The Longest Day:  The Heroes of D-Day On June 12th, you are invited to join Dr. Jeff Schenker at Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River, as he discusses the individual heroes of June 6, 1944, and what led to an Allied Victory during World War II.  Jeff is a popular Adjunct Professor of History at Ocean County College, having earned a Master’s Degree in History from Monmouth College and a Doctorate in History from Drew University. Jeff was fortunate to spend eight days in France studying the Normandy Invasion on a Stephen Ambrose tour. He is a dynamic speaker, well versed in the details of D-Day. You will learn about General Dwight Eisenhower and the men directly involved in the battle. The in-person program begins at 2:00 PM in the OCHS museum. There is no admission fee. No refreshments will be served. To register for an in-person audience limited to 50, email us at oceancountyhistory.zoom@gmail.com stating: Your name,  D-Day, your zip code, and your email address (so we can contact you with confirmation).  Masks are optional.    

OCHS’s Victorian Era Holiday Open House On Saturday, December 3, 2022, the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Ave., Toms River will be hosting a Victorian Era Holiday Open House from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Bring your camera to have pictures taken with a Victorian style Santa from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Take a tour of our holiday decorated Victorian Era house and museum and enjoy a model train exhibit. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Refreshments will be available at no charge. For additional information please call Jeff at 609-339-9134.  

Sunday, December 4th, 2022, at 2:00 pm - "The Lights Go Out in the Electric City: South Lakewood Park, An Exclusive Enclave for Socialites and Scientists, Reduced to Burning Embers and Forgotten by History," by Robert DeSando Please join the Ocean County Historical Society at 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River, NJ for the following program: The subject of this talk is a forgotten "city" in New Jersey known alternately as South Lakewood Park and Electric City. During the late 19th Century, Lakewood NJ was a winter resort for the rich and famous, including John Rockefeller and Jay Gould. It had grand hotels that entertained the elite of New York and Philadelphia society. Led by a visionary scientist and inventor with a knack for getting entangled in scandals, investors from New York and Philadelphia proposed to build a lavish rival resort in the pines three miles away, on the border of Lakewood, Jackson, and Toms River. Their goal was two-fold: creation of a posh playground for the wealthy and a gathering place for inventors, scientists and engineers who were experts in power generation and electricity. Work was well underway. In the 1890s, a luxury hotel, The Casino was built, a 150-foot arc light [...]

Join the OCHS, at 26 Hadley Ave., Toms River, NJ as Arthur C. Liese presents the story of Bill Cranmer, an expert carpenter, home builder on LBI, and classic New Jersey Museum quality decoy carver. Mr. Cranmer was a well read, scholarly gentleman. Most importantly, he was a man of character, pride, and integrity. Arthur C. Liese is the President and Managing Director of the Sporting Gallery and Book Shop, Inc. Founded in 1933 in New York City, it is the oldest gallery of this unique specialty in this country. He is the leading expert on 20th Century American Sporting Art during the Golden Era of Sport (1927-1941). He is an appraiser and well published author and lecturer on this subject. To register for this free program, send your name, zip code, email address, and the date of the program (January 22, 2023) to oceancountyhistory.zoom@gmail.com.

Location – Ocean County Historical Society – 26 Hadley Ave., Toms River, NJ Sunday, February 5th at 2PM, “New Jersey's Lost Piney Culture,” by William J. Lewis Deep within the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Piney people have built a vibrant culture and industry from working the natural landscape around them. Foraging skills learned from the local Lenapes were passed down through generations of Piney families who gathered many of the same wild floral products that became staples of the Philadelphia and New York dried flower markets. Important figures such as John Richardson have sought to lift the Pineys from rural poverty by recording and marketing their craftsmanship. As the state government fought between preserving the Pine Barrens and developing the region, Piney culture was frequently threatened and stigmatized. Author and advocate William J. Lewis charts the history of the Pineys, what being a Piney means today and their legacy among the beauty of the Pine Barrens. William J. Lewis is a lifetime resident of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, as were multiple generations of his family before him. He shares his Piney adventures on social media networks under “Piney Tribe.” He preaches exploration without exploitation and [...]

Sunday, March 19th, 2PM, “Hello Girls Get the Message Through,” by Melissa Ziobro Join Monmouth University Professor and former US Army Fort Monmouth Command Historian Melissa Ziobro for a talk on how the US Army Signal Corps employed women as telephone switchboard operators during WWI. The “Hello Girls” worked long hours to ensure battlefield communications. Their Chief Operator, Grace Banker, hailed from NJ. After the war, the women fought for veteran status, and they are being considered for a Congressional Gold Medal today. Melissa Ziobro is the Specialist Professor of Public History in the Monmouth University Department of History and Anthropology and the primary point of contact for the University's public history minor. She is the current President of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and has served for many years as the editor for New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a joint venture of the NJ Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University. She is a trustee of the NJ Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation, the Ocean County Historical Society, the Monmouth County Historical Association, the Info Age Science and History Museums at the Camp Evans National Historic Landmark, and Preservation NJ, and works regularly with other public history [...]

Celebrate Spring with our Spring Victorian Tea at the Mathis House Back by popular demand, our Spring Victorian Tea will be offered on Wednesday, May 3 at 11:00 AM at the 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. The cost is $40 for members and $45 for non-members. Be sure to make your reservation starting at 10:00 AM on March 20 by calling 732-286-3693. 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: Deb in the bottom left-hand corner of the envelope.  

Location – Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River, NJ Sunday, May 7th at 2:00 PM “The Traditions of Healing Music,” by Bonnie Leigh Historically, many societies and cultures have deemed music to be very powerful. It can affect all aspects of our life -- to include being used to aid in relaxation, and even to help the sick and dying. In this program, you will learn about the different types of music that have historically been used, and can still be used, for different situations in our lives. Bonnie Leigh is a Certified Music Practitioner who uses music to help patients in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted livings, and private homes. She personally plays the small harp and the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer. She has been performing and teaching traditional folk music across the northeast coast since the early 1990s, to include previous visits to the Ocean County Historical Society, and at Allaire Historic Village. To register for this free program, send your name, zip code, email address, and the date of the program (May 7) to oceancountyhistory.zoom@gmail.com. As this is our last lecture prior to our summer break, we will, as a special treat, feature a display of some musical artifacts [...]

SPECIAL EVENT: Screening of The Reluctant Piney (and bake sale!) Sunday, June 11 at 2PM at the Ocean County Historical Society 26 Hadley Ave, Toms River, NJ 08753 Admission: $5 (proceeds support ongoing building maintenance; pre-registration is required) Join the Ocean County Historical Society for a screening of the new, 90-minute documentary film, The Reluctant Piney. The film is produced and directed by William J. Lewis, author of New Jersey's Lost Piney Culture. Admission will be $5.00 cash and collected at the door, with all proceeds supporting ongoing much-needed maintenance to our historic house museum. There will also be a bake sale. We are grateful to Mr. Lewis for his support of our organization. About the film: The Pineys of yesterday and today are as diverse as the flora and fauna of the Pine Barrens. Walk with us down roads less traveled to places only a few know. See glimpses of ghost towns and hear firsthand stories that have been hidden away by a veil of secrecy only to be revealed by the remaining Piney Outlaws. New Jersey’s Lost Piney Culture is more than the pinecone pickers or pine ballers of the last two centuries. Pineys’ way of life is [...]

Ocean County History Day – September 16, 2023 Location: Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River The Third Annual Ocean County History Day will take place on Saturday September 16th, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with a rain date scheduled for Sunday, September 17th. The Ocean County Historical Society will be co-sponsoring this fun day with the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Numerous Ocean County Historical Societies and museums will be setting up displays to help tell the rich history of Ocean County. There will be live entertainment, historic reenactors, history books to purchase, and free tours of our newly renovated Elizabeth Sculthorp Force Victorian Era house and museum. For additional information, please contact Jeff Schenker at 609-339-9134 or jeffschenker@myyahoo.com    

Jeff Schenker as George Washington Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 PM “Meet George Washington - First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of our Countrymen.” President Washington will be addressing you in December of 1799, as he reflects on his life. He will discuss his early life, service in the French and Indian War, his service as commanding general in the American Revolution, his role in the Constitutional Convention, his two terms as president, and his views on slavery. Dr. Jeff Schenker portrays President Washington. Jeff taught history for many years at Toms River High School South and is currently serving as an adjunct professor of history at Ocean County College. In addition, Jeff is the president of the Ocean County Historical Society. Jeff has addressed numerous organizations in topics as diverse as the D-Day Invasion, New Jersey in World War I, the Civil War, Joshua Huddy, and Abraham Lincoln. 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.zoom@gmail.com.  

Dr. Richard Veit Sunday, October 15, 2023, at 2:00 PM “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 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. These events take 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 [...]

OCHS’s Victorian Era Holiday Open House On Saturday, November 25, 2023, the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River will be hosting a Victorian Era Holiday Open House from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Bring your camera, children, and grandchildren to meet and take pictures with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM. Take a tour of our holiday decorated Victorian Era house and museum complete with holiday music. Enjoy holiday drinks and treats. Also, there will be Holiday gifts for the children. Best of all the event is free!  For additional information, please call Jeff at 609-339-9134.