Atlantic Highlands Historical Society

05/17/2026

Reminder: This Tuesday, May 19th AHHS Speaker Series: The Maritime History of NJ

Tuesday, May 19th at 7:30 pm. Steve Schwankert, local author and documentary filmmaker will open the 2026 Atlantic Highlands Historical Society speaker series.
His talk on “The Maritime History of New Jersey” is part of the Society’s series celebrating America 250. Steve is a popular speaker whom the Society has hosted in the past. An avid historian and deep sea diver, he is the author of “The Six”, about the Chinese survivors of the Titanic, and “Poseidon: China’s Secrete Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine”. New Jersey has a rich maritime history. Positioned at the hub of the Revolutionary War, it saw naval

action, privateering, and commercial shipping from New York Harbor to Philadelphia. In the early years of our country shipping of all kinds sailed up and down the coast. For many immigrants the coast of New Jersey was their first look at their new country. New Jersey was often in the thick of naval action during wartime, protecting the coast from enemy ships including N**i U-boats during the World Wars I and II. Due to ongoing restoration work at the Strauss Mansion Museum, the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council has graciously agreed to host our speaker series at their Gallery, located at 54 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands.

05/11/2026

While the important work of restoration takes place, we must temporarily close for the safety of our volunteers and patrons. During this time, we will still be active in our community, presenting programming in alternative venues and, of course, participating
in the America 250 celebration. Our traditional fundraising events are scheduled as
follows:

Arts & Crafts Festival
Saturday, July 18 th from 10 am to 4 pm in Veterans Park
Dozens of area artists and crafters will display their handmade pieces for sale. Spend the day at the Festival and stay for the FilmOne Fest, produced by the Atlantic
Highlands Arts Council, which takes place in the evening at the Marina.

History Cruise aboard the Navesink Queen
Sunday, July 26th from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Marina
Join us for the final voyage on the Navesink Queen as we enjoy a sunset cruise around Sandy Hook Bay, highlighted by a presentation from premier local historian Muriel
Smith. Ticket includes a meal of sandwiches, salads and snacks.
Flea Market Saturday, September 12th from 10 am to 4 pm at the Marina. Now in its 46th year, our annual flea market fundraiser is one of the largest in the area. Over 100 vendors will participate, many of whom have been in this event since it
started!

Tuesday, May 19th at 7:30 pm. Steve Schwankert, local author and documentary filmmaker will open the 2026 Atlantic Highlands Historical Society speaker series. His talk on “The Maritime History of New Jersey” is part of the Society’s series celebrating America 250. Steve is a popular speaker whom the Society has hosted in
the past. An avid historian and deep sea diver, he is the author of “The Six”, about the Chinese survivors of the Titanic, and “Poseidon: China’s Secrete Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine”. New Jersey has a rich maritime history. Positioned at the hub of the
Revolutionary War, it saw naval action, privateering and commercial shipping from New York Harbor to Philadelphia. In the early years of our country shipping of all kinds sailed up and down the coast. For many immigrants the coast of New Jersey was their first
look at their new country. New Jersey was often in the thick of naval action during wartime, protecting the coast from enemy ships including N**i U-boats during the World Wars I and II. Due to ongoing restoration work at the Strauss Mansion Museum, the
Atlantic Highlands Arts Council has graciously agreed to host our speaker series at their Gallery, located at 54 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands.

Send a message to learn more

05/11/2026

THE STRAUSS MANSION IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR RESTORATION

The unusually harsh winter took a toll on the Strauss Mansion Museum this year. A
combination of lower than normal temperatures, an area-wide 13-hour power blackout,
and a furnace that did not survive the power surge resulted in a pipe burst that led to
water intrusion through three floors. The affected area included our bathroom, visitor
center, kitchen and office. This video of the damage shows the severity and extent of the
deluge.

03/04/2026

Please also note:

The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society at the Strauss Mansion Museum is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Send a message to learn more

03/04/2026

The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society

Welcome to 2026!

The past year has been an active one here at the Strauss Mansion. We continued to expand our program offerings and events to our public. We sponsored lectures on local historic topics, a variety of film and program events, and the annual Arts & Crafts Fest as well as the Flea Market. Your support has made much of that possible!

Our aggressive pursuit of County and State grants has allowed us to undertake critical structural repairs. Your tax-deductible contributions have gone a long way to achieving our goals. In addition, our dedicated volunteers and board members performing repairs and maintenance have helped us to better direct funds to our programs, events, and ongoing structural repairs and maintenance. This important work enables us to keep the Strauss Mansion in top shape for our visitors.

This past year, we have been successful in addressing several major building and grounds projects, including major repair work from roof leaks and water damage on our second and third floors. With an 1893 grand old mansion, our work is never-ending. This particularly harsh winter presented us with additional challenges. Very recently, the mansion sustained considerable damage from two frozen pipe bursts, which caused water intrusion from the second floor down to the basement. We are awaiting estimates for repairs and insurance coverage.

You can help with these efforts! By sending a tax-deductible contribution, you can play a role in enabling us to keep the museum open and offer our visitors meaningful exhibits and experiences that highlight the history of our borough and the Bayshore area.

Please consider donating and becoming members of the Society. You can fill out the form here and mail it with your contribution to our address at Atlantic Highlands Historical Society, PO Box 108, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716, or donate on our website, https://www.ahhistory.org/donate. And to those who have already renewed your memberships and donated to our organization, we are so grateful to every one of you for your continued support.

Thank you for being part of our history!

Sincerely,
Lynne Petillo, President
And The Board of The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society

Atlantic Highlands Historical Society
27 Prospect Circle
Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716



The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society

PO Box 108

Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716

www.ahhistory.org


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03/03/2026

12/24/2025

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday season. And, our hope for a better 2026. Thanks again to Christine Burke for the use of her beautiful picture of our Strauss Mansion Museum.

12/20/2025

We are saddened to recently hear about the passing of our dear friend and past Board Member, Antoinette Knittel. Not only did she work tirelessly to keep our Strauss Mansion Museum going, but she was also the co-founder, along side Fran Mussone, of the very successful St. Agnes Thrift Shop. She will be deeply be missed.

View Antoinette A Knittel's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

12/18/2025

Just a reminder, we will be having our Christmas Concert tonight. The Henry Hudson Regional High School A Ca****la Choir will be entertaining us with their festive holiday music. This free event will be taking place at the Strauss Mansion Museum. We are located at 27 Prospect Circle. Doors open at 7pm with concert starting at 7:30pm. Refreshments served after the concert. Even though this is a free event, we always accept donations. Also, please consider bringing a non-pershable food item or baby product to be donated to our local food pantry.

12/14/2025

We are canceling our open house for this afternoon. However, we are still having the upcoming free choral concert Thursday, December 18th. Check back for other updates. Stay warm everyone!