Joshua Huddy
“The past came to life!” Said Mayor Carolyn Broullon as 50 or more local residents crowded into the Farmacie to hear detailed letters from the time of Joshua Huddy’s hanging death read by members of the Highlands Historical Society.
The unique event, the first of its kind, was coordinated, arranged, and researched by historian Joanne Olszewski, who is also president of the Borough Council, and included readings by Broullon and explanations and details by Olszewski.
The event was held at the Farmacie, the gift shop and café at the historic four corners of Bay Ave and Miller St. and followed a presentation by historical Walter Gunther on why those four corners are historic, their impact on the entire community and what buildings and activities were on the site in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gunther, who has a vast collection of photographs from the era, spoke on Bedle’s Drug Store, a business where the Farmacie is currently located that was a family-owned business for nearly 100 years, one of three pharmacies in the borough in the 20th century.
He highlighted the working relationship between Doc Opferman, a physician and former borough mayor, with the Pharmacy, as well as spoke on the hotel, A&P and bakery that were once popular businesses on the three corners surrounding the Farmacie.
Goldstein, Gunther, and historians Rick Gefkin and Muriel Smith joined other members Linda Gunther, and Eileen Schiff and the Mayor in presenting the letters of George Washington, Thomas Paine, and other correspondence between Washington, French leaders and Capt. Charles Asgill, the British captain chosen by lot to be hung in retaliation for Huddy’s hanging in what is now Huddy Park in the Waterwitch section of the Borough.
Olszewski, who has done extensive research on the patriot and leader of the Monmouth County Men who were patriots defending the country during the Revolution, set the pace and background for the hour long presentation which captivate the standing room only crowd.
“It was an honor to read Thomas Paine’s 1872 letter condemning the barbarous and unjust act of hanging Joshua Huddy,” Broullon said to applause and thanks after the presentation. Both long time and native residents as well as new residents in the borough expressed delight at knowing so many details about the patriot from Colts Neck. Joshua Huddy was captured in the house he owned there and also owned the restaurant which is now The Colts Neck Inn.
Olszewski read the details of each of the events leading up to the series of letters, enabling guests to understand the importance of each of the 13 letters, the Monmouth Manifesto and placard attached to Huddy at the time of his hanging, as well as the Judge Advocate’s position on choosing lots that put Asgill’s life in danger.
Following the presentation, the Farmacie provided wines and other beverages as well as trays of desserts to enable guests to linger and discuss various aspects of the presentation. Farmacie owners and staff members also spoke with the guests about the more specific history of the building construction and why it was important to them to preserve as much as possible.
“I literally had shivers running up my spine,” said one resident who said she learned so much from the presentation and felt more associated with Joshua Huddy, the patriot who lost his life in Highlands. Others said they felt a new pride in the borough for its place in the Revolution, and others signed up to be members of the historical Society.
The unusual event is one in a series of unique opportunities the Society is offering within the next few weeks. Saturday, Aug. 26, there is a Victorian tea co-sponsored by this Society and the Atlantic Highlands Historic Society in that borough’s historic and Victorian Strauss Mansion, with both societies benefiting from the proceeds. On September 8, the Highlands Society is running a bus trip to the Maritime Museum at Long Beach Island, and other plans are in place to celebrate the 250th birthday of the nation in 2026.
The Joshua Huddy presentation ended with guests and letter readers joining together in reciting a 1782 poem by William H. Fischer, “They Never Scairt Josh Huddy.” The poem was published in The Patriotic Poems of New Jersey and was edited by William Clinton Armstrong for the Sons of the American Revolution in 1906.
Last night, the past came to life as Council President Jo-Anne Olszewski and members of the Historical Society read aloud the story as well as letters penned denouncing the murder of Captain Joshua Huddy on the corner of what is now Waterwitch and Shore Drive.
It’s wonderful that the Highlands Historical Society is doing so many incredible things. It always makes me proud that it still exists and has only grown over time.