Historic Happenings Blog

Sundays in November and December – Middlesex County      Enjoy the exhibit,   "When George Came to Town: June 26, 1778"  at the Cranbury Museum, 4 Park Place East.  The exhibit features items representative of the period when George Washington and his troops marched into Cranbury on their way to the Battle of Monmouth. Copies of Washington's correspondence from Cranbury, along with pictures and ephemera depicting Colonial Cranberry Town are included, along with the recreated dining room of Dr. and Mrs. Hezekiah Stites who hosted George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.  The museum is open on Sundays, 1-4 pm, except November 11 and 25. Please come to the Christmas Tea on Sunday, December 2 and see the museum rooms decorated for the holidays.

New Years Celebration at Monmouth Museum Monmouth Museum 765 Newman Springs Road Lincroft 07738 12/30/2018 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED AGE RANGE:  Elementary COST:  Free with $* Museum Admission CALL:  732 747 2266 WEBSITE MORE DETAILS:   Join the Monmouth Museum and create noise makers, drums and hats! Then we'll celebrate with a Happy New Year Parade through the Museum before gathering for a New Years Countdown a t 2 pm to welcome in 2019 complete with a ginger ale toast! Meet for toast at 1:55 pm Free with $8 museum admission The Monmouth Museum is located at 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ, on the campus of Brookdale Community College, Parking Lot #1, off Museum Drive. Join the Monmouth Museum and create noise makers, drums and hats! Then we'll celebrate with a Happy New Year Parade through the Museum before gathering for a New Years Countdown at 2 pm to welcome in 2019 complete with a ginger ale toast! Meet for toast at 1:55 pm ...

Wednesday - Friday: 10am - 4pm Open until 8pm, Thursdays in June, July and August Saturday and Sunday: 12 - 4pm

Beginning Friday, November 23 – Morris County    The Stickley Museum: Holiday Decorations in the Log House See the Stickley family home festooned in period Arts-and-Crafts-style holiday decorations. Beginning November 23 through December  Museum Open: Thursday-Sunday Tours Depart: 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 & 3:15 pm Standard museum admission rates apply. No advance reservations necessary. www.stickleymuseum.org Open Thursday through Sunday 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm

Saturday - Sunday, December 29 - 30  - Cape May, Cape May County Physick Family Christmas House Tours On the Physick Family Christmas House Tour, you will visit the Physick Estate, decorated in true Victorian style, for a unique living history experience with members of the Physick Family household of the 1890s. Also see the Christmas Traditions exhibit at the Carriage House Gallery, a breathtaking Dickens Village beneath the boughs of a giant Christmas tree. On Saturday, tours will start at 12:30 pm, 1:45 pm, and 3:00 pm. On Sunday, the tour start at 12:30, 1:45, and 3:00 pm.   Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for children (ages 3-12). Tickets can be purchased at the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ. Sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC). For more information and to reserve tickets, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278 or visit  www.capemaymac.org . --------------------------------- Saturday - Sunday, Dec...

Saturday - Sunday,  November and December  - West Orange, Essex County Holidays at Glenmont The sights and sounds of the season will greet visitors when they come to Thomas Edison's home in Llewellyn Park during "Holidays at Glenmont." Glenmont will be decorated much as it was while the Edison family lived there. Greenery and red poinsettias will deck the mantles above the fireplaces. Staircases will be ringed with boughs and red ribbon bows and wreaths will hang in every window. In the den, the majestic ten foot tree will be set and the presents underneath will be waiting as if the Edison children Madeleine, Theodore, and Charles, will soon come running down the stairs from their rooms - after they've checked their stockings in the upstairs living room! The Edison home, Glenmont, is located on a fifteen-acre estate in Llewellyn Park, the country's first private residential community. Built in 1880, the twenty-nine room mansion contains the original furnishings an...

Sunday, December 30 - Trenton, Mercer County Sunday's Patriots Week Events Colonial Church Service -  10:00 - 11:00 am First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, 120 East State Street Experience a Colonial service at one of Trenton's oldest landmarks. Organized in 1712, the original First Presbyterian Church  was built at its current location on Second (now State) Street in 1727 and used by the Hessians during 1776-77. The current  building dates from 1827. No admission fee.  www.old1712.org St. Michael's Restoration Tour -  12:00 - 1:00 pm St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 140 North Warren Street Organized in 1703 and built sometime before 1748, St. Michael's is the oldest Episcopal church in this area and one of the  oldest in New Jersey. Some of the fighting during the Battle of Trenton took place in its yard. Tour this magnificent historic  landmark and its restorations.  No admission fee. Trenton in 1775: Historic Tour led by Dr. Sharon Ann Holt -...

Winter Wonderland Model Train Display Monmouth Museum 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft 07738 11/20/2018 - 12/30/2018 Weekly on Tuesday , Wednesday , Thursday , Friday , Saturday , Sunday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED AGE RANGE:  All Ages COST:  $8 CALL:  732-747-2266 WEBSITE MORE DETAILS:   All aboard Train Enthusiasts of All Ages! The Museum's Model Train Display features tiny people forever frozen in their workday activities, creating a still universe brought to lif e by passing trains. There are buttons which can be pushed by young a heart for an interactive activity, as doors open and whistles blow. Come to explore the sights and sounds of train travel, learn about railroading, step back and remember your childhood, or sponsor a piece in our community neighborhood and join the fun! All aboard Train Enthusiasts of All Ages! The Museum's Model Train Display features tiny people forever frozen in their workday activities, creating a still univer...

Waterfront Longshoremen: Original Photography  exhibit   by Frank Silva at the American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark Haledon, NJ -  The American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark located in Haledon, New Jersey proudly opens the exhibit  Waterfront Longshoremen: Original Photography  by Frank Silva on Sunday, September 2 nd , 2018 at 1PM.             Waterfront Longshoremen: Original Photography  is an exhibit of black-and-white prints that focus on San Francisco and Oakland, California waterfront workers during the decade 1978 to 1988, a time marked by the rapid change to containerization.             Frank Silva took up photography as a high school student. After serving in the US Navy, he began working on the Oakland waterfront in 1965. He joined the  Waterfront Writers and Artists , a grou...

Saturday, December 29 – Mercer County “The Trouble with Trenton” Children’s Puppet Show     Trenton, NJ— Get the children involved first-hand with Washington’s victory in Trenton with the exciting, interactive puppet show “The Trouble with Trenton”! This "mini" historical look at an amazing piece of our history is presented with marionettes and rod puppets - and lots of help from the audience! Watch the battle unfold before your eyes, and see the action as it has never been seen before. Show includes live music, large puppets and props, and plenty of "revolting" action. This event is hosted by the Old Barracks Museum and presented by Tuckers’ Tales Puppet Theater.     The puppet show will take place on Saturday, December 29 at 12 PM and 2 PM, in between the Battles of Trenton reenactments. This free event takes place at Hanover Street Plaza, on the corner of West Hanover Street and North Warren Street, just a block off of East State Street.  ...

Saturday, December 29 – Mercer County Battles of Trenton Reenactment    Trenton, NJ—Come experience our annual winter reenactment during Trenton's Patriots Week Celebration! On Saturday, December 29th, be immersed in history as you are surrounded by reenactors portraying the soldiers who fought during the Battles of Trenton, which ultimately shaped the destiny of the Revolutionary War and our nation. Follow the troops through the streets and watch as they relive the events of these fateful battles. Come back to interact with the soldiers, take tours of the oldest free-standing military barracks in North America, and visit The Quartermaster's Store. What better way to celebrate New Jersey’s revolutionary history than by celebrating this crucial Trenton victory?    The first battle will begin at 11am at the Trenton Battle Monument and take place on Warren Street. The second battle will begin at 3pm and take place in Mill Hill Park on the Assunpink C...

Saturday, December 29 - Trenton, Mercer County Saturday's Patriots Week Events In 1776, the tide turning Battles of the American Revolution were waged on the streets and in the fields of downtown Trenton. Join the salute to Trenton’s past, commemorate the passion of the patriots who fought for American Independence, and honor the spirit of revolution and patriotism that flourishes today. Concerts, tours, performances, presentations, exhibits, hands-on activities, and book signings bring Colonial history into the modern age and draw a dynamic mix of families, history buffs, reenactors and culture seekers to New Jersey’s Capital. Patriots’ Week is produced by the Trenton Downtown Association, in partnership with the Old Barracks Museum, which has been staging the Battle of Trenton Reenactments for more than 20 years. A collaboration of both city and state cultural and history organizations, Patriots’ Week programming reflects the quality of the Capital’s resources and provides a publ...

Friday, December 28 – Mercer County Colonial Ball     Trenton, NJ—  Have you ever watched the ball dancing in Pride and Prejudice and imagined yourself dancing in such a romantic setting? Dance like our founding fathers along with reenactors in Revolutionary War dress, to live music of the time. You needn’t know the dances – we’ll teach you! Enjoy light refreshments as you mingle with people from the past and the present. This is a one-of-a-kind experience not to be missed!     The ball will be held the evening of Friday, December 28, at 7 pm. It will take place at the Historic Trenton Masonic Temple, located at 100 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ. Parking for the event is free, close, and plentiful, available in the lot across from The War Memorial and the small lot next to The Old Barracks Museum. Advanced ticket pricing: $25-General Public; $20-Old Barracks Association Members. Tickets available at  www.barracks.org  or 609-396-...