Events

Bus Trip to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia - Rescheduled for October 7

Please join us as we start to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a bus trip to the Museum of the American Revolution! The cost is $45 for members and students, $55 for non-members. This includes a charter bus, bus driver gratuity, and museum admission. (Please note there is no restroom on the bus, but we will make one quick stop in each direction.) There is a restaurant in the museum and numerous others in the immediate area. The museum is located right in the Historic District, so there is much more to see and do.

We depart promptly at 9:00 AM from the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Ave, Toms River. Please arrive by 8:30 AM so we can get everybody checked in. We will depart from the museum at 2:30 PM and expect to return at approximately 4:00 PM.

For more information and to reserve a spot, please call Jeff Schenker at 609-339-9134.

Bus Trip to Lancaster, PA - Cancelled

Join the Ocean County Historical Society as we travel to Lancaster, PA on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Our first stop will be the famous Kitchen Kettle Village for shopping and lunch on your own. Kitchen Kettle Village has both a cafeteria style restaurant and a sit-down establishment. This will be followed by a visit to an Amish farm, house, and schoolhouse.

The bus will depart from the Ocean County Historical Society at 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River precisely at 8:00 AM. Please arrive to check in by 7:30 AM. We plan on being back in Toms River by 7:00 PM.

The cost for the trip is $50.00 for members and students and $60.00 for non-members.For additional information and to reserve a spot, please call Jeff at 609-339-9134.

Stranger Stop and Cast an Eye: An Introduction to New Jersey's Historic Burial Grounds

Far from being scary, spooky places, New Jersey’s historic burial grounds are treasure troves of information for historians, genealogists, archaeologists, and art historians.  This richly illustrated presentation by Dr. Richard Veit examines New Jersey historic cemeteries from High Point to Cape May.  It provides a chronological overview of New Jersey’s historic burial places from the colonial period to the present.  Exceptional examples of colonial, Victorian, and modern memorials are all presented and discussed.  Audiences leave with a new appreciation for grave markers and burial places as important sources of information about local history.

Richard Veit, Ph.D. is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University. A North American historical archaeologist, his research focuses on the colonial Middle Atlantic Region. He is the author of eight books and has been the recipient of Monmouth University’s distinguished teacher award.

This event takes place at our Museum at 26 Hadley Avenue in Toms River. Our speaker series is free, however SEATING IS LIMITED! To reserve your seat, send your name, zip code, email address, and the date of the program to oceancountyhistory.programs@gmail.com.

Holiday Gifts, Crafts and Collectibles Faire

The Ocean County Historical Society will be hosting their 35th Annual Holiday Gifts, Crafts and Collectibles Faire on Sunday, November 5 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It will again be in the Toms River High School South cafetorium. Admission is free!

In addition to over 80 vendor tables, there will be historical and cultural displays, baked goods for sale, a used book sale, our popular 50-50, and much more. This event, sponsored in part by the Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission, will feature an Ocean County History and Cultural Pavilion. For additional information, please call Joseph at 732-998-5934 or email him at rjl072001@gmail.com.

Toms River High School South is located in the Downtown Toms River area. Use 212 Hooper Avenue as a GPS setting.

ATTENTION VENDORS: Click the link below for vendor information and a contract that can be printed out and mailed in.

VENDOR INFORMATION and CONTRACT

Trackside Along the Camden & Amboy Railroad

Train travel was an exciting improvement in New Jersey’s early 1800s, over-taking stagecoaches as a way of travel between New York and Philadelphia. The building of the Camden & Amboy Railroad and the arrival of the “John Bull” locomotive introduced a new chapter into New Jersey’s rich rail heritage. Rail historian John Kilbride tells the story of the C&A’s development, construction, and operation and its historic significance to our area. He’ll include the tales of the “John Bull’s” construction and operation, and its long and varied career. Eyewitness accounts of early travel through New Jersey, and the corporate strength of the C&A as it expanded its empire and the monopoly created in its relatively short history will be explained.

John Kilbride is a 34-year veteran of Amtrak and has written or contributed to numerous publications for national railroad historical societies and railroad books. Previously, he served as treasurer for the Princeton, NJ “Save the (Princeton) Dinky” railroad preservation group and continues to advise local historians on specific aspects of the Camden and Amboy and Pennsylvania Railroads in New Jersey. Kilbride was awarded with the 2018 “Advocate of the Year” award by the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers.

This event takes place at our Museum at 26 Hadley Avenue in Toms River. Our speaker series is free, however SEATING IS LIMITED! To reserve your seat, send your name, zip code, email address, and the date of the program to oceancountyhistory.programs@gmail.com.

Holiday Tea

Join us on Thursday, December 7 as we celebrate the Holidays with a Victorian Holiday Tea! Back by popular demand, our Holiday Tea will be offered to those wishing to visit the beautifully decorated Mathis House Tearoom at 600 Main Street in Toms River. Guests may look forward to the ever-delicious scones, yummy tea sandwiches, and scrumptious mini-desserts that accompany generous pots of fine tea as they chat with friends in the historical elegance of this stately home. As usual, a few lucky guests will win door prizes. Seating is at 11:00 A.M. The cost is $40 for members and $45 for non-members.

Be sure to make your reservation beginning at 10:00 AM on October 9 by calling 732-814-2979. Checks should be made out and mailed to Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08753 within one week of phone reservation, with Attention: Pat in the bottom left-hand corner of the envelope.

A War Against Disease and Despair: Immigrants, Nurses, Soldiers, and the Transformation of Patient Care on Ellis Island During World War I

While known primarily for its use as an immigrant facility, Ellis Island went through several major changes from the time war was declared in Europe in 1914, to the time that the last military members left the island in 1919. During the First World War, Ellis Island and its associated hospital facilities would be the victims of German terrorism, a mobilization point for thousands of Red Cross nurses bound for the frontlines, and a debarkation hospital that was the first stop home for countless sick and wounded soldiers returning from the battlefield.

The presenter, Ryan Radice, is a historian from Scotch Plains, New Jersey. A graduate of Monmouth University, his research interests include immigration history, the American Revolution and early republic, and the history and archaeology of New Jersey cemeteries and military sites.

This event takes place at our Museum at 26 Hadley Avenue in Toms River. Our speaker series is free, however SEATING IS LIMITED! To reserve your seat, send your name, zip code, email address, and the date of the program to oceancountyhistory.programs@gmail.com.