Sayreville Historical Society

09/07/2026

Monday Memory

With the school year underway, here are some memories of Sayreville schools and students from years gone by.

Recognize any faces or places? Any memories to share?

The 1909 Town Hall/Firehouse is included as it provided classroom space during a period of overcrowding in 1913. The Sayreville Historical Society Museum was originally New School No. 1.

Sayreville Historical Society Archives
Alan Karmin Collection
Kuczynski Family Collection
"Our Town"
"A Municipal History of Sayreville" by Joseph T. Karcher
Perth Amboy Evening News, Oct. 6, 1913

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from the Sayreville Historical Society!

Labor Day Weekend traditionally marks the start of the new school, the end of summer, and social prohibitions against wearing white.

The history of Labor Day -- you knew you were going to have some history, right? -- has its roots in the Labor Movement of the late 19th century. Factory workers, including children, worked 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, often in dangerous, unhealthy conditions. Workers unionized and struggled for better conditions.

President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a holiday for federal workers in 1894. Becoming an official holiday for all workers would take longer.

So today, relax and enjoy a rest from work. And as for wearing white tomorrow? We won't tell anyone if you do.

Sayreville Historical Society Archives
friscochamber.com
uniontrack.com
history.com
lapl.org

09/06/2026

The Sayreville Historical Society Museum will be closed today in celebration of the Labor Day Weekend.

The museum will be open on Sunday, September 20 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 425 Main Street, Sayreville, NJ.

09/06/2026

Today's Revolutionary Moment

On July 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. Earlier in the year, nine colonies had called for a congress to discuss a unified response to Parliament's Intolerable Acts, which severely punished Boston and Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party. Across the colonies, many feared they would targeted next.

All but Georgia sent representatives to Philadelphia. Delegates included John and Samuel Adams, George Washington, John Jay, and Patrick Henry. While the congress sought peace with the king, its members also discussed grievances and rights.

By the time it adjourned in October, the Congress agreed that if one colony was attacked, the other colonies would defend it; issued a Declaration and Resolves condemning the British Parliament and King George III for interfering in colonial matters and granted each colony the right to a colonial treasury and legislature; passed the Suffolk Resolves in defiance of the Intolerable Acts; set up the Continental Association to enforce a national embargo of trade with Great Britain; called for the training of a colonial militia; and issued a petition, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, to King George, a precursor to the Declaration of Independence.

However, the most fateful decision of the First Continental Congress was to call for a Second Continental Congress to meet in 1776 and respond to any further British actions.

"New Jersey in the American Revolution, 1763-1783, A Chronology" by Dennis P. Ryan
pbs.org
bostonteapartyship.com
mountvernon.org
history.com
theconstitutional.com

09/03/2026

Today's Revolutionary Moment

The American Revolution officially ended on September 3, 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed by American and British representatives.

"His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and Independent States . . . " reads the first article of the treaty.

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay were the main American negotiators of the treaty. Another American, Henry Laurens, was instrumental in the final negotiations, but missed the early talks as he was being held in the Tower of London. After negotiating military and financial support from the Netherlands, Laurens was arrested on his voyage home when his ship was seized by the British navy.

Laurens was the only American imprisoned in the tower during the revolution.

"New Jersey in the American Revolution, 1763-1783, A Chronology" by Dennis P. Ryan
thirteen.org
americainclass.org
archives.gov
history.com
battlefields.org

09/02/2026

Today, on September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered to Allied leaders aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Although Allied service members and civilians had celebrated when Emperor Hirohito announced the end of hostilities in August, weeks would pass before the surrender was formalized.

The surrender ceremonies were loaded with symbolism. The US and its allies sailed more than 300 ships of all varieties and from many nations into the bay, echoing on a more powerful scale, Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival in 1853. The Missouri, the site of the signing, had seen seen action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Several months earlier, the Mighty Mo had been hit in a kamikaze attack.

Thousands of American sailors, representatives of the Allied nations, and journalists stared at the 11 Japanese delegates at the ceremony.

“A million eyes seemed to beat on us with the million shafts of a rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire,” recalled Japanese diplomat Toshikazu Kase. “Never have I realized that the glance of glaring eyes could hurt so much. We waited . . . standing in the public gaze like penitent boys awaiting the dreaded schoolmaster.”

time.com
nationalworldwar2museum.org
archives.gov
osti.gov
life.com

09/01/2026

On September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland, thus beginning World War II, the deadliest international conflict. Between 60 and 80 million people, including six million Jews, are estimated to have died in the war.

Germany's leader, Adolph Hi**er, claimed "Polish provocations" as the reason for the invasion. In reality, it was a part of Hi**er's belief that Germans, the Master Race, needed more living space and other countries stood in the way of A***n dominance. Hi**er believed the Poles were an inferior race who could be easily defeated and enslaved.

Within days, the SS "Death's Head" regiments were terrorizing civilians. Concentrations camps were soon established for slave labor and the extermination of Hi**er's enemies and other minority groups.

Poland's invasion introduced the world to Germany's new style of battle, the Blitzkrieg: tank divisions, supported by the Luftwaffe, raced forward and punched holes in the Polish defenses, with shocking speed and strength.

time.com
worldwar2facts.org
history.com
nationalworldwar2museum.org

09/01/2026

Today's Revolutionary Moment

On September 1, 1780, Militia Captain Joshua Huddy was captured for the first time by American Loyalists led by Colonel Tye, an escaped Monmouth County slave. Huddy's notoriety as a militia leader and privateer made him a target for those supporting the crown.

In the early morning, a band of between 25 and 60 Loyalists surrounded the Huddy tavern/homestead in Colts Neck. Inside were Huddy and a servant woman, Lucretia Emmons. Emmons is described as an African American, although the illustration depicts her as white. By loading and firing guns from windows throughout the house, the two managed to hold off the attacking force for two hours. It was only after Colonel Tye's men set the house on fire that Huddy surrendered. The attacking Loyalists put out the fire and Emmons escaped in the confusion.

While the Loyalists marched Huddy to the Shrewsbury River, the local militia jumped into pursuit to save their leader. During a battle on the beach, Huddy was shot in the leg. While being carried onto a barge, Huddy managed to jump into the water and swam toward the militia. As he swam, Huddy continually called out, "I am Huddy" to avoid being shot by his rescuers.

Huddy needed several months to recover from his injuries. However, Colonel Tye would later die when a wrist wound suffered during the fighting became infected with tetanus.

revolutionarywarnewjersey.com
njcssjournal.com
allthingsliberty.com
revolutionarynj.org