Panel seeks assistance in preserving Jamesburg history

The Jamesburg Historical Association has proclaimed 2005 as The Year to Save History: 320 Years in the Making, 1685-2005. The first room of Lakeview, the famed Buckelew House and today Jamesburg’s town museum, was constructed in 1685.

In order to preserve Jamesburg’s quickly fading history, I have launched a Web site, http://savehistory.jamesburg.net, that features a “wish list” of items that have been sold on eBay or at auctions.

The historical association could not purchase these items due to a lack of funds. The Web site also features pictures and descriptions of donated items, information about the Jamesburg Historical Association and the history of Jamesburg.

The association is asking area residents and individuals who have a Jamesburg connection to look through closets, attics and drawers for items that pertain to Jamesburg or to the immediate area and consider donating the finds for display throughout Lakeview.

To donate items and further enhance Lakeview’s collections, please contact me, Thomas Bodall, borough historian, at (732) 521-2040 (leave message) or by e-mail, webmaster@jamesburg.net. Items may also be mailed to the Jamesburg Historical Association, 203 Buckelew Ave., Jamesburg, NJ 08831, or dropped off on the second and fourth Sunday of each month between 2 and 4 p.m. during Lakeview’s open houses. For more information about the Jamesburg Historical Association, visit www.jamesburghistory.com.

History will not save itself. It is our civic responsibility to see that memorabilia pertaining to days gone by be preserved and archived properly in a museum setting so that future generations may learn about society’s current ways of life, events and people.

The sun is setting on the history, culture and heritage of the past. If it is not saved today, the past will become but a mere memory.

Thomas C. Bodall

Jamesburg Borough Historian