Speaker Series Presentation – John Hebble, Batsto Historian to Present ‘Rascals of the Pinelands’

The Historical Society of Hammonton (HSH) presents another fun FREE-to-the-public Speaker Series event on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 7:00 PM at the Canoe Club Senior Center, Hammonton Lake Park.

‘Pine Robbers’, pirates, folk-heroes, murders, hangings, and other rascality’s! John Hebble, Batsto Historian, is keenly aware of the ecological treasures and the cultural importance of New Jersey’s beautiful green Pinelands, but he also knows that we certainly have had more than our fair share of very colorful historic characters, and their deeds, misdeeds, and crazy events since colonial days!

Come learn about the Pine Robbers who prowled the forests during the American Revolution, playing havoc with both sides.  John Bacon, Joe Mulliner and others, who used the difficult terrain of the Pine Barrens to conceal their activities.  The eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries were rich with ‘Rascals’ in the pinelands.  Sensational national headlines are nothing new either.  The Lilliendahl murder, the attempted murder of Andrew Ryder, then known as the ‘Cranberry King of New Jersey’, each elevated the sordid history of the Pine Barrens to national prominence.

The Historical Society of Hammonton Museum preserves the rich social, political economic and multi-cultural heritage of our town and its people. Our mission is to increase awareness of Hammonton’s history, and to establish public access to that history by collecting, conserving, interpreting and promoting it to the widest possible audience. Our historic 188s (former Town Hall/Library/Kindergarten) Museum, a treasure itself, is located behind Hammonton Veterans Memorial  park in Leo Club Park at Veterans Memorial Park open to the public Tuesdays 10 a.m. to noon and every Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. New volunteers always welcome! Join the fun and learn about our great town!

If you can’t attend the presentation, you can find them on our YouTube channel, or you can come in and play back recordings of this and dozens of other past presentations. Monthly meetings and presentations will continue the first Thursday of each month.

Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs within the Department of State, through funds administered by the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.

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