ATLANTIC COUNTY

Absecon Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-646-2537, 609-576-8103

Address: Howlett Hall Museum, 100 New Jersey Ave., Absecon

More Info: Artifacts and ephemera related to Absecon history.

Absecon Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keeper's Museum

Phone Number: 609-449-1360

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays to Mondays.

Admission: $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for children ages 4 to 12, $3 for Atlantic City residents and free for active military.

Address: 31 S. Rhode Island Ave., Atlantic City

More Info: New Jersey's tallest, and the country's third tallest lighthouse, first lit in 1857. Two-acre site features the 153 year old lighthouse tower, rising 171 feet with 228 steps and the original first-order Fresnel lens in place at the top. Free parking, exhibits, Keeper's Cottage More Info, two-acre lawn for picnics, and gift shop. Fresnel lens exhibit and live video feed from the top for those not able to climb. Educational programs and special events offered. Admission to climb; group rates available.

African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, Inc.

Phone Number: 609-704-5495

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays. Saturday by appointment

Address: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 661 Jackson Road, P.O. Box 39, Newtonville, Buena Vista Township

More Info: More than 7,000 items of Martin Luther King, Jr. memorabilia and other items of the civil rights movement, the African-American portrayal in advertising, African-American artwork and local African-American history. An "African American Heritage Traveling More Info" is available for schools, churches, and organizations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Atlantic City Historical Museum

Phone Number: 609-347-5839

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Address: Garden Pier, New Jersey Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City

More Info: Exhibitions: "Shore Deco: Atlantic City Design between the Wars, 1919-1939," "Boardwalk Ballyhoo: The Magic of Atlantic City," and rotating thematic photographic exhibits. Collection: Founded in 1984, the Atlantic City Historical More Info is a non-profit corporation established to encourage the acquisition, preservation, and appreciation of Atlantic City history through More Info exhibits, educational outreach and programs that are culturally inclusive.

Atlantic Heritage Center

Phone Number: 609-927-5218

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Address: 907 Shore Road, Somers Point

More Info: Includes furniture, clothing, textiles, equipment and tools including those from early maritime and shipbuilding industries. Owns the Risley Homestead (see listing). Collection: Census of south Jersey counties, IGI, cemetery records, vital statistics, church records, deeds, family history books, genealogist collections, obituaries, local newspapers, account books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and early books. The Atlantic Heritage Center has partnered with the American Folklife Center and the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project (VHP) for and Oral History Project. It also a newsletter and annual research yearbook. Presents special public programs. Formerly known as Atlantic County Historical Society.

Brigantine Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-266-9339

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and 1to 4 Sundays from Memorial Day through Columbus Day weekend

Address: 3607 Brigantine Blvd., Brigantine

More Info: Exhibits include a large collection of photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries, ship models and many other artifacts from Brigantine history. Monthly programs are offered.

Casto House and Northfield Museum

Phone Number: 609-383-1505

Hours: 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays

Address: Birch Grove Park, 1700 Burton Ave., Northfield, NJ 08225

More Info: Specializes in Northfield photographs and memorabilia, including school history, sports and organizations. Limited genealogical records are available.

Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation

Phone Number: 609-441-9064

Address: 1721 McKinley Ave., Atlantic City

More Info: The organization is named for the Atlantic City beach at Missouri Avenue where African Americans through the early 1950s were socially restricted. When thousands of vacationing families flocked to the shore with their chicken laden picnic hampers, the strip became affectionately nicknamed "Chicken Bone Beach." The Atlantic City Council passed an ordinance Aug. 6, 1997 declaring the Missouri Avenue beach a local historical land site. The organization's collection includes a wide range of materials but highlights African-American musicians and entertainers who performed in Atlantic City.

Egg Harbor City Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-965-9073, 609-965-4677

Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays

Address: 533 London Ave.

More Info: The Roundhouse Museum is in a building which was once part of the Dr. Smith's Neutral Waters Health Resort ca. 1905. Most of the museum is handicapped accessible. The museum contains memorabilia, artifacts, and photographs featuring local industries, civic organizations, churches. Here's an interesting bit of trivia - the community was established by German immigrants and German was the primary language until after World War I.

Holocaust Resource Center

Phone Number: 609-652-4699

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays

Address: Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Jimmie Leeds Road, Pomona, Galloway Township

More Info: An extensive repository of printed and audio-visual material about the Holocaust and other genocides. Workshops, exhibits, seminars, and symposia are presented.

James Kirk Maritime Musuem

Phone Number: 609-927-7991

Hours: Hours by appointment

Address: Linwood Library, 301 Davis Ave.

More Info: Features tools used by local baymen to gather clams and oysters in the nearby bays, as well as tools used by local shipwrights. There are hands-on exhibits where visitors can practice rope knots, caulk a boat or use tools at the workbench. Also on display are ship models by local artisan Tom Adams, including the Sindia which sank off Ocean City, a whaling ship,barkentines, and a liberty ship.

Longport Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-823-1115 or 609-822-3770

Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays during winter hours; 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Additional hours upon request.

Address: 2301 Atlantic Ave.

More Info: The museum is located in a 1939 Coast Guard Station with state and national landmark status. The seven rooms on the ground floor feature photographs and artifacts from the days of the first summer cottages Two unique features are the footboard of a bed supposedly handcrafted for Abraham Lincoln, and jail cells used in the 1950s when the building housed the police department.

Margate Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-823-6546

Hours: 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays

Address: 7 S. Washington Ave.

More Info: Old photographs, genealogical records, books, letters, advertising, political documents, antique firefighting equipment, and police memorabilia. Of note is Margate's first jail cell, bought from an old World War I U.S. Navy ship.

New Kuban Historical Society

Phone Number: 856-697-2255

Hours: By appointment only

Address: 228 Don Road, Buena

More Info: A collection of artifacts and paintings of Cossack history as an outgrowth of the Cossack development in Buena Vista Township.

Noyes Museum of Art

Phone Number: 609-652-8848

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m Sundays

Address: Lily Lake Road, Oceanville, Galloway Township

More Info: Exhibits include fine art, crafts and folk art with an emphasis on New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic Region. Admission: $4 adults, $3 seniors and students.

Somers Mansion House Museum

Phone Number: 609-927-2212

Hours: 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays. Admission is free.

Address: 1000 Shore Road, Somers Point

More Info: Somers Mansion was built around 1725 by Richard Somers, the son of an early settler. The three-story brick dwelling, the oldest house in Atlantic County, contains 18th-century furnishings. An interesting architectural detail is the interior woodwork decorated with heart-shaped perforations. A textile collection includes locally fashioned quilts, coverlets and samplers. Maintained and operated by the N.J. Department of Parks and Forestry.

Somers Point Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-927-2900

Hours: Memorial Day to Labor Day: call for specific hours. Off season: hours by appointment only.

Address: 745 Shore Road.

More Info: More than 2,000 vintage and current pictures of Somers Point, scrapbooks from 1941 to the present and historical artifacts.

Ventnor City Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-487-2226

Hours: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Address: 6500 Atlantic Ave., part of library and Cultural Arts Complex

More Info: Artifacts and ephemera of Ventnor City and seashore history, including natural history.

CAPE MAY COUNTY

Avalon Museum & Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-967-0090

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays

Address: 215 39th St.

More Info: Regional history and shore points including photos and relics.

George F. Boyer Historical Museum

Phone Number: 609-523-0277

Hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays to June 14, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays June 15 to Labor Day

Address: 3907 Pacific Ave., Wildwood

More Info: Historical pictures and memorabilia of the Wildwoods. Operated by the Wildwood Historical Society.

Cape May County Historical Museum

Phone Number: 609-465-3535

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays Memorial Day to Labor Day, then 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Address: In the John Holmes House, built in 1755. 504 Route 9, Cape May Court House

More Info: Maritime, military and domestic items from Cape May's colonial and Victorian history.

The Colonial House

Phone Number: 609-884-9100

Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays

Address: Washington and Franklin streets, Cape May

More Info: Life in Cape May in the 1700s, the Colonial House is the oldest house in Cape May.

Emlen Physick Estate

Phone Number: 609-884-5404

Hours: Open year-round, daily spring through fall

Address: Mid-Atlanatic Center for the Arts and Humanities, 1048 Washington St., Cape May

More Info: Victorian mansion built for a Cape May physician in 1878. The restoration of the mansion helped spark renewed interest in Victorian dwellings in Cape May.

Flyertown Toy Train Museum

Phone Number 609-624-3173

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Address: 2044 N Route 9, Cape May Court House

More Info: Model railroad displays include miniature cities, villages and industries. Passenger and freights trains. Adults: $2.50, children 5 to 12 years $1.50, younger than 5 years free.

Historic Cold Spring Village

Phone Number: 609-898-2300

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays May through October

Address: 729 Route 9 (Seashore Road), Cape May

More Info: Re-enactment of a rural community in the mid 19th century. Adults $7, Children 3 to 12 years $5.

Naval Air Station Wildwood

Phone Number: 609-886-8787

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Address: Cape May County Airport, 500 Forrestal Road

More Info: Historic fighter planes and aircraft hangar. See the planes that won World War II. Adults $4, children $2

Ocean City Historical Museum

Phone Number: 609-399-1801

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays

Address: 1735 Simpson Ave.

More Info: Contains 19th and 20th century furniture, Sindia shipwreck.

Stone Harbor Museum

Phone Number: 609-368-7500

Hours: 10 a.m. to noon weekdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays

Address: 235 93rd St.

More Info: No admission

OCEAN COUNTY

Ocean County Historical Society Museum

Phone Number: 732-341-1880

Hours: 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 1 to 4 p.m. first Saturdays

Address: 26 Hadley Ave., Toms River

Web Site: http://www.oceancountyhistory.org

More Info: There is a catalog of more than 8,000 volumes, a large collection of historic documents, maps, cemetery records, census data, and Ocean County newspapers dating back to 1852.

Barnegat Historical Society

Phone Number: 609-698-3788

Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays Memorial Day through Labor Day. Call for private group tour.

Address: Heritage Village, 575 E. Bay Ave.

Web Site: http://www.barnegathistoricalsociety.com

More Info: The Heritage Village consists of four major buildings and three smaller structures - the Lippincott-Faulkenburg House, the Barber Shop, the Edwards House, the Butcher Shop, a corn crib, a motel cabin and a three-hole necessary.

Barnegat Light Museum

Phone: 609-494-8578

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends June, September and October; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily July and August

Address: 5th Street and Central Ave.

Web Site: http://www.bl-hs.org

More Info: Contains local artifacts and pictures in the 106-year-old restored schoolhouse museum

Bay Head Historical Society Museum

Phone Number: 732-892-0223

Hours: noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Address: Corner of Bridge and Bay Avenues., Bay Head

More Info: Located in Loveland Homestead, an authentic farmhouse which was built in 1867 by the Loveland family, a prominent family from England. There are a number of historical vessels on display, including a 1940s era Hankins rowboat, a 14-foot Sandpiper sailboat used since the early 1930s on Twilight Lake and a 19-foot Lighting Sailboat.The lighting has been restored and is in excellent condition.

Giffordtown Schoolhouse Museum

Phone Number: 609-294-1547

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays June to October

Address: 35 Leitz Blvd., and Wisteria Lane, Little Egg Harbor Township

Web Site: http://www.tuckertonlehhs.org

More Info: The Museum contains a large collection of artifacts relating to the Tuckerton (Clamtown) area including original documents concerning Ebenezer Tucker for whom Tuckerton was named. Also a collection of Quaker memorabilia, antique furniture, exhibits of the Tuckerton Railroad and the famous Tuckerton Wireless Tower

Long Beach Island Historical Association

Phone Number: 609-492-0700

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays to May 23 and Sept. 8 through Oct. 5; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays June 23 to Sept. 7

Address: Engleside and Beach avenues, Beach Haven

Web Site: http://www.lbimuseum.org

More Info: $3 donation requested

Museum of New Jersey Maritime History

Phone Number: 609-492-0202

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily in June; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily July and August; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays Saturdays and Sundays September through May

Address: Dock Road and West Avenue, Beach Haven

Web Site: http://www.museumofnjmh.com

More info: Contains educational exhibits and maritime presentations.

New Jersey Museum of Boating

Phone Number: 732-859-4767

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

Address: 1800 Bay Ave., Buildings 12 and 13, Point Pleasant

Web Site: http://www.njmb.org

More Info: Museum is at Johnson Brothers Boat Works and recently expanded to house boat models, an art gallery and other items.

Point Pleasant Historical Society Museum

Phone Number: 732-892-3091

Hours: 1 to 5 p.m. second Thursdays or by appointment

Address: 416 New Jersey Ave., Point Pleasant Beach

Web Site: http://www.pointpleasanthistory.com

More info: Includes huge collection of post cards a growing collection of pictures and articles.

Stafford Township Historical Society Inc.,

Phone Number: 609-597-5947

Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays

Address: Heritage Park, West Bay Avenue, Manahawkin

More Info: Includes the rebuilt Old Stone Store which stands today in the same place it did in the mid to late 1700s. Also in the park is the Manahawkin Train Station which has been moved from its original location and has been refinished

Toms River Seaport Society and Maritime Museum

Phone Number: 732-349-9209

Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays

Address: Hooper Avenue and East Water Street

Web Site: http://www.tomsriverseaport.org

More Info: The Toms River Seaport Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the maritime heritage of the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. It was founded in 1976.

Tuckerton Seaport

Phone Number: 609-296-8868

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Address: 120 W. Main St.

Web Site: http://www.tuckertonseaport.org

More Info: The Tuckerton Seaport is a working maritime village located along Tuckerton Creek. It brings the Jersey shore's maritime traditions of the past and present to life through people, exhibits and hands-on activities.