New Book Releases

The revolutionary Battle of Monmouth signaled the end of major combat in the North. Centuries later, reminders of the conflict remain. The Covenhoven House, the Village Inn, Marlpit Hall, the Craig House and the homes of Thomas Seabrook and the murdered Joseph Murray stand open to the public today. Visitors can also behold safehouses for the wounded—such as Old Tennent Church, St. Peter’s and Old First Church—and tread along the same ground as George Washington, General Sir Henry Clinton, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette. Devoting attention to these sites and to the Battle Monument in Freehold, the Revolution’s most prominent and enduring symbol, historian Randall Gabrielan leads a tour through Monmouth County’s revolutionary heritage.

In the early twentieth century, an interconnected web of men and women, led by Dr. V.E. Vivian, fought for a better future in Whitesbog Village, a forgotten town in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. And they won.

Before their heroic efforts, air, land and sea were riddled with pollution, with few protections. Hope for a better tomorrow seemed unlikely. When they were done, the 1.1 million acres of the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve became the largest protected and preserved open space on the East Coast.

With the help of numerous color images dedicated to Dr. Vivian, author William J. Lewis chronicles and celebrates the educators and historians who started New Jersey’s conservation movement and successfully crusaded for a better, cleaner world.

Liberty State Park (LSP) has undergone massive changes over the past 200 years. Originally a tranquil salt marsh and cove, it was transformed into the greatest concentration of rail facilities in the Northeast. Subsequently abandoned, it was then developed through efforts of community advocates into New Jersey’s premier urban state park. Located on the Upper New York Bay, Liberty State Park maintains a historic and ecological aesthetic. One of the few remaining viable ecosystems along the Hudson River, Liberty State Park provides options for recreational pursuits and opportunities to learn about nature. The park offers waterfront access, acres of open fields, miles of pathways, growing lists of flora and fauna, two restaurants, a marina, the Nature Center, and the Liberty Science Center. It is the only location in New Jersey with ferry service to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

A lifelong Jersey City resident, Gail Zavian is a writer, illustrator, and photographer. A loyal park patron, former Friends of Liberty State Park board member, and staunch environmentalist, Zavian has and continues to photograph every aspect of the park. She selected images from her professional archive, dedicated environmentalists, and Liberty State Park’s historical collections to document the history, challenges, and commitment behind LSP’s creation. Zavian’s hope is that this volume encourages others to protect and preserve the legacy that is Liberty State Park.

Ever since Rev. Abraham Pierson of Bradford, Connecticut, brought his collection of 400 books to Newark in 1666, the city has had libraries. First attached to churches and schools, these private libraries catered to audiences for specific purposes; they were not open to all. In 1887, the citizens of Newark voted to establish a free public library, the Newark Public Library, which became the seventh in the state of New Jersey. Since then, trustees, directors, and staff members have contributed to the overall success of the library through their dedication to its services and collections. They have done so at the main library on Washington Street, built in 1901, and at the various branches constructed across the city in the 1920s. A legacy, consisting of dedicated librarians and clerks who provide excellent services and inspiring programs based on unique collections, has been maintained with community support for over a century.

William A. Peniston was the librarian and archivist at the Newark Museum of Art for 25 years (from 1995 to 2021). He was also the archival consultant for the Librariana Collection (the institutional archives) at the Newark Public Library from 2013 to 2014. He is the author of Images of America: Newark Museum of Art (2023).

Author Jim Cullen shares tales of the ruddy trailblazers who grappled and persevered during nation-shaping moments in the Garden State. New Jersey sits at the intersection of the most important developments in American history, from the fight for freedom to the rise of the United States as a global power. At each critical moment, key figures came forward. These profiles of important Americans—some natives of the Garden State, some not—focus on key episodes that took place here but echoed broadly. From George Washington to Thomas Edison and Whitney Houston, these men and women crisscross politics, business, religion, social activism, science and entertainment, and their critical encounters took place in cities and towns across the state.

The Garden State After the Great War

Post–World War I life was dramatically different for New Jersey than it had been prior to the war. By 1920, the war was over for the Europeans, but it was still on for America until President Harding signed a paper in a local living room after a golf game. Harding’s out-of-wedlock child was born in Asbury Park, and Atlantic City began the beauty contest that would become Miss America. Prohibition hit what was an unwilling state, and the governor tried to keep New Jersey liquor legally flowing, while bootleggers and rumrunners made illegal liquor generally available. Joseph Bilby and Harry Ziegler detail this frenetic era in the Garden State.

True Blue for Union

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Cape May County was an isolated and lightly populated peninsula at the southernmost tip of New Jersey. Nevertheless, its citizens answered the call for the Union effort during the Civil War. The 7th U.S. Infantry regiment recruited substantially from the region, and the entire community came out to usher the gallant troops to war, departing from Cape Island. On the homefront, supporting rallies were staged, food drives enacted and medical supplies shipped to the front. Railroad tycoons eyeing the underdeveloped beaches of Cape May began developing the county’s resorts beyond Cape Island even before troops returned home. Author Ray Rebmann presents the valiant efforts and changing times of Cape May County in the Civil War era.

Medford has a rich history, beginning with the original Quaker settlers in the late 1600s. In 1847, state legislators divided Evesham Township, creating Medford. At the time of its incorporation, Medford Township included the communities of Fostertown, Crossroads, Medford Village, Cross Keys, Chairville, Flyat, and Taunton. These small farming communities nucleated around gristmills, sawmills, cranberry bogs, churches, taverns, and isolated country schools. Such settlements laid the foundation for the Medford of the 21st century. William B. Cooper, a photographer during the early 20th century, captured many of the images featured in Medford through the Lens. Using photographs from Cooper and others, we glimpse Medford Township’s visual past within the context of county, state, and national issues, offering new insight into how the municipality developed and how its history can better inform the present.

Dennis McDonald is a Medford Township resident and is the author/coauthor of three previous books for Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series: Medford, Smithville, and Whitesbog. Zachary Baer is a history teacher at Shawnee High School in Medford. He is the author of numerous articles related to South Jersey history and is a member of the West Jersey History Roundtable.

The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) Terminal operated for nearly 80 years from 1869 until 1967. It served as the main passenger terminal for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads serving the New York City metropolitan area. For approximately two-thirds of the 12–17 million new citizens that successfully passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Station between 1892 and 1954, the CRRNJ Terminal became their gateway to America. In addition, the terminal became the New York City origination/destination point for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads and their famous named trains. These trains were, and are still today, widely renowned in the annals of American railroading. 

Anthony Puzzilla is a retired federal government employee after 43 years of service. He is now a full-time writer, as well as a railfan and model train lover. He is a member of the Jersey Central Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society, and the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society. This book contains memorable images, many from the author’s own private photograph collection, showing the remarkable history of this notable railroad terminal.

Folktales, hidden treasures and witchcraft.

The towering skyline of New Brunswick stands in stark contrast with the swampy ceder forest it emerged from in the late 1600s. While the city grew over the original Lenape settlement of Ahanderamock, its history was passed on through whispers of tales both real and imagined. In the Buccleuch Mansion, a skeletal figure dressed as a British Grenadier is said to stagger the halls with a lantern, and at Rutgers University tales of secret societies swirl through campus. Long-lost pirate treasures, some rumored to be connected to mysterious clues etched in stone, remain undiscovered to this day.

Author Mark Neurohr-Pierpaoli uncovers the mysterious stories lurking below the surface of New Brunswick. 

Faith, family and food.

Between 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States. Tens of thousands flocked to Newark and reshaped a city. Many settled in the Old First Ward, which once claimed the title of largest Little Italy in New Jersey. Clubs like the Spilingese Social Club sprang up to provide support and camaraderie and dishes like giambotta made their way into everyone’s kitchens. 

Author Andrea Lyn Cammarato-Van Benschoten traces the roots of Newark’s Italian communities.

In this middle-grade adaptation of Shark Attacks of the Jersey Shore, author Patricia Heyer dives into the history and lore of shark attacks along New Jersey’s coast. Every summer, thousands of people flock to the boardwalks and beaches of the Jersey Shore looking for fun and relaxation. But some come face to face with much more. A boy paid a gruesome price for teasing a trapped shark in the first recorded attack in 1842. Three bloody attacks of 1960 left one man’s limb amputated. The horrific summer of 1916 included seven attacks within two weeks, sparking the man-eating reputation that sharks still have today. These stories and more have been adapted for younger readers brave enough to dive in to our shark-infested waters.

Although Bertrand Island Park closed in 1983, there is no place in northwestern New Jersey that is more fondly remembered. For some seventy years, the park thrilled youngsters and adults alike. The park opened during the peak of Lake Hopatcong's resort years, and its popularity continued as the lake evolved from a hotel resort to a community of second homes and finally into a year-round locale. Generations of school groups, church outings, company picnics, and residents from throughout the region delighted in the wooden roller coaster, the magical carousel, and the scores of other rides and games.

From Piney Folklore to Legendary Figures of South Jersey's Past

Author William Lewis presents fascinating tales, revealing legends and beloved lore from the heart of Southern New Jersey.

Brick City Past Revealed

Newark's history is as diverse and powerful as the community that continues to call New Jersey's largest city home. The colonial settlement at Four Corners--the Broad and Market intersection--grew into one of the most heavily traveled thoroughfares in the nation. In the nineteenth century, innovations such as the public use of the electric light bulb in Military Park and the discovery of how to make patent leather established Newark as a flourishing industrial hub. Dramatic events including the battle between Nazi sympathizers and city residents in the 1930s, hearings held by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the event that triggered the infamous 1967 riots, defined a raucous twentieth century in Newark. Today, urban farming can be found in the Ironbound, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has helped fund the city's first high-rise tower in fifty years and revitalization efforts continue. Author Helen Lippman presents hidden history of Newark, New Jersey.

The Queen of New Jersey Lakes

Only 40 miles from Manhattan, Lake Hopatcong is the largest lake in the Garden State. An early colonial pioneer in damming, the lake was formed by the flooding of Great Pond, Little Pond and the Musconetcong River. It became a luxury destination for wealthy New Yorkers looking for a cool retreat as a cadre of celebrities frequented its glamorous hotels. Though the Golden Age of the lake's history has passed, it remains a vibrant source of revitalization, community and environmental enjoyment for the region today. Join author Peter Astras as he recounts the history of New Jersey's Lake Hopatcong.

Morven stands on five acres in the heart of Princeton, New Jersey, and has played a role in the state's and nation's history for more than 200 years.

After Morven was built for Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, four generations of Stocktons resided there through the early 20th century before the property was leased to Robert Wood Johnson, chairman of Johnson & Johnson. He was followed by five New Jersey governors when Morven served as the state's first governor's mansion. Morven has hosted presidents from George Washington to John F. Kennedy and other notable people, including foreign leader Fidel Castro, movie star Grace Kelly, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and star athlete Althea Gibson. Morven opened as a museum and garden in 2004. The mansion building that serves as the museum is the largest structure on the property, but other notable landmarks include the 1930s pool house, 19th-century carriage house, and colonial revival garden. Morven depicts over 225 years of history and includes views of a home and property that survived wars, fires, and changing tastes.

Authors Elizabeth Allan and Jesse Gordon Simons, who make up the curatorial department at Morven Museum & Garden, have produced 20 museum exhibitions together. Here, they draw on Morven's archives and local New Jersey collections to celebrate the life of this national historic landmark.

As the largest museum in New Jersey, the Newark Museum of Art has assembled important and highly regarded collections in the fine arts and decorative arts. It has collected specimens of rocks and minerals as well as plants and animals to illustrate the natural sciences. In all of these areas, it has developed innovative exhibitions. Finally, it has designed engaging educational programs that are both inspirational and transformative for people of all ages from the diverse communities that it serves. In many respects, it remains the model of the “new museum” that was imagined at its inception—a place dedicated to objects and the ideas embodied by them. In the words of founding director John Cotton Dana, “A good museum attracts, entertains, arouses curiosity, leads to questioning, and thus promotes learning.”

Awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor commemorates those who have shaped our nation's history and continue to inspire its future with their acts of valor, humanity, patriotism, and sacrifice.

New Jersey has been credited with ninety-three honors in the state's military history. Robert Augustus Sweeney was the recipient of two non-combatant medals when he jumped into stormy waters to save a fellow sailor twice becoming one of only nineteen double Medal of Honor recipients of all time and the only African American to do so. On the infamous day of December 7, 1941, Peter Tomich, serving on the USS Utah, sprung to action when it became evident his ship would capsize from the two Japanese torpedoes, staying behind to man the fireroom to ensure the boilers were secured to prevent an internal fire and saving countless additional deaths.

Author Peter Zablocki reveals the harrowing stories of New Jersey's most valorous moments in the defense of our nation and freedom around the world.

Southern New Jersey was a hotbed of slave fugitives, freedmen and abolitionists in the Civil War era.

The proud 22nd Regiment of the United States Colored Troops included hundreds of Black New Jerseyans ready to fight for emancipation and the Union cause. Abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, Abigail Goodwin and Benjamin Sheppard operated among key landmarks of the Underground Railroad in South Jersey counties such as Cape May, Cumberland and Salem. Slavery and the rights of Black Americans were at the forefront of the region's attention including stories such as a melee in a Cape May hotel between Black waiters and white patrons, the covert signaling of boats ferrying fugitive slaves across the Delaware River and the daring rescue of a runway slave from the hands of slave catchers by local church worshipers. Author Ellen Alford reveals the history of abolition and the Underground Railroad in South Jersey.

During the 19th century, Paterson, New Jersey, grew from an idea of Alexander Hamilton into a manufacturing and commercial powerhouse. Paterson was a city characterized as “an arm of iron in a sleeve of silk.” A major producer of locomotives and the largest source of silk products in the nation became a fast-growing center of business and commerce. The architecture of the period displays a confidence in the city’s long-term future that created a distinctive and noteworthy urban environment. In addition, Paterson was a gateway city for thousands of immigrant families. Although its long-term prominence as a manufacturing center did not endure, the city’s products and people impacted the nation and the world. The photographs in this book, largely from the archives of the Paterson Museum, highlight the city’s progression during its period of greatest growth and prominence. Focusing on the city’s architectural heritage in a variety of building types, the images illuminate the city’s growth, fortunes, and the heritage of a complex community during its most dynamic period. 

Author Richard Polton is a Paterson native trained in architecture, planning, and urban history. He has compiled photographs from the period to reveal the evolution of the nation’s first intentional industrial city’s transforming the ideas of Alexander Hamilton into a vibrant place that reflects its economic prowess. 

Atlantic City Revisited documents the fascinating history of this famous New Jersey city.

In 1854, a group of engineers and railroad businessmen drew a straight line from Philadelphia to the New Jersey coast, built a railroad along the line, and created Atlantic City. From the 1850s to the 1950s, the city attracted the creme of American society and the working class alike and gave birth to the beauty pageant, rolling chair, boardwalk, saltwater taffy, jitney, and the successful Monopoly board game. But the onset of air travel in the 1950s and the aging grand hotels brought Atlantic City to its knees. The opening of Resorts International in 1978 and the prosperous gaming business that followed in its wake helped the city rise from its own ashes, and a year-round tourism industry exploded. Garish and opulent casino hotels replaced many of the boardwalk dowagers, and new palaces transformed the once desolate marina section into a vibrant destination.

Author John E. O'Rourke recounts the crime that rocked a sleepy community and brought the nation's eyes to North Jersey.

On a spring morning in Morristown in 1992, authorities discovered a car idling in a driveway with the door open and the driver missing. After they learned the driver was Sidney Reso, the president of Exxon International, the FBI joined the investigation. Over the next two months, law enforcement received cryptic communications that led to a cat-and-mouse chase for those responsible. Retired cop Arthur Seale and his wife, Irene, demanded one of the largest ransoms in U.S. history, and authorities struggled to solve the case.