Celebrating village & country Life in New Jersey
Looking Back
The Black River Falls Park
The falls on the Black/Lamington River in Pottersville continue to draw visitors to its rugged, natural beauty, but in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was actually the site of one of the area’s most popular tourist attractions, The Black River Falls Park or as it was known locally, “The Glen.”
Looking Back
The Picket Fence Murder
There were no street lights to expose a murder on the dark streets of Califon, New Jersey on the night of January 19, 1907, nor a full moon to bear witness to the grisly deed. “In fact,” wrote local historian Helen Haggerty Geist, “it was a night made for such a crime.”
Cooking With The BRJ / Photo by Debbie Weisman
Peaches
It's peach season in New Jersey! Discover the history of Jersey peaches and enjoy a recipe for Gladstone Tavern's Basil-Peach Sorbet...
Summer Special Feature
That Bloody Summer: The Matawan Shark Attacks
In the summer of 1916, there had yet to be a recorded fatal shark attack on the eastern seaboard of the United States - but that would all change over 12 terrifying days at the Jersey shore.
Celebrating A Sense of Place
In the Here and Now - We Make Hay
On these bright, beautiful early summer days, like similar days over all the years, I find myself farming. But when I'm asked if I am a farmer, I reflexively say no. I say this out of respect and reverence for real farmers who tend to crops and animals throughout the year, all day, every day, at all hours...
Best of the BRJ Highlights
The Minuteman from Black River
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
On the fringes of Chester Township, minuteman John Emmons, a teenager who lived with his family in a simple log cabin, was one of the young American patriots that waited for the call to war.
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
Among the Marines battling for the island of Guadalcanal was Sergeant “Manila” John Basilone, a section leader in a weapons company, from Raritan, New Jersey. .
The Peapack Caverns
As Rough as Hell: John Basilone
The Peapack Caverns
When Mohawk raiding parties descended on the Native American villages in what is now Peapack, New Jersey, the local Lenape tribes would take refuge in the vast limestone caves beneath their lands.