Ongs Hat Hat Ar

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Tricia6690

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Jul 9, 2004
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Very interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
Now I know four versions of how Ong's Hat got its name. I wonder how many versions there are out there....
 
Boyd

Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
I was just looking through my 12 year old copy of "Fifty Hikes In New Jersey" and stumbled across another version of the Ong story:
ONG’S HAT

From “Fifty Hikes in New Jerseyâ€
Page 211

But what, you must be asking, is Ong’s Hat? Ong’s Hat is the name of this very, very small town (town?) facing you. The story of its name begins in the early 1700’s when Jacob Ong built a tavern here. He was a Quaker from Pennsylvania who apparently strayed from the steady course and took a liking to dancing and flirting. The tavern, which made an excellent halfway stop for stagecoaches traveling between Philadelphia and the Jersey shore, soon became the scene of some wild goings-on, and in 1715 the history-making event occurred. Jacob got into a fight with one of his girlfriends who, in the midst of a jealous rage, grabbed the hat off his head and threw it high into a huge oak tree beside the tavern. For years the hat remained caught in the high branches, and passersby would frequently say, “look, there’s Ong’s Hat.†It took a while, but in 1828 the town got recognition on the offcial New Jersey maps, and it is also shown on the USGS Browns Mills quad. As for the tree, well, it was cut down in 1978 by the county highway department. The present “Ong’s Hat Family Restaurant†and the market next door mark the spot where all this action took place.
Click to expand...
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

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Oct 25, 2002
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1715 you say? That's wild, it was 100 years before Martha was peaking as a furnace town. Its hard to put that in perspective, having the Martha townspeople look back at his time as if it was a long time ago.
 
Boyd

Boyd

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I have never really tried to research the topic. Why is it not plausible that there was a tavern there in 1715?

Actually, my friend and I are developing a script for an independent film which has a connection with Ong's Hat. It will be purely fictional, but the 18th century time frame would fit nicely with what we have in mind. Of course, early 19th century might work also. What do you feel would be a more "reasonable" period, and who do you think Ong was?...
 
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