America’s 250th: NJ Transit launches ‘Jersey Journeys,’ an interactive map showcasing historic sites accessible by bus and trains

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NJ Transit launched Thursday “Jersey Journeys: Every Stop Tells a Story,” an interactive map that connects historic sites by buses, light rail and trains.

The interactive map showcases the more than 150 sites in the Garden State that have ties to America’s birth 250 years ago.

“We are not just the Garden State, we’re the history state in many ways,” said NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri. “The fact that New Jersey Transit is able to contribute a little bit to educate our residents is a great honor.”

Among the transit-accessible sites that are tied to the Revolutionary War are the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church in Manalapan, which served as a field hospital for the Continental Army during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and Captain Joseph Buck Waterfront Park in Millville, which honors the war captain and Millville’s founder.

The latest initiative joins other NJ Transit campaigns that highlight Jersey offerings, such as “Transit to Trails,” which provides trip-planning information for more than 40 parks across the state, and “Pizza & Pints,” which helps people plan trips to more than 165 pizzerias, breweries, wineries and distilleries.

State Sen. Patrick Diegnan Jr., chair of the chamber’s transportation committee, said New Jersey doesn’t do enough to celebrate its historical roots.

“It drives me nuts,” he said. “If you go up to Boston, you [will] think that everything in the Revolutionary War took place in Boston. This is so important to celebrate what a great, special state we live in and how essential this state is to our democracy, to the United States of America.”

There are other historical sites on the map with ties to the nation’s history that can be accessed by NJ Transit services, including the final resting place for famed poet Walt Whitman in Camden and the Burlington County Prison Museum.

The map is also part of a broader effort by the state to mark America’s birthday in 2026, officials said. Mike Keeler, communications manager for Crossroads of the American Revolution and Revolution NJ, said “a big, long party” is being planned starting next Fourth of July.

“Our history in Jersey doesn’t even really get going until that fall, and Washington crosses the Delaware in December … at which point we start a seven-year run through the American Revolution,” he said. “There will be people alive that will be 5 or 6 years old when this is over, who aren’t even alive yet.”