County book tells story
of 53 Monmouth towns
By dick metzgar
Staff Writer
While Monmouth County’s 53 municipalities have many common links, each town has its own individual character and history that set it apart from all the others.
Some of this history is chronicled in a book recently published by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Town by Town, Impressions of Monmouth County.
The publication contains a capsulized history of each municipality, but it is much more than just a history of each town. Each town’s story is authored by a local historian or town official selected by its mayor, and written in an individual style with various tidbits of information and local color that give each municipality its uniqueness.
The book can be purchased for $10 at the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Freehold. Written requests should be mailed to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Market Yard, Freehold 07728, c/o Michelle Dempsey. Checks should be made payable to the Monmouth County Treasurer.
The book is dedicated to George H. Moss Jr., of Rumson, the Monmouth County historian who has written a number of books on the history of Monmouth County and who wrote the preface to this volume.
"These personal presentations are as interesting and diverse as the many boroughs and townships within the county," Moss wrote. "In some instances, only one or two particular events were noted, while other writers attempted to condense hundreds of years of history onto two pages.
"This book is like a patchwork quilt," he continued. "It is made up of small pieces that create the final product. Each of the chapters are obviously but a small part of this book, but together they represent a glimpse of the larger history of Monmouth County."
In the introduction to the book, County Clerk M. Claire French writes: "I recognize the importance of preserving many different aspects of our unique New Jersey history. It is my hope that this book, although not documenting in detail the history of Monmouth County, will be a source of enjoyment and give to our citizens some insight into their town’s beginnings and the part they have played in making Monmouth County what it is today."
The 53 municipalities were formed from parts of the county’s original three townships — Freehold, Middletown and Shrewsbury.
Here are a few typical tidbits that can be gleaned from the book’s essays:
• The area of what is now Colts Neck was formed from the three original townships, and the resulting new Atlantic Township was incorporated in 1847. In 1963, Atlantic Township became officially known as Colts Neck Township.
• The Village Inn in Englishtown, built in 1726, served as a stagecoach stop for travelers between the cities of New York and Philadelphia.
• When Howell Township was formed in 1801, Farmingdale, which was then known as Marsh’s Bog, was a part of it. In 1815, Marsh’s Bog changed its name to Upper Squankum and was finally renamed Farmingdale in 1854. It is today a separate entity from Howell.
• Freehold has been a town longer than America has been a nation, the first Dutch and Scottish settlers arriving in the 1680s and establishing a village on the Burlington Path, an Indian trail that crossed New Jersey along the area of present-day Route 537 from Burlington County to the shore.
• One of the first Scots in the Freehold area was a man named John Reid, who had actually served as surveyor-general of the province at one time. It was Reid who, in 1713, donated land to build the first courthouse in Freehold Township, commonly known as Monmouth Courthouse in those early days, becoming the county seat, which it remains today.