June 1: The 6th Rally for the Rivers Eco-Fest at Victory Park, Rumson.
May 2024 was the 2nd year of Grover House being on the Weekend oin Old Monmouth tour, and one again, Members were invited to celebrate the weekend!
<< Picture: Wreckers: The Land Pirates of Monmouth County, ©2021 Charlie Swerdlow, commissioned by Monmouth Timeline. John Barrows presented his research into how the people in our region responded to the devastating shipwrecks along our coast during the decades before the U.S. Life-Saving Service.
March 20: Presentation: Emma Spreckels - The Surfer Girl of Asbury Park by Vincent J Dicks.
The red arrow shows approximately where the battle took place. Sandy Hook is the background land with the Sandy Hook Lighthouse (built in 1764) shown at the end of the peninsular.
February 10: Maritime Meetup: Seal & Bird Watching Eco-Cruise with Seastreak
We then cruised into Raritan Bay to view lighthouses and traveled as far as the Verrazano Bridge.
NMHA was delighted to be able to hold its AGM and dinner at Bahrs Landing Restaurant. Over 45 members and guests attended and enjoyed a great dinner.
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Past Events and Activities in 2024
This gathering, organized each year by Rumson and Clean Ocean Action, showcased a group of environmental and ecology-friendly organizations that entertained and informed all ages through fun projects and activities throughout the morning.
Grover House, a 1730's farmhouse and NMHA's HQ, was open to the public for two days. NMHA highlighted the house construction, the history and importance of the grover famiiy to Monmouth County. Over 200 people visited during the two days.
In 1846, residents of coastal Monmouth County were accused by major New York City newspapers of heinous crimes relating to ships that wrecked along our shore. They were called “wreckers,” and were said to be rapacious criminals who put up false lights to induce wrecks, murdered survivors, and plundered cargo. But those accusations may have been nothing more than a terrible hoax. 
Was Emma Spreckels the mysterious Sandwich Island girl, the "Gay Queen of the Waves," who put on a surfing exhibition in Asbury Park in 1888, possibly the first of its kind on the East Coast? After four years of research, author Vincent Dicks of Sea Girt believed he had found the likely surfer, and she is the subject of his new novel, Forsaken Kings: Emma Spreckels, The Surfer of Asbury Park. 
Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth – these are the famous Revolutionary War battles fought in New Jersey. Yet a crucial early engagement, often overlooked and underappreciated, occurred in Highlands during the winter of 1777. In this little-remembered incident, British Major Andrew Gordon led the 26th Regiment of Foot in a surprise attack on Col. Nathaniel Scudder’s Monmouth Militia. The Whig patriots suffered 25 killed, and 72 captured. Many of the Monmouth P.O.W.s died in an infamous New York City sugar house prison after the disastrous defeat.
NMHA organized its first 'Maritime Meetup' arranging for NMHA members and friends to join one of Seatreak's seal and bird watching cruises. On a cold but clear morning, Seatreak ferry departed Highlands for Sandy Hook Bay and shoreline. There were seals everywhere!
