NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 1/5/19 - 1/6/19

 New Jersey Weekend Historical Happenings

A Weekly Feature on www.thehistorygirl.com

Want to submit an event? Use our event submission form.

Saturday, January 5 - Friday, February 15 - East Amwell, Hunterdon County

Jim Amon Wildlife Photo Exhibit
Family Friendly

Camera in hand, Jim Amon heads to the Sourlands whenever he can. Amon, a resident of Lambertville, has a deep and long connection with the Sourlands. In the 1980’s he and three others founded the D&R Greenway Land Trust, who now have nature preserves extending over several hundred acres in the Sourland Region. Then, in 2005, upon retiring after thirty years as Executive Director of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission, he became the Director of Stewardship for the D&R Greenway. In that capacity, he did ecological restoration on the Greenway’s nature preserves and built about twenty miles of recreational trails. Upon retiring from the Greenway he served on the Board of Directors for the Sourland Conservancy. For the last five years, the Conservancy has been publishing “Seeing the Sourlands,” Amon’s monthly photo/essays on the plants and animals that can be found in the Sourlands, as an eNewsletter feature. This series, which can also be found on the Sourland Conservancy’s web site www.sourland.org, has been widely praised. The photos and essays will soon be published as a book.

Amon says that he began his photographic career by taking pictures of his growing family. Gradually, however, his interest in photography as an art form grew. He studied at the Maine Media Workshop and took several classes elsewhere. His work has been published in many local newspapers, magazines and planning books. He has exhibited at the Perkins Art Center, the Phillips Mill Photography Exhibit, Gallery 14, and other venues in central New Jersey.

“The East Amwell Historical Society show brings two of my great passions together,” Amon said. “I think that it is important for people to realize the ecological value of native plants, but also to realize that they are every bit as beautiful as exotics from foreign lands that are promoted for your home landscape. Stalking butterflies with my camera, posing native wildflowers with formal black backgrounds, and always being alert for the special beauty of the natural world brings me great pleasure.”

The East Amwell Historical Society and the Sourland Conservancy will present An Exhibition of Photographs of Plants and Animals Native to the Sourlands by Jim Amon at the East Amwell Museum 1053 Old York Road, Ringoes, NJ. The opening reception will be held on January 11th at 7:00 pm. Admission to the East Amwell Museum and exhibit will be free and open to the public on weekends from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The exhibit will be on display from January 5 through February 15, 2019. For more information, visit www.eastamwellhistory.org and www.sourland.org.

----------------------------------

Saturday - Sunday, January 5 - 6 - Cape May, Cape May County
Physick Estate Scavenger Hunt
Family Friendly


Have an adventure the whole family will enjoy at the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate! Use our map to explore the grounds and find the answers to questions about the Physick family and life in Victorian times on this educational scavenger hunt. Turn in your answer sheet at the Carriage House Museum Shop and receive a prize!

$5 includes map and clues. Maps and clues available at the Hill House office or the Carriage House Visitors Center at the Emlen Physick Estate. The Emlem Physick Estate is located at 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, January 5 - 6 - Cape May, Cape May County
Cape May Historic District Trolley Tour

Enjoy a 45 minute guided tour with entertaining and enlightening stories about the nation's oldest seaside resort and how it survived. Accessible trolley available with advance notification. Tour begins at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth. Tours begin and end at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth.

Adults $12 and children (ages 3-12) $8. Tours on Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 pm. 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.

-----------------------------------

Saturdays & Sundays Through January 20 - Upper Freehold, Monmouth County
Historic Myths BUSTED

It can be tricky to sort out fact from fiction; do we record and remember history as it was or as we want it to be? What can skew our perspective? We will explore some common historical misunderstandings and share fun facts and credible accounts about the past at Historic Walnford on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

While there, visit the large, elegant Walnford home built in 1774, the 19th century gristmill and the farm buildings set in a beautiful landscape. Walnford is located at 62 Walnford Road, 08501. For more information, call 609-259-6275 or visit www.monmouthcountyparks.com.

-----------------------------------
Sunday, January 6 - River Edge, Bergen County
Annual Twelfth Night Party - Members Only

Finish your holiday season on a high note by joining the Bergen County Historical Society's celebration of Twelfth Night at Historic New Bridge Landing from 2:00 - 5:00 pm on Sunday. Members and guests are invited to bring an old family recipe, favorite food, dessert or drink to share in an afternoon of good fellowship and New Year cheer. Try and find the bean in your slice of King's cake.

In olden times, festivities surrounding Twelfth Night were the most lavish of the year, featuring a great feast with bonfires, plays, music, dancing, and wassailing. The ancient custom of wassailing involved making twelve fires of straw and drinking toasts of cider or ale. A mock king, called the King of Beans, or Lord of Misrule, was elected by lot: the guest who discovered a bean in his or her slice of Twelfth Night Cake was elected sovereign for the revelries. In some places, these kings and queens placed white crosses in the rafters to exclude hobgoblins, witches, and bugs for the remainder of the year.

This members and guests ONLY event takes place in Campbell-Christie House at New Bridge Landing, 1201 Main Street, River Edge, NJ. For more information, call 201-343-9492 or visit www.bergencountyhistory.org.

-----------------------------------

Sunday, January 6 - Princeton, Mercer County
Historic Princeton Walking Tour
Children Friendly Tour

Enjoy a 1.9 mile, two-hour walk around downtown Princeton and the University campus as you learn about historic sites in the area, including Bainbridge House, Nassau Hall, the University Chapel, and Palmer Square. The early history of Princeton, the founding of the University, and the American Revolution are just some of the stories from Princeton’s history that you will learn on your tour.

Admission: $7 per adult; $4 children ages 6 to 12; free for children age 5 and under. Tours begin in front of the Bainbridge House, 158 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ. Tour begins at 2:00 pm and ends at 4:00 pm. Walk up ticket sales are cash only; guides cannot provide change. Space is limited. For more information and to reserve tickets, call 609-921-6748 or visit www.princetonhistory.org.

-----------------------------------

Sunday, January 6 - South River, Middlesex County
Open House

Stop by the South River Historical & Preservation Society on Sunday from 1:30 - 3:30 pm and view exhibits on all aspects of Borough history including: schools; churches and houses of worship; local businesses and organizations; daily life; events and celebrations; and more. While you are there, see the cemetery located behind the building, ask questions, drop off donations, or exchange hometown stories with the docents. The museum is located at 64-66 Main Street, South River. For more information, visit http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njsrhps/museum.html.

-----------------------------------

Saturdays and Sundays through January 6, 2019 - Princeton, Mercer County
Festival of Trees

Morven Museum and Garden's annual Festival of Trees has become a must-see Princeton holiday tradition. Enjoy the museum’s elegant galleries decorated for the holidays and adorned with trees artfully decorated by local businesses, garden clubs, and non-profit organizations.

This year’s Festival of Trees museum decorators include: C. Raymond Davis & Sons, Inc., Contemporary Garden Club, Garden Club of Princeton, Grounds for Sculpture, Homestead Princeton, Keris Tree Farm & Christmas Shop, McCarter Theatre Center, Stony Brook Garden Club, and West Trenton Garden Club.

No reservations necessary. Morven is open to the public on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Morven Museum & Garden is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Admission $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (60+)/students/active military personnel, and children 6 and under are free. Friends of Morven, free. Purchase tickets online. Please note that during the Festival of Trees in December and early January, no formal tours are given, but docents are available to answer any questions. Morven Museum and Garden is located at 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ. For more information, call 609-924-8144 or visit www.morven.org.

-----------------------------------

Through Tuesday, January 22, 2019 - Cape May, Cape May County
The Sights and Sounds of a Victorian Christmas
Family Friendly

Now’s the time to enjoy the sights and sounds of a time gone by as The Museum of Cape May County presents its newest exhibition, “The Sights and Sounds of a Victorian Christmas.”

This free exhibit showcases the sweet sounds of Victorian music boxes and gramophones. Included in the exhibition is a rare Capital Cuff music box made in New Jersey in the 1880s. Visitors will be able to listen to many of the music boxes and gramophones as they make their way through The Museum’s gallery.

Collected by one man over the course of decades, these music boxes have never before been seen on public exhibition.

This exhibit will run from December 7, 2018 through January 22, 2019 in The Museum’s gallery. The Museum is located at 504 Route 9 North, Cape May Court House, NJ. Exhibition hours are limited and are available by contacting the museum at 609-465-3535 or visiting the museum’s website at www.cmcmuseum.org.

----------------------------------

Through December 30, 2018 - Piscataway, Middlesex County
Over There, Over Here: New Jersey During orld War I 

----------------------------------

Through January 11, 2019 - Trenton, Mercer County
Changing Face/Changing Place: A Look at the Architectural History of the Trenton Area

The Trenton Museum Society and FVHD Architects - Planners are proud to announce an exhibit celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the full service architectural design firm founded in Trenton by PL Fowler in 1918. The exhibit, displaying historical and architectural photographs, drawings and artifacts from the FVHD - Architects Planners firm's history is on view in the second floor galleries at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie in Cadwalader Park from September 15, 2018 through January 11, 2019.

The firm is proud of its long history of design excellence in the Trenton area starting in 1918 and continuing today as FVHD Architects. The work of the firm and its predecessors has made a significant impact on the built environment in Mercer County.

The long project history includes many original school buildings for Trenton, Lawrence, and Ewing Township School Districts; the restoration of the 1719 William Trent house; the GM Fisher Body Plant; Mercer Hospital; Waterfront (now Arm & Hammer) Stadium; Ewing Township Municipal/Police Facility; several Trenton City branch library buildings; Trenton public housing and numerous others.

For more information, call 609-989-3632, e-mail tms@ellarslie.org, or visit www.ellarslie.org.

----------------------------------

Through June 2019 - Ocean Township, Monmouth County
"Wet as the Atlantic Ocean: Prohibition in New Jersey”

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 opening to the public Sunday, 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 other states had followed suit.

So what happened in the first decades of the next century to elevate debate into a campaign for a Constitutional Amendment—that took the fight national?

• Drunkenness was a real problem. The proliferation of saloons fueled a drinking culture, and between 1900 and 1913, beer and alcohol consumption soared. Women and families suffered.
• Women had been campaigning for abstinence since the early 1800s, By the turn of the century they were finding their voice, stridently advocating for the vote-— and increasingly for prohibition. Organizations like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union were gaining ground.
• Many Americans felt threatened by the influx of immigrants whose cultural norms around alcohol threatened prevailing white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant values.
• On the global scene, the unthinkable carnage of the First World War and the alarming success of the Russian Revolution fueled a nostalgic longing for control and order.

Under these conditions, pro-prohibition sentiment grew. By 1919 more than half the country lived in dry states, counties, or towns. If the 18th Amendment were to be passed, it needed to happen before the 1920 census, the results of which would give greater power to the anti-prohibition cities.

The last state to Ratify
Ours was the last state to ratify the 18th amendment and it did so in 1922, two years after the measure was in effect. (Rhode Island and Connecticut never ratified.) We fought Prohibition in court. New Jersey joined Rhode Island in a losing challenge before the Supreme Court (1920). And we were back in 1931, when the Supreme Court overruled a New Jersey federal judge’s decision invalidating the 18th Amendment.

New Jersey’s Resistance
It’s no surprise, then, that Prohibition enforcement in New Jersey was lax. Local fishermen and boaters shuttled bootlegged liquor to shore from rum-running ships lined up just outside the legal limit. Speakeasies thrived with little risk of raid. The state underfunded enforcement. Corruption was rampant. Local police turned a blind eye. Even the teetotaling and incorruptible Ira Reeves, the man put in charge of federal enforcement in New Jersey, resigned after eight months and took up the anti-Prohibition cause!

This exhibit runs through June 2019. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum offers exhibits on the history of coastal Monmouth County and a full calendar of events. The Museum also houses a library and archive of local history. It is open, free of charge, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday, 7:00 - 9:00 pm Thursday evenings, and 1:00 - 4:00 pm the first and second Sundays of each month. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is located at 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ. For more information, visit www.oceanmuseum.org.

----------------------------------

Through June 2019 - Morristown, Morris County
Iconic Culture: From Little Black Dress to Bell Bottoms

Morris County Historical Society’s upcoming exhibit, Iconic Culture: From Little Black Dress to Bell Bottoms, promises to be a one-stop spot for a stroll down memory lane.

From the timeless designs of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel to the trend-setting bell bottoms of Sonny and Cher, MCHS explores more than 50 years of cultural history through a retrospective featuring nearly 100 pieces from its historic textile collection. Iconic Culture will examine how changes in clothing styles mirrored the social climate of their time and the seminal moments and people who defined their decade – with a focus on New Jersey history.

In addition to the fashions, Iconic Culture will highlight cultural milestones in local, state, and national history that coincided with the Roaring 20s, Great Depression, World War II, Civil Rights Movement, and Vietnam Era.

This multimedia exhibit features music, television shows, and radio broadcasts. Visitors will also have an opportunity to share personal recollections about significant events, such as the assassination of President Kennedy.

The exhibit is available through Sunday, June 16, 2019. Morris County Historical Society is located at Acorn Hall, 68 Morris Avenue, Morristown, NJ and is open Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11:000 am - 4:00 pm and Sundays, 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Admission, which includes the exhibits and landscaped grounds, is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for students, and is free for children under 12 and MCHS members. For more information, call 973-267-3465 or visit www.MorrisCountyHistory.org.

-----------------------------------

Some event listings courtesy of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey