NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 1/18/20 - 1/19/20

 New Jersey Weekend Historical Happenings

A Weekly Feature on www.thehistorygirl.com

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

Sunday, January 18 - Atlantic City, Atlantic County
Absecon Lighthouse Turns 163!
Children Friendly

Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey's tallest, will host a Birthday Celebration to honor the 163rd birthday of the lighthouse on Saturday with free climbs from 11:00 am - 3:30 pm.

If you truly want to "DO AC," then don't miss this opportunity to experience a 360-degree view of Atlantic City's sparkling skyline, and wish a Happy Birthday to Atlantic City's oldest historic structure, as well as the country's third tallest lighthouse.

Absecon Lighthouse is a state-owned historic property administered by the non-profit Inlet Public/Private Association. Located at 31 South Rhode Island Avenue in Atlantic City, it is open to visitors Thursdays through Mondays, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. For more information, call 609-449-1360 or visit www.abseconlighthouse.org.

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Saturday, January 18 - Lambertville, Hunterdon County

Bridges, Locks and Aqueducts: The History and Workings of the Delaware & Raritan Canal

After a brief business meeting of the Lambertville Historical Society, canal author and historian Linda J. Barth will introduce us to the people, bridges, locks, and aqueducts that made the Delaware and Raritan Canal work. This waterway, now the centerpiece of a popular state park, transported people and supplies between New York and Philadelphia during three wars. Inventor John Holland used the canal to deliver his Holland VI submarine to Washington for its Navy trials, and luxury yachts, like J.P. Morgan’s Tarantula, cruised the waterway. Come and learn more about this historic gem of central New Jersey.

A lifelong resident of the Garden State, Linda has written two books on the D&R Canal, three children’s picture books and also contributed to the Encyclopedia of New Jersey. A retired teacher, she is the executive director of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and president of the D&R Canal Watch, a friends organization of the D&R Canal State Park.

This program, from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Pittore Justice Center, 25 South Union Street, Lambertville, NJ. For more information, call 609-397-0770 or visit www.lambertvillehistoricalsociety.org.

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Saturday, January 18 - Cape May, Cape May County
Pathe and the French in Bound Brook in the 20th Century

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Saturday, January 18 - Cape May, Cape May County
Emlen Physick Estate Tour
Family Friendly Tour

Take a guided tour of Cape May's Emlen Physick Estate, the magnificent Stick Style mansion attributed to renowned Victorian architect Frank Furness. A tour of the 15 beautifully restored rooms gives you a glimpse into the lifestyle of this Victorian-era Cape May family. Physick Estate Tours take approximately 45 minutes and end with a visit to the 1876 Carriage House where you can see the current exhibit in the Carroll Gallery. Tours will be at 1:45 pm on Saturday. Admission is $15 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.

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Saturday, January 18 - Holmdel, Monmouth County
Cookstove Demonstration
Children Friendly Site & Event

On Saturday, visit Historic Longstreet Farm in Holmdel to see what is cooking on the woodstove in the out kitchen. Discover how food, receipts, cooking techniques, and the kitchen itself has changed since the 1890s. This free events run from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.


Historic Longstreet Farm is located at 44 Longstreet Road, Holmdel, NJ. For more information, call 732-946-3758 or visit www.monmouthcountyparks.com.

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Saturday - Sunday, January 18 - 19 - 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. Tours begin and end at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth.

Adults $15 and children (ages 3-12) $8. Tours on Saturday at 1:00 pm 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.

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Saturday - Sunday, January 18 - 19 - 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!

Free; donations accepted. 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.

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Saturdays & Sundays Through January 31 - Upper Freehold, Monmouth County
Curl Up With a Good Book
Ages 5+

We are offering an array of our favorite American historical fiction for adults and children to inspire you to curl up with a good book to peek into our (fictionalized) past. Book Club, read-a-loud family story time, or personal pleasure, we offer selections that may be familiar or may have been forgotten over time - come and see our recommendations on display. Open to ages 5 and up.

This event will take place at Historic Walnford on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 am - 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.

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Sunday, January 19 - Greenwich, Cumberland County
Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life

Join the Cumberland County Historical Society on Sunday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm as Dr. Albert Zambone discusses his book Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life. The program will be held at the Warren and Reba Lummis Genealogical and Historical Library located at 981 Ye Greate Street in Greenwich, NJ. For more information, visit www.cchistsoc.org.

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Sunday, January 19 - 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.

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Sunday, January 19 - Toms River, Ocean County
Hidden History of Monmouth County

Ocean County residents will want to join author Rick Geffken and learn about the county from which Ocean was carved, Monmouth County, on Sunday at 2:00 pm at the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08753. Hidden History of Monmouth County, by Rick Geffken and Muriel J. Smith, is an Arcadia book that will entertain and educate as it tells about Monmouth County people and places. A popular speaker on historical topics, Rick has a mathematics and economics degree from St. Peter’s College in Jersey City. He served in the US Army in South Vietnam as an aerial reconnaissance officer and is a retired computer industry sales executive and former secondary math teacher. A member of the Monmouth County Historical Association and a trustee of the Shrewsbury Historical Society, Rick has presented historical papers and spoken at dozens of libraries and historical societies on his researched topics.

Books will be available for purchase. Admission is free: donations are accepted. Refreshments will be available. Call 732-341-1880 to reserve your seat. For more information, visit www.oceancountyhistory.org.

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Sunday, January 19 - Montclair, Essex County

Eyewitness to African American History
Family Friendly

Explore 200 years of Black history in Montclair and New Jersey through rare first-hand accounts, primary and secondary source documents. Artifacts include a bill of sale for an enslaved person in the household, an 1800s newspaper, an 1840s New York Knickerbocker magazine, census data, personal letters, oral histories, and mid-century Jet and Ebony magazines. These artifacts provide a springboard for discussion about race both in the past and in the present-day.

Tours of the Crane House & Historic YWCA begin at 1:00 and 2:30 pm. Admission is $6/adult; $5/student/senior with ID; $4/child; under 2 free. Member get in free! The Crane House/Historic YWCA is located at 110 Orange Road, Montclair, NJ. For more information, call 973-744-1796, e-mail mail@montclairhistorical.org, or visit www.montclairhistory.org.

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Sunday, January 19 - Tewsbury, Hunterdon County
Prohibition in NJ, 1919-1933

Brian Armstrong, independent historian, researcher and author, speaks at the Tewksbury Historical Society's Annual Meeting on Sunday, at Society's Headquarters, 60 Water Street, in the Mountainville section of Tewksbury at 1:00 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 Whitehead of the Arcadia Book, South River. He authored The Franklin Park Tragedy. A Forgotten Story of Racial Injustice in New Jersey. He writes for the Bar Harbor Historical Society, Bar Harbor, Maine, where his mother's family lived for several hundred years. His current book about the resort town is scheduled to be released in 2021.

Born in Flemington, he grew up in Stanton and received his BA degree in History and Political Science from American University in Washington, DC. He served as the President of the South River Historical & Preservation Society for ten years and is the current Vice-President, Central Region, for the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey. An avid collector of US Presidential election memorabilia, he is a member of American Political Items Collectors (APIC).

In the event of inclement weather, the meeting will be cancelled. For more information, visit www.tewksburyhistory.net.

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Sunday, January 19 - Trenton, Mercer County
Needham Roberts – Trenton’s Own War Hero

The Trent House Association presents Needham Roberts – Trenton’s Own World War I Hero in a talk about the life and times of this African American Trenton native in an era of racial tension and injustice. The program will begin at 2:00 pm on Sunday at the William Trent House Museum, 15 Market Street (across from the Hughes Justice Complex), Trenton, NJ 08611.

Born and raised in Trenton, Needham Roberts was 17 when he enlisted in the Harlem Hellfighters. He and his fellow Hellfighter William Johnson were awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Purple Heart for their actions fighting off a German patrol in France in 1918. Regardless of these achievements, they and their fellow African American soldiers returned to the United States to face discrimination and prejudice.

Trenton resident Algernon Ward, well known for his many roles as African American soldiers from the Revolutionary War through the World Wars, presents a fascinating portrait of Roberts in the context of race relations in America during the Jim Crow era. His illustrated talk is accompanied by a display of Army uniforms and military equipment of the time.

Tickets are $8 for Association members and $10 for non-members and include light refreshments. Free off-street parking is available. For more information, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org.

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Through June 28, 2020 - Trenton, Mercer County
Preserving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure

The New Jersey State Museum is hosting  Preserving the Pinelands: Albert Horner’s Portraits of a National Treasure from through June 28, 2020 in the 1st floor East Gallery. The exhibit features images which capture the quiet beauty and intimate landscapes of New Jersey’s Pinelands National Reserve by photographer Albert Horner, and artifacts from the NJ State Museum’s collections which tell just some of the stories of the land, animals, people, and industries that make the Reserve a state and national treasure. Horner, a self-taught photographer from Medford Lakes, brings curiosity, reverence and a practiced eye to his craft, recording the forests, cedar swamps, meandering waterways and native wildflowers that make the Pinelands unique. In addition to being home to rare plant and animal species, the Reserve also contains archaeological sites and a vibrant cultural history of craftspeople, industry and agriculture.

The museum is open Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00 am to 4:45 pm. It is closed Mondays and on state holidays. The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ. For more information, 609-292-6300 or visit www.state.nj.us/state/museum/index.html.

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Through June 28, 2020 -  Piscataway, Middlesex County
Mid-Century New Jersey Exhibit

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Through 2020 - Ocean Township, Monmouth County

"Votes for Women: The Story of Suffrage"

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 new exhibit, “Votes for Women: The Story of Suffrage” opening in the Woolley House, Sunday, tells of the remarkable campaign waged by women across the country to gain (and for New Jersey women, to regain) the vote.

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. They were outraged, frustrated, and ready to take on the status quo. 

The status quo at the time was a sorry mess for women. Not only were they barred from public speaking and leadership positions, but married women could not own property, keep their own wages, or enter into any legal contract. Women were shut out of most professions. Divorce was near impossible, even in cases of abuse. A woman’s place was in the home—often an inherited home whose title had been ceded to her husband.

In 1851, three years after the Seneca Falls conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton met Susan B. Anthony. Though strikingly unlike in appearance and temperament, they became lifelong friends. Together, they made a formidable team that reigned for more than 50 years as the iconic leaders of the suffrage movement.

Anthony and Stanton travelled the country making speeches and gathering support. When Stanton, mother of seven, cut back on travel, she stayed hard a work—writing Anthony’s speeches, organizing supporters, even rewriting the Bible from a feminist perspective.

Both women were bitterly disappointed when Congress refused, following the Civil War, to expand the language of the 15th Amendment to bar discrimination in voting based on both race and sex. Their outrage generated harsh statements from these former abolitionists that created a lasting racial rift among suffragists.

Anthony and Stanton did not give up. In 1878, they pushed for a 16th Amendment to guarantee women the right to vote. The “Susan B. Anthony Amendment,” as it became known, failed in this first attempt and was introduced anew to each session of Congress for the next 42 years! The (by then) 19th Amendment, granting women’s suffrage, was finally ratified in 1920.

They Didn’t Live to see It
Neither Stanton nor Anthony lived to see passage. Their efforts fell short of their goals. But the inroads they gained, the organizations they created, and the national awareness they built set the stage for the next generation—the early 20th century activists who carried the campaign for women’s suffrage to victory.

The Second Wave
Among this second wave of suffragists were the daughters of Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott—and newcomers, including Carrie Chapman Catt and New Jersey native Alice Paul. Catt and Paul were rivals. Their strategies and styles were at odds. Catt favored local campaigns to change state voting laws. She thought militant demonstration unpatriotic after the U.S. entered World War I in 1917.

In contrast, Paul took the fight for a U.S. Constitutional amendment to President Wilson’s doorstep. She lead an 18-month long picketing campaign at the gates to the White House. She welcomed arrest and used the mistreatment of imprisioned suffragists to build public sympathy. Faced with a public relations nightmare, Wilson gave in and threw his support in favor of the federal amendment.

Passage of the Anthony Amendment was “the greatest expansion of democracy on a single day the world had ever seen” (Eleanor Clift, Founding Sisters).

The Township of Ocean Historical Museum, founded in 1984, is a member-supported, non-profit organization. Its headquarters, the Eden Woolley House, is one of the few 18th century structures still in existence in the Township and is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (1:00 - 4:00 pm), Thursday evenings (7:00 - 9:00 pm - March 15 through December 15 each year) and the first and second Sundays of each month (1:00 - 4:00 pm). The Museum also maintains a library and archive, which houses manuscripts, books, and photographs of historical and genealogical interest. For more information, call 732-531-2136 or visit www.OceanMuseum.org.

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Through September 13, 2020 - Trenton, Mercer County
Fine Feathered Friends: Birds as Mainstay and Muse

Birds are everywhere. They occupy our forests, farms, parks, beaches, backyards, and even our homes. It’s no wonder that they have achieved substantial cultural and historical significance.

Through nearly 200 rarely seen objects from the State Museum’s Cultural History and Natural History collections, Fine Feathered Friends explores the wild, wonderful world of birds and their impact on the New Jersey decorative arts. Three bodies of material culture inspired by birds illustrate the premise—needlework samplers, hand-carved duck and shorebird decoys, and the porcelain birds of Trenton ceramist Edward Marshall Boehm.

Birds also inspired New Jersey’s notable decoy-carving tradition, which was also influenced by the state’s location on a key flyway for migrating ducks and shorebirds. A coastal carving tradition centered on Barnegat Bay. A Delaware River tradition developed in river towns near Trenton. What began as a hunting tool evolved into a folk art tradition. Carvers taught their children, who then taught their own children.

In addition to samplers and decoys, the exhibit also explores the magnificent work of Edward Marshall Boehm. Boehm loved birds so much that he built huge aviaries on the grounds of his Titusville, New Jersey home. This allowed him to study the anatomy and habits of his fine feathered friends. At his studio in Trenton, Boehm replicated the avian world in hard-paste porcelain. Boehm’s birds are exhibited side by side with scientific taxidermy mounts and study skins of the same species

The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 am - 4:45 pm; closed Mondays and all state holidays. Admission is FREE, but donations are always encouraged. For more information, call 609-292-6300 or visit www.state.nj.us/state/museum.

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Through Late November/Early December 2020 - Salem, Salem County

“Hidden History: Unique and Rare Stories of Salem County”

The Salem County Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit entitled, “Hidden History: Unique and Rare Stories of Salem County.” Throughout the history of our region, the diversity of our residents along with their creativity, knowledge, and skills has prompted the development, manufacture and composition of many unique and rare objects and records. Over all these years, whether on a trek to settle here or leaving here for an adventure in the world at large, Salem County residents have traveled thousands of miles. When they traveled, our predecessors would bring to Salem County an object or a story that has become a part of our collective history.

Since the founding of the Salem County Historical Society in 1884, residents, families and friends have donated hundreds of these uncommon and irreplaceable objects to the Society collections. 

Our current exhibit offers a look at some of the most unique and rare items and the stories behind the objects. This eclectic exhibit includes artifacts that have not been displayed to the public for many years and are on display with newly researched backstories that provide further insight into the unique and rare history of Salem County. Concurrently, a new exhibit memorializing our Old Salem Oak Tree will open to the public. This exhibit is in a dedicated room displaying numerous Salem Oak objects, including; old and new artwork, objects made from wood of the oak tree, and past and recent photographs.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12;00 noon - 4:00 pm. Admission is $5 per person for non-members. The Salem County Historical Society is located at 83 Market Street, Salem, NJ. For more information, call 856-935-5004 or visit www.salemcountyhistoricalsociety.com.

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