The Olcott School (built 1905) is conspicuous in this photo that depicts eight men astride a 60-foot windmill, which they likely had just erected at 20 Olcott Avenue in Bernardsville, NJ.  The slatted fanwheel and tail are just out of view at the top of the frame.  Windmills like these, a common innovation across the

A stone wall provides a nice place to rest in this early 20th century photo titled “On the Road to Bernardsville.”   The location may be North Finley Avenue on the curve near Fox Hollow Trail.  The direction is looking south toward Basking Ridge.  The stone wall is no longer there and may have been part

This distinctive folding card table features 1950s advertising on top. A square in one corner reads “Property of Peapack-Gladstone Junior Woman’s Club”, which apparently produced the table through Mathers Advertising Card Table Plan, which advertised in another corner (See 1950 advertisement for Mathers card tables below). Local organizations, like the P-G Junior Woman’s Club sold

Long before the Kiwanis Fair, there was the annual Basking Ridge Firemen’s Carnival.  Beginning in 1910, the carnival was held on the grounds of the old Maple Avenue school (now site of the Bernards Township Library) and drew crowds from across the region.  Beginning in 1912, the firemen hired a merry-go-round and it soon became

Merry Christmas from THSSH! This year’s vintage card features an angel with a violin. The note on the reverse dates it to 1907 which corresponds to the divided back to separate the message from the address. The U.S. Post Office authorized divided-back postcards in 1907. The card bears no stamp or postmark and may never

During our continuing digitization efforts, we found this photograph of the Brick Academy in Basking Ridge, NJ, in a Fire Department scrapbook. The building started life in 1809, as the Basking Ridge Classical School and later became a Bernards Township public school. In 1904, it was auctioned off to the Ancient Order of United Workmen

Who knows where this impressive gate is?  Hint:  It still stands on a main road in the Somerset Hills. We’ll post the answer in a few days. ANSWER:  The gate is found on Route 202 in Far Hills.  Going north toward Bernardsville, it is on the right before you get to Lake Rd.  The gate

Architectural and Cultural Significance St. Bernard’s Church and its original parish house in Bernardsville, New Jersey, are architecturally and culturally significant, in part because they were designed by two of America’s leading architects of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Moreover, the church features a notable set of English stained glass windows. The architectural

Bedminster was once a major center for the sport of polo.  The Burnt Mills Polo Club was founded by W. Thorn Kissel (1885-1960) in Far Hills in 1929. Mr. Kissel served several years on the governing board of the United States Polo Association. In 1930 the Burnt Mills Club bought Four Furlong’s farm on Burnt

These smiling people are the Bernards High (NJ) Yearbook Board in June 1921.   The students graduated with the class of 1922, so the committee was likely formed to produce the upcoming yearbook.  Their names are written on the back. Bernardsville High School 1921Taken June 1921. The honorable Year Book BoardReading from left to right Standing:Janet