MILLSTONE – Officials in Millstone Township have received $113,000 from Monmouth County that will allow them to purchase land that is next to an historic structure.
During a recent Township Committee meeting, officials acknowledged the receipt of a letter from the Monmouth County Park System congratulating the township on the $113,000 grant to be used for the acquisition of 510 Stagecoach Road.
The property at 510 Stagecoach Road borders the Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church, 512 Stagecoach Road, and is 0.495 acres, according to municipal officials.
Millstone Township’s receipt of the $113,000 follows the committee’s passage of a resolution in 2017 regarding the second phase of a project at the Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church, which no longer functions as a house of worship.
The resolution authorized the submission of an application to the Monmouth County Municipal Open Space Grant Program seeking that amount in county open space trust funds for the second phase of the local project.
According to municipal officials, the purpose of the second phase is to acquire the parcel at 510 Stagecoach Road. Officials said that as of April 18, they had not determined what uses would take place on the property if it is acquired.
The total cost of the second phase is $225,000, according to the resolution, and the project is intended to have the former church deemed a cultural resource.
The Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1844 and is the second oldest Methodist church building in Monmouth County. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building was purchased by the township in the late 1990s and has been used as a location for municipal events and programs. Parking for the community events is very limited on the church property and along Stagecoach Road.
Restoration work on the historic building was completed in 2017 after structural issues surfaced and temporarily suspended activities at the site. Millstone Township received $250,000 from the county which was used to restore the church during the first phase of the project.
Municipal officials have said they are committed to the project and will provide the balance of funding necessary to complete it, according to the resolution that was passed in 2017.