Kathleen Cody Bjelka

Shrewsbury Township was incorporated in 1798. It was first settled soon after the township of Middletown, in 1664.

In 1682 several thousand acres were under cultivation. The population is 6330. The principal towns are Red Bank, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury, Fair Haven, and Oceanic.

This township, which originally covered a large part of Monmouth and Ocean counties, is now greatly shorn of its dimensions. It is bounded on the north by Middletown Township; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Eatontown and Ocean townships; on the sourth by Wall, and on the west by Atlantic and Middletown townships.

Shrewsbury is the largest village in the northern part of the township, twelve miles east of Freehold, and is situated in a thriving agricultural district. It had one Episcopal and one Presbyterian church and two Friends' meeting-houses. It is said to have been first settled by Congregationalists, but the Society of Friends was first organized.

The Episcopalian church was chartered in 1738. It is supposed that meetings of this society had been held at this place much earlier. The oldest record of the church is in January, 1733. George Keith, who had formerly been a minister in the Society of Friends, seems to have been instrumental in establishing the Episcopal church at this place.

In and about the church edifice are preserved many relics of the olden time. The steeple is surmoundted with a golden ball and a royal crown, the old emblems of British sovereignty. The ball is pierced with bullet-holes, and one ball was found imbedded in the stairs of the old pulpit.

There are two canopied pews, preserved as they were when used respectively by the colonial governor and the rector. The silver communion cervice, which is still used, was the gift of Queen Anne, in 1703. The pulpit Bible is the same presented in 1756, and used through four generations. The ancient prayer-book was the gift of Governor William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, and colonial governor from 1763 to 1776. The old memorial slabes and monuments in the aisle and churchyard revert to many generations, and are replete with interest. This old parish originally embraced Middletown, the Highlands, Long Branch, Deal, and Eatontown, and is therefore the mother church for a large district of country.

The Presbyterian church was founded in 1749, and build in 1821, enlarged in 1845. Of the two houses of the Friends only one is used.

Red Bank is located very pleasantly on Navesink River, about five miles from the ocean. This is a rapidly growing village. It is a place of very considerable trade with New York. It has five churches -- a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, an Episcopalian, and a Catholic. There are six hotels. The "New Jersey Standard" is published here by J.R. Ingling, Esq. It has two national banks, the first established in 1865, the second in 1875. It had two public schools, one private school, and a business college. This is an incorporated town. Its charter is dated March, 1870. A canning factory is located at this place. The population within the incorporation is 2184.

Tinton Falls is a small post-office town, about six miles westward from Long Branch and ten miles northeast of Freehold, with a population of about 300 persons. It has a Methodist church, and a grist-mill with very excellent water-power. An unfailing mineral spring is found at this place.

Narumsum Neck is the peninsula between the Navesin and Shrewsbury rivers. It is a high, rolling ridge of excellent land, and was probably the first land occupied in Shrewsbury Township. There is a tradition which seems to be generally believed by the peoply who reside in that vicinity, that this neck of land was purchased from the Indians by its first occupant for a barrel, or some other quantity, of rum; and hence the legend, that being bought for some rum, it was so named. In the course of time a reversal of terms evolved the more euphonious title, Rumsome. But the probabilities are that Narumsum is the true name, and that it is derived from Indian origin, either as the name by which they knew it, or from a sachem who may have dwelt there at the time of the coming of the whites.

The first families who settled this Neck were Bordens. They located on the lower part of the Neck.

There used to be an old tavern at the junction of the two rivers, opposite the Highlands, at the place known as Black Point.

There is a tradition that the British used to land at this place from their ships, and foray around the neighborhood, having a good time with the country people.

An early division of the Neck seems to have been as follows: The Hartshorne farm of 700 acres, from Black Point upwards; adjoining this was Sallers's tract; next above this the Bordens; then what is known as the Bingham tract, or Wardell's farm. This was owned at one time by Hon. William Bingham, of Philadelphia, one of the wealthiest merchants of that city in his day, and who was Senator from Pennsylvania after the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

This gentleman had a summer country sear on an elevated piece of ground overlooking nearly the whole Neck, the two rivers, and the ocean in the far distance. To this pleasant summer-home his wife, who was the leader of fashion in her time, led many gay Philadephia beaux and belles to enjoy the delights of this charming seaside retreat; and this was probably the first movement in bringing visitors from that city to Long Branch for summer recreation and sea-bathing. It had been asserted that Long Branch was first brought into notice by Philadelphians.

The tradition is told that the daughter of William Bingham was married in this summer-home to Lord Ashburton, and the southeast room of the old mansion is shown as the place where the ceremony was performed. The property is now in the possession of Dr. E. Parmley, of New York.

There are many evidences that this neck of land was a favorite home of the red men. Many signs have been left of their occupancy. The Indian method of burial, as has been discovered by the property-owners in the neighborhood, was to place their dead in the ground about as deep as we do ours. Over the body was carefully palced a layer of shells, then earth to fill up, and a layer of shells at the top to distinguish the grave.

Fair Haven, on the south bank of the Navesink Rive, about two miles below Red Bank, is a small post town, having a summer boarding-house, four stores, post-office, one Methodist church, a colored church, and a schoolhouse.

Oceanic, one mile below, also on the banks of the Navesink, is a fine and growing settlement, having a number of pretty residences. The roads are nicely gravelled and well kept on this Neck, and communicated, by a bridge across Shrewsbury River, with Seabright, on the ocean shore.

Monmouth County History

History of Monmouth County-1878

This county was established in 1675. Its boundaries were not definitely settled until 1709 and 1713. In 1850 the southern portion was constituted into a new county, called Ocean. It is bounded on the north by Raritan Bay, east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by Ocean County, west by Mercer and Middlesex counties. The surface is level, excepting in the township of Middletown. The Highlands of Navesink and the range of hills projecting from them lie in this township and break up its surface into rolling uneven land.

Agriculture is the chief employment of the inhabitants, and many of the farms are in a high state of cultivation. Marl is found in great abundance.

The townships in the county which come within the limits of this work are, Wall, Howell, Ocean, Atlantic, Eatontown, Shrewsbury and Middletown.

This country was first settled about the year 1664, by Dutch settlers from New Amsterdam and a few English from Long Island. The latter seem to have fled from Puritan persecutions, which had followed them even to the remote settlement on the western end of that island. They were Quakers and Baptists. It is stated by some writes that they first settled under the grant of the Nicholls patent, but there are reasons to believe that settlements had been made in this county before the surrender of the Dutch. When Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret assumed the government of the province they published a very liberal code of concessions, to induce emigrants to settle in the country.

These concessions, dated the 10th day of February, 1664, were made to all who would settle or plant in their possessions, and had the desired effect of attracting numbers of persons, not only from neighboring colonies where they were subject to disabilities, but also from England, Scotland, Ireland, and other parts of Europe.

Among these concessions, item 6th and 7th declares that "all persons that are or shall become subject to the King of England, and swear, or subscribe allegiance to the King, and faithfulness to the Lords, will be admitted to plant and become freemen of the said province," and that "persons qualified as aforesaid shall not at any time be in any way molested, punished, disquieted or called in question for any difference in opinion or practice, in matters of religious concernments, who do not actually disturb the peace of the said province, but that all and every such person and persons may freely and fully have and enjoy his and their judgments and consciences in matters of religion throughout the said province, they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly and not using this liberty to licentiousness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others, any law, statue, or clause, contained or to be contained, usage or custom of this realm of England, to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding."

Such was the effect of these liberal offers, that within twenty years from that time, it was considered the most wealthy conty in the province, and paid a larger share of taxes than any other. Its exposure during the Revolutionary War to the raids and barbarous invasions of the regufees and royalists from New York cits, have already been alluded to.

A large portion of the lands in the northern part of this county are held under the Monmouth patent or Nicholls patent.

This celebrated writing, granded by Richard Nicholls, Esq., first governor of the province under the Duke of York, on the 8th day of April, in the year 1665, conveyed unto William Goulding, Samuel Spicer, Richard Gibbons, Richard Stout, James Grover, John Bowne, John Tilton, Nathaniel Sylvester, WIlliam Reape, Walter Clarke, Nicholas Davis and Obadiah Holmes, patentees, and their associates, their heirs, successors and assigns, all the lands from Sandy Hook westward to the mouth of Raritan River, and up the same to a certain point, thence southwestward into the woods twelve miles, thence to turn away southeast by south until it falls into the main ocean.

Within the bounds of thie patent were comprises the old townships of Middletown and Shrewsbury, with the necks of land called Navesink, Narmusum and Portaupeck.

This land had previously been bought of the sachems, chief proprietors thereof, who acknowledged before the governor to have received satistaction for the same. This instrument was further confirmed and agreed to, about seven years afterwards, by Governor Carteret and the council, acting under authority of the Lords proprietors, but not until considerable disagreements had arisen between them about their conflicting claims.

During the Revolutionary War many important events transpired in this county worthy of historical mention, the relation of which, however, transcends the limits of this work.

The celebrated Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, between Sir Henry Clinton and General Washington, took place on the 28th of June, 1778, in which, what at first seemed a defeat, was turned, by the courage and promptness of General Washington, to a victory.

The night after the battle, and while the American army lay on their arms with the expectation of renewing the conflict in the morning, the British general stole away and gained the heights of Middletown and the sure protection of the guns of the British fleet, which was lying in Sandy Hook Bay.

General Washington considered it fruitless to pursue them any further, and marched his army to the Hudson and took a strong position, which covered the important passes of the Highlands on that river.

Perhaps we cannont close this very imperfect sketch of the history of Monmouth County better than by qoting the words of one of her own most honored sons: [Hon. Joel Parker.]

"In its early settlement, and up to the beginning of the present century, Monmouth was the most populous and most wealthy county of New Jersey; and, although shorn of a large portion of its territory, it is still second to none of the agricultural counties. From the earliest times its inhabitants have exercised great influence in public affairs.

"Monmouth has always been, in Southern New Jersey, what Essex, another original county, has been in Northern, a power in the state."