A new set of records is now part of THSSH Online Collections.  These documents form a new collection focused on Basking Ridge Fire Company No. 1, which was formed in 1904. Items include old photos such as the one pictured above which shows the 1925 Firemens’ Carnival at Maple Avenue School with Fire Chief Ray

Amid the hoopla surrounding America’s 250th birthday this year, you may have missed the historic quilt quietly marking the event at Clarence Dillon Library in Bedminster. The quilt was actually created for the bicentennial in 1976, but it remains a celebration of our nation’s founding in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey 50 years later.

A tambourine that belonged to Chief William Arthur Richardson (1872-1935) of Basking Ridge Fire Company No. 1 is a recent addition to the society’s collections.  Richardson moved to Basking Ridge by 1910 from Pennsylvania where he had been a fireman and had started using the tambourine in parades.  He served as chief in Basking Ridge

Structures like this one used to be common across the Somerset Hills. Does anyone know what it is? This photo is fairly recent—February 1971. We’ll post the answer in a few days. ANSWER:   The building is a wellhouse.  Wellhouses covered wells so no one accidentally fell in.  They also provided a framework for a crank

The Scout Cabin in the northwest corner of Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ, holds a rich history that reflects years of community service and tradition for the generations who have gathered within its walls. Built during the Great Depression, the cabin is believed to be the only Civil Works Administration (CWA) project specifically for the

A postcard from 1905 shows the Somerset Inn, located in Bernardsville, NJ. The inn stood on Mendham Road, near Washington Corner Road and became a resort destination for the rich and famous in society after the railroad was extended (1872) to Bernardsville.  Many guests liked the area so much that they later built homes of

The nooks and crannies at the THSSH archives often hold hidden gems, and this empty envelope addressed to Messrs. Honnell and Bunn is a good example.  Honnell and Bunn were grocers in Bedminster village (then called Lesser Crossroads) as early as 1850.  On the 1850 census, Benjamin R. Honnell (1818-1894) and Martin Bunn (c.1812-1887) were

Before the rise of chain pharmacies, the Somerset Hills had many small drug stores.  Somerset Pharmacy was founded in 1893 in Bernardsville, NJ, by George W. Burns (1865-1934).  The store was located on Olcott Square in the spot occupied until recently by Mediterranean Tile.  The original building burned in the 1960s.  This image of the

The February issue of Inside the Brick Academy, THSSH’s official newsletter,  was mailed to members last week.  In addition to the annual report covering 2025, the issue contains new research that’s worth a look.  On Page 5, W. Barry Thomson writes about Elias Boudinot, a founding father, who bought a farm in Basking Ridge (now

The Memoir of Eliza Susan Morton Quincy (1773-1850) includes a vivid description of Basking Ridge, NJ, during the Revolution.  Excerpts from the memoir were published in the Somerset County Historical Society Quarterly (Vol. 1 & 2) in 1912 and 1913.  The Basking Ridge Historical Society reprinted these excerpts in a booklet for the Bernards Township