11 fun historical facts you never knew about NJ

We all know that New Jersey holds an important place in the story of the Revolutionary War but there are so many other ways that New Jersey is historically significant. We reached out to our listeners to ask them what they knew about their towns and the little piece of history that they represent. Here’s what we found out.

Long Branch seven presidents park is named after the seven presidents who summered there. They were Ulysses S Grant, Rutherford B Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson.

Roselle is the home of Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Abraham Clark high school is named for him.

Vineland was the home of Dr. Thomas Welch the inventor of Welches grape juice. He developed Welches grape juice as a substitute for communion. As a Methodist, he avoided alcohol.

Mercer County Community College held the base where the research for the Sherman tank was developed

Matawan is the town where Lester Stillwell drowned after being pulled under the waters of the Matawan creek in one of the shark attacks that was basis for the movie Jaws.

Sergeant Curtis Cullin from Crawford invented the hedgerow cutter aka “the rhino” to tear through the countryside during World War II. It was also use during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Captain Edward McCall, from Bordentown, was an officer in the United States Navy who commandeered a boat in the war of 1812. He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. He is buried in the Episcopal cemetery in Bordentown.

Hudson Maxim was a chemist who was a brilliant inventor, especially of explosives. He lived in Lake Hopatcong when he developed smokeless gunpowder as well as the first gun silencer

The Atlantic City boardwalk isn’t only the longest in the world (at six miles), but it’s also the oldest, having been constructed in 1870. It was originally built to keep sand from being tracked into beachfront buildings.

In 1937, Manchester, New Jersey was the site of the Hindenburg tragedy, when the airship suddenly caught fire.

During the revolutionary war, the Pleasant Valley section of Marlborowas referred to as the “Hornet’s Nest” because of the intensity of attacks on the British by local militia.