cheese Reception The unveiling of Two Historical Maps Friday, June 21, 2019, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 Hand-drawn 1849 map to be unveiled Wine and Cheese Open House, 7 p.m., Friday, June 21 at the Eden Woolley House A recent phone call from the Shrewsbury Historical Society (SHS) brought a happy surprise. They had a gift for us: a copy of a map of Shrewsbury, hand-drawn in January 1849—mostly likely created to outline the boundaries of the new municipality, the Township of Ocean, scheduled to split from Shrewsbury a month later. They have given us both a digital and a full-size paper copy of the original, now framed and ready to be unveiled to the public at a wine and cheese open house at the Woolley House, 7 p.m., Friday, June 21. The discovery and restoration SHS volunteers discovered the original several years ago while searching through a closet at the Shrewsbury Historical Society Museum (419 Sycamore Ave.). After agreeing to fu...

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 Green Fair April 13 @ 10:00 am  -  3:00 pm Free TOWNSHIP OF OCEAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM WILL BE OPEN Join us and celebrate Ocean Township, a certified Sustainable New Jersey Municipality. Learn ways to green your home, your community, and your earth. Presentations and Demonstrations include: Ocean Township Intermediate School Garden Club: create mini-greenhouses from water bottles Honeybrook Organic Farm: see how you can get fresh, organic, locally grown produce all summer; buy organic plants for your home garden Ocean Township Environmental Commission: review our Townships draft Environmental Resource inventory & join a bird watching walk (bring binoculars and dress appropriately) Ocean Township Recreation: yoga and mini hikes Ocean Township Shade Tree Commission: learn about the multi-level importance of trees and receive trees to plant around your home PHONE#: 732.531.5092

TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE ON  FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019 Buy Tickets - http://ow.ly/lOVm30nuNHA PLEASE NOTE - THE LOCATION CHANGE TO WOMAN'S CLUB OF ASBURY PARK PLEASE NOTE - THE EARLIER DATE DUE TO EASTER (April 20), EASTERN EASTER (April 27), AND PASSOVER (April 19 - 27) ALL TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. EVERY YEAR IS A SELL OUT SO DON'T WAIT TO GET YOUR TICKETS. Please buy your tickets early. They must be purchased in advance--none are sold at the door.

"Heart of Gold" -  Gold Sale Fundraiser If you’re unable to get to the Museum March 27, Earth Treasure will keep the fundraiser open at its Eatontown store through April 3. If you’re unable to get to the Museum March 27, Earth Treasure will keep the fundraiser open at its Eatontown store through April 3. Turn unwanted jewelry (and more) into cash—and benefit the Museum. Fully licensed appraisers from local jeweler Earth Treasures will be on hand to buy your unwanted jewelry and donate 15% of its profit to the Museum. (The donation comes from Earth Treasures’ profits, not your payment. You receive the same price you would at its store.) Gold is currently over $1300 an ounce. It’s a good time to sell. Earth Treasures will buy a diverse selection of items, so even if you’ve participated in the “Heart of Gold” before, you may still have treasure to sell. Visit shopearthtreasures.com/sell-your-jewelry for a full list of saleable items. If you’re unable to get to the Museum Mar...