SPEAKER SERIES
JOSHUA HUDDY & THE TOMS RIVER
BLOCK HOUSE
As part of our commitment to present programs that commemorate the role New Jersey played in the fight for Independence, we have Joshua Huddy coming to relate the story of the fight for the Toms River block house and battle for Toms River. Early in 1782, while the Treaty of Paris was being negotiated, Patriots in Toms River sent for militia Captain Joshua Huddy to come to defend the Block House from British invaders. On March 24th, while guarding the blockhouse with 25 men, loyalists 125 strong, seized the blockhouse and overwhelmed Captain Huddy. Come hear the whole story from Joshua Huddy himself.
WHEN Monday, April 20th, 2026 | 7:00pm
WHERE The Ocean County Artist Guild, 22 Chestnut St. Island Heights, NJ 087632
TICKETS
Free Admission, Donations Appreciated
SPEAKER SERIES
LOST AT SEA: THE COLLAPSE OF THE TEXAS TOWER
Imagine a wall of water more than 100 feet high slamming into the three-legged U.S. Air Force radar tower stationed 85 miles at sea. The ill-fated Texas Tower (TT-4) 85 miles off the coast of New Jersey, toppled in a violent nor’easter on January 15, 1961 and cost the lives of 28 airmen and civilians stationed onboard. The Texas Towers so named because they resembled Texas oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, housed radar equipment in 3 rubber domes and extended the U.S. monitoring capabilities for almost 150 miles in the ocean. They were critical for providing at least a 45-minute warning in the event of a Soviet Union attack from the north or east. Learn how decisions made that day sent 28 good men to a watery grave at sea as recounted by a member of the U.S. Air Force.
WHEN Monday, May 18th, 2026 | 7:00pm
WHERE The Ocean County Artist Guild, 22 Chestnut St. Island Heights, NJ 087632
TICKETS
Free Admission, Donations Appreciated