Did
You
Know
That ?

• Move over West Point, historians now believe that before the famed United States Military Academy was established by President Thomas Jefferson's signed legislation in 1802 and artillery training at the site goes back to 1794, there was an earlier army training academy established in 1778, nestled in the Somerset Hills behind the second Watchung Mountain in Pluckemin, New Jersey.
• 1845 - Grant Barney Schley, a founding father of Far Hills, was born in 1845 at Chapinville, N.Y., near Syracuse, to a farm family of humble circumstances. He obtained only an elementary school education. At the age of 16 he went to work for as a peach picker and shipping clerk for Wells, Butterfield and Company, a Syracuse firm which later merged with others (George F. Baker's First National Bank) to become the American Express Company.

Education Committee Update

Young Historians Coloring Program
at the Brick Academy

Brick Academy: May 2017 - What better way to educate children then by coloring!

The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills (THSSH) has announced the group now offers the opportunity to have classes visit the Brick Academy to participate in a new history coloring program using a new history coloring book "Somerset Hills History Coloring Book." The program is being sponsored by the THSSH Education Committee, under the leadership of Margaret Skelly, a trustee and former teacher.

For Teachers, Parents, and Even High School Students

The coloring program is just that, Teachers and parents are able to set up appointments to bring their children, called Young Historians, to the Brick Academy for a coloring exercise. Each young historian is provided a Somerset Hills History coloring book, crayons, and a brief overview of the images they will cover during the program. THSSH received a large number of "Somerset Hills History Coloring Book's" that were donated by T3 Consortium, a local consulting business based out of Bernards Township.

To schedule a school room visit to the historic 1890's schoolhouse at the Brick Academy in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, with a class (typically 3rd grade), or to find out when the next coloring program is open to the public, visit our Contact Us page and drop us an email. One of our volunteers will be in touch.

About the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills (THSSH)

Founded in 1928 originally as the Historical Society of Basking Ridge, the mission and name of the society was later changed to The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization including all five communities of the Somerset Hills region: Bedminster Township, Bernards Township, Bernardsville ,Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone which are all located in Somerset County, New Jersey.

The mission of The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills (THSSH) is to acquire, conserve and share local artifacts and information on matters of local historic interest; cultivate interest in local history; encourage the preservation of local historic resources; facilitate historic research; and preserve, operate, and interpret the Brick Academy.

To further this mission, THSSH sponsors events and activities that promote community awareness and appreciation of the history and architecture of the Somerset Hills. THSSH headquarters is at the Brick Academy in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, where our collections of items of local historic interest are available to the public.

About The Brick Academy

The Brick Academy (also known as the Basking Ridge Classical Schoolhouse) is a 1809 Federal-style architectural structure located in the center of Basking Ridge in Bernards Township. The Brick Academy has been a boys’ private preparatory school, a public school, a meeting hall for several fraternal and benevolent organizations, and the Bernards Township municipal building. It currently serves as the headquarters of The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills, as well as a schoolhouse and museum to local history. The Brick Academy also celebrated its bicentennial in 2009.