USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume II > Part 3
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By a further provision of the Act, all the portion of Monroe town- ship thus included in Millstone was restored to Middlesex county; and two years later an Act was passed giving to Millstone township a small triangular piece of territory from Monroe township, lying south of & line "to begin in the Middlesex and Mercer county line where the middle
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of the public road leading from Milford, by way of Disborough's north- west corner, to Perrineville, crosses the same, and thence along the middle of said road an easterly course until it strikes the present Middle- sex and Monmouth county line; the residue of the northern boundary line of Millstone township remaining the same."
Millstone is one of these inland agricultural towns that has steadily decreased in population; according to the United States Census of 1880 there were 2,080 inhabitants which in 1916 had decreased to 1,472 per- sons.
The village of Perrineville is located on Rocky brook, in the north central part of the township. The foundation of the village was laid prior to 1825, when the first store was established by a party from New England. In the year mentioned, James H. Newell, father of Governor William A. Newell, opened a store on the east bank of the brook, also erected a grist mill which he afterwards sold to David Perrine in 1830 and for whom the place was named. Soon after the building of the grist mill, Moffatt Perrine built a saw mill on the stream just below the grist mill. Education was a leading feature of the embryo village. The Rev. William Woodhull, while in charge of the Presbyterian church in 1826, opened a classical school and erected a building for school pur- poses on the east side of the brook, adjoining the parsonage. He taught this school until about 1830. Later, in the fall of 1877, when Rev. George W. McMillan was pastor of the church, he opened a preparatory school which he continued with success for several years.
Presbyterianism in Millstone dates back to 1785, when Rev. John Woodhull, pastor of Tennent Church, employed Joseph Clark, a student of theology, to conduct regular services at Perrineville. He continued his labors until 1788, from which time until 1826 the preaching was supplied by the pastors of Tennent, Cranbury and Allentown Presby- terian churches. During the ministry of Mr. Clark, a plot of ground was purchased and though the erection of a house of worship was com- menced, for want of sufficient funds the building could not be continued, and remained in an unfinished condition for some forty years. It how- ever was inclosed, a pulpit erected, and temporary seats arranged by braces being laid on blocks. This state continued until 1826, when the church received a new impulse. A congregation was organized by the Presbytery of New Brunswick with thirteen members as the Presby- terian church of Upper Freehold, afterwards changed to Millstone. The church was remodeled, enlarged and finished. Between that time and 1856 regular worship and preaching was supported, the following pas- tors filling the pulpit: Rev. William Woodhull, installed September 6, 1826, dismissed May 7, 1832; Rev. L. S. Beebe, installed September 16, 1834, dismissed November 8, 1836; Rev. William S. Betts, installed June 13, 1838, dismissed August 25, 1840; Rev. Charles F. Worrell, in- stalled April 2, 1842, who filled the position over a quarter of a century.
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The meeting-house was remodeled, enlarged and finished in 1856 and dedicated October 2d of that year. It was used until destroyed by fire, January 6, 1884, when it was rebuilt at a cost of $6,000, and dedicated free of debt, December 18, 1884. The new building is fifty by seventy feet, with Sunday-school rooms attached. The membership of the church was at this time one hundred and twelve. The fifth pastor of the congregation was Rev. Daniel F. Lockerly, installed July 13, 1869, and dismissed September 9, 1871. His successor, Rev. George W. Mc- Millan, was installed November 1, 1873. The congregation in the past forty years has maintained a substantial growth, its pulpit having been filled by influential divines of the Presbyterian denomination.
A Roman Catholic congregation was first organized in the village in 1871 by the rector of the Catholic congregation at Freehold, Rev. Frederick Kivelitz. Mass was said once a month and religious instruc- tion given to the young weekly. A brick and terra cotta church of Gothic design thirty by fifty feet, capable of seating two hundred and fifty persons, was erected in 1879. Rev. Frederick Kivelitz resigned his charge in 1880, and Rev. Joseph Ruesing was settled over the congrega- tion and attended the church every week until his resignation in July, 1884. The congregation was known as St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, and the building was blessed by Rt. Rev. M. A. Corrigan, Bishop of Newark. It has been during the last half century at different times a mission of Freehold and Hightstown parishes.
The Perrineville of the present day has a population of two hun- dred; its mercantile business is limited to a general store, a grocery and an auto supply establishment.
Clarksburg is in the central part of the southern portion of the township. Near the village stood the Willow Tree Tavern, a well known hostelry in the early part of the last century. Mention of it is found under date of January, 1815, as "owned by Aaron Eldridge, formerly by Hartshorne Tantum, the inn being situated on the main road from Philadelphia to Long Branch, eight miles from Allentown and twelve from Monmouth Court House." From 1829-34 it was conducted by Peter Johnson and William Hankins, when it was discontinued as a tavern and the Clarksburg Hotel was built. John J. Ely opened a store in the village in 1820, and was followed by Addison Mount, Charles Allen and P. Elmer. Addison Mount, the first postmaster, was appointed in 1829. A Methodist church was built in 1845, about a half mile west of the Willow Tree Inn, and the pulpit was supplied by churches having it in their care.
Clarksburg of to-day is five miles from Imlaystown, its nearest railroad station, and has a population of about two hundred and fifty souls. Its business interests is limited to a hotel, blacksmith shop, and a general store.
At Manalapanville, situated in the northern part of the township
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on the turnpike between Millstone and Manalapan townships, the Pres- byterians in 1856 organized a society and began the erection of a church building. Several members of the First Church of Millstone petitioned the Presbytery of New Brunswick for the organization of a church. This request was granted; a new church building was erected and dedicated July 31, 1856, the corner-stone having been laid October 10, 1855. In the spring of 1857 the Rev. John L. Kehoo was called to the pastorate and was installed the following June 30th. He resigned on account of ill-health, April 26, 1874, and on December 16th of that year the Rev. George Warrington was installed as his successor, con- tinuing until 1879. The Rev. Daniel Laughlin, a graduate of Princeton College, was the third pastor, installed August 1, 1880. He was suc- ceeded by different clergymen of the Presbyterian faith who have by their zealous efforts maintained the standard of the congregation.
Berksville, Carr's Tavern and Burnt Tavern all derived their names from hotels kept in an early day in the different highways in which they are located. Among the prominent men of the township was William P. Forman, descendant of John Forman, of Scotland, who settled near Freehold in 1685. He was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for twenty years, a member of the legislature and assessor for years, be- sides being an efficient surveyor and conveyancer. Charles Allen was born at Blue Ball, now Adelphia, in Howell township, and removed to Millstone in his early youth. In 1841 he was elected sheriff, and thirty- seven years after was again chosen to the same office; he was also twice a member of the legislature.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ATLANTIC
This township, formed from parts of Freehold, Shrewsbury and Middletown townships in 1847, is bounded as follows: On the north by Marlboro, Holmdel and Middletown townships; on the east by Shrews- bury township; on the south by Wall and Howell townships; on the west by Freehold and Marlboro townships. Hop river is the main stream, and is the dividing line between Holmdel and Middletown town- ships. Yellow, Big and Hockhockson brooks are its tributaries, the last named being the dividing line on the east from Shrewsbury town- ship. The New Jersey Southern railroad of the Pennsylvania railroad system runs for a short distance through the southeastern portion of the township. The boundaries described in the act creating the town- ship are as follows:
Beginning at the southwest corner of the township of Shrewsbury, where the Freehold, Shrewsbury and Howell townships lines meet; thence running northerly until it comes to the mouth of the road that leads through Jacob Conover's farm; thence northerly following the middle of said road, until it comes to the road near - Hulse's house, which road leads to John J. Ely's mills; thence easterly, following the middle of said road until it strikes Middle Hop brook; thence easterly down said brook, its various courses, until it comes to Swimming River bridge; thence southerly along the middle of the main road leading to Tinton Falls, until it comes to Haggerty's corner; thence southerly until it strikes the Tinton Falls mill-pond brook, thence up said brook by its various courses until it comes to Pine brook; thence up the said Pine brook until it strikes the Howell township line; thence westerly along the line dividing the townships of Howell and Shrewsbury to the Free- hold line, the place of beginning.
Colt's Neck is the most important village, and is located slightly south and west of the center of the township, on Yellow brook. The origin of the name is unknown, but it is frequently mentioned in the annals of the Revolution in 1777. Samuel Laird was made post- master when the office was established, February 24, 1824, and John Wardell had a store there in the same year. Benjamin VanMater, John Stoutenberg, Elisha Laird, Samuel and James Throckmorton, Levi Sco- bey, Charles Haight and S. Matthews were among the old merchants.
The grist-mill near the village, on Yellow brook, was built before 1806 by Cornelius Barriclo, and was afterward operated by Charles Parker, Jacob Probasco and Thomas E. Snyder. The VanMater and Muhlenbrink mill further down the stream was also built by Mr. Bar- riclo, and later came into the possession of William Haight, who ran it
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for many years and was succeeded by his sons. Colt's Neck is described in 1834 as containing from fifteen to twenty dwellings, one tavern, two stores, two saw mills and three grist mills. At the present time its population is about one hundred and fifty, and the principal business is confined to a general store and a hotel.
The Reformed church at Colt's Neck was the first creative act of the Classis of Monmouth. The village was about five miles from the "Old Brick Church" at Freehold, and about the same distance from the Reformed Church at Holmdel. This district being inhabited by families living in small holdings, they did not possess the means of conveyance to the churches thus located. The Reformed minister at Holmdel having had the longest pastoral life, was the one best known in the community, but his visitations were generally limited to once a year, when he preached the gospel from house to house. A demand for the regular preaching of the gospel was long deferred, but at last a movement re- sulted April 22, 1856, in the organization of a church with seventeen members. A house of worship was built, and Jacob S. Wyckoff, a re- cent graduate, was called and ordained as pastor. The church moved onward in its good work. Mr. Wyckoff resigned in 1864 and his place was filled the following year by Rev. James Bolton, who after a prosper- ous ministry of thirteen years was succeeded by Rev. Hendrick Hen- drickson, who continued until 1882, when Rev. George W. Labau was installed, December 5, 1882. The church has maintained its influence on the religious affairs of the community, its pulpit being filled with able and industrious workers.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic congregation at Colt's Neck was organ- ized in 1871 by Rev. Frederick Kivelitz, of Freehold, and a brick and terra-cotta church of Gothic architecture was erected in 1879 with a seating capacity of two hundred and fifty persons. On the completion of the church, mass was celebrated every second Sunday. The church was blessed by the Rt. Rev. M. A. Corrigan, Bishop of Newark, and at one time had Rev. Thomas Roche as resident rector, but during the greater part of its existence has been a mission.
An Independent Methodist church was organized by the people in the region of Colt's Neck in 1808, at the residence of one of their num- ber on February 5th; they elected trustees and filed a certificate of in- corporation. A meeting house was built on the main road towards Free- hold and used for many years, but was finally abandoned about the time when the Dutch Reformed church was built.
Scobeyville, about two miles east of Colt's Neck, is situated in the eastern part of the township. The first store was opened by Charles Scobey in 1848, and from him the place derives its name. A post- 'office was established in July, 1874, when William Henry Foster was appointed postmaster and continued in office for over a decade of years; it is at present served by rural delivery from Eatontown. The popula-
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tion at present does not exceed fifty persons. Seven miles from Red Bank, its nearest railroad station, is Pinebrook, two miles distant on the New Jersey Southern division of the Central railroad of New Jersey. Edenburgh, a hamlet, is located in the northwestern part of the town- ship. Its nearest railroad point is Marlboro, a distance of three miles. A post office was established in 1882 by the name of Vanderburg. The population does not exceed seventy-five persons, its mercantile interests being confined to a blacksmith, groceries and provisions stores.
In the northeastern part of the township, between Hop river and Yellow brook, on the road leading to Leedsville and about five miles from Red Bank, from 1844 to 1855 there existed a company or society known as the "North American Phalanx," a community of disciples of Fourier, the essence of whose doctrine was that there should be a uni- versal guarantee of the results of all labor, a joint distribution of such results, and economical methods of production, distribution and con- sumption by co-operation in communities. Albert Brisbane and Parke Godwin, two eminent journalists of New York, were mainly responsible for the experiment. The members of the society were from central New York and Albany, the society having been informally organized in the latter place in 1842 or 1843. A tract of 673 acres was peurchasd January 1, 1844, by Allen Warden, Thomas Guest and Nathan R. French, from Hendrick and Daniel Holmes, for $14,000. The society then numbered about fifty, the greater number of whom were men, and lived in two small farm-houses. In 1848 the association was incorpor- ated by the legislature with a capital stock of $250,000, of which $35,000 was required to be paid in. In 1850 grist and saw mills, a smithshop, offices and a general Phalanx building, containing the dining, dance- hall and worship rooms, was erected. A school was established, taught by a Prof. Guillaudeau, a Frenchman. In April, 1854, the grist and saw-mills, smithshop and offices, were destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $9,000. This disaster added to other troubles brought about the failure of the scheme, and in April, 1855, the Phalanx ceased to exist and the colony generally dispersed. The members numbered at one time nearly two hundred; but the industries were not varied enough for even that small number. Farming was the chief industry, and at times was fairly profitable; but the society possessed too many acres to culti- vate to advantage. The members held to what was wholesome, honest and practical, and no breath of scandal emanated from the community; yet the people in the surrounding country believed it to be a free-love aggregation. The fact that the women and girls wore "bloomer" cos- tumes settled the point in the rural mind. It is strange that a move- ment engineered by such cultured men as Brisbane and Godwin should have been so misjudged and censured. There are at present at this point about twenty-five persons, who are mainly engaged in the can- ning industry carried on by C. S. Bucklin.
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CHAPTER XXXIX.
RARITAN
Raritan is the northernmost township of the county, having Rari- tan bay as its northern boundary. On the east it is bounded by Middle- town township; on the south by Holmdel township; and on the west and northwest by Matawan township and creek, and Raritan bay. Wakake, Chingarora and Lupcong creeks are small streams that flow northwardly through the township into Raritan bay, the two last named entering it at Keyport. The New York and Long Branch railroad crosses the southwest corner of the township; and the Freehold and Keyport road enters the latter town from Matawan. The township, taken from Mid- dletown township in 1848, was erected with the following boundaries: Beginning with Tanner's Landing on the shore of Raritan bay; thence running southerly along the new road near Thomas Arrowsmith's to the road leading from the village of Middletown to Keyport; thence along the road by Daniel D. Hendrickson's to the corner of John P. Luyster's and William H. Hendrickson's land; thence westerly to the road run- ning by Henry V. Luyster's land; thence along the said road leading from Middletown to Holmdel; thence along the road by John Golden's to the corner of lands of Ann Ogborn, deceased; thence following the road through Morrisville to the road leading from Holmdel to Leeds- ville; thence southerly to the Atlantic township line between the lands of Joseph Conover and Aaron Van Mater; thence along the line of Atlantic township, in a westerly direction to the line of Freehold; thence following the line between Freehold and Middletown townships to the line between Monmouth and Middlesex counties; thence down said county line to Raritan bay; and thence along the shore of said bay to the place of beginning.
The territory in Raritan and Middletown townships, extending along Raritan bay from Port Monmouth westward to a point about a mile and a half northwest of Keyport, afterwards known as Union City, in the Colonial records is named Wakaka. This tract of land was originally patented to William Goulding, one of the original Monmouth patentees. Goulding in 1669 sold the tract to Richard Hartshorne, who perfected his title May 26th, 1676, by purchasing of the chief sachems of Ramsing a tract in the province of New Jersey of three necks of land, called by the Indians Wacake, Arowonoe and Conoskunck. The lands of Richard Hartshorne extended up Wakaka creek and nearly to its head. Hart- shorne made this location his principal residence; in 1700, he sold to William Lawrence 287 acres in the east side of the creek, which in due
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time descended to his son, Elisha Lawrence, who kept a store, and which was plundered by the pirates that infested Raritan bay. In 1717, Lawrence disposed of the land to Thomas Kearney, then living at what is now Keyport. A tavern was kept on the property by Samuel Wil- letts in 1699. A landing was built on the creek a short distance from its mouth and known as Tanner's Landing. The first steamboat that came to Monmouth county ran up to this landing and to Middletown Point-a side-wheel boat, commanded by Captain Pennoyer. The land- ing was used as late as 1820, having been previously a principal port of Monmouth county. In 1857 a large portion of the township was set off to form Matawan and Holmdel townships, erected in that year.
Granville. (now Keansburg) is a village on Raritan bay, on the line between Raritan and Middletown townships. Near the place, in 1883, the Uniontown Tile and Brick Company erected large buildings, and Charles Preston, of Greenpoint, Long Island, established a fertilizer fac- tory in 1878. Near the village is the Waackaack Beacon, on the east side of Wakake creek, seventy-six feet above the level of the sea, and built under an Act of Congress in 1856.
The Granville Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1866 and erected a chapel in that year. The first pastor was Rev. John B. Westcott. Keansburg, of the present day, is a miniature Coney Island, having sprung into prominence in the last decade, and has been more specifically described in another chapter of this book. Though a post- office had been established there in an early day, it was discontinued; but was re-established November 1st, 1884, under the name of Keansburg.
Hazlett is a hamlet and way-station on the Pennsylvania railroad, located in the southern section of the township. A postoffice was estab- jished in 1876, when Rezo Schenck was appointed postmaster.
Union City on Raritan bay, northeast of Keyport, was located on land owned in the time of the Revolution by Colonel Richard Poole and Peter Snyder. The lands once extended a half-mile into the bay to the Black Rocks, and corn grew where now the waves break upon the rocks. Vessels came up Wales' creek to what was known as Gra- ham's Landing, afterwards called Union City, which came into being through the operations of the Florence and Keyport Company, incorpor- ated in 1846, the object being to build a city on the bay and establish a line of travel and trade from New York to Florence on the Delaware river. A dock 2,200 feet in length, a four-story hotel, a basin for ves- sels, a large steam saw-mill, and many other buildings, were constructed. A steamer was chartered to run from New York to the embryo city. The hotel was open for about two years and finally passed into the ownership of John Mount. After 1872, the place was abandoned and nothing is left to mark its site.
Keyport is situated on Raritan bay, between the mouth of Matawan creek on the west end and that of Chingagora creek on the east. The
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site of the borough is part of a large tract owned by John Bowne, a Monmouth patentee. On July 21st, 1714, he sold to Thomas Kearney, merchant of New York, two-thirds of 140 acres; and to Michael Kearney, also a merchant of the same city, the remaining one-third of the same tract for $1,600. The land is described as lying at Chingarora, com- mencing at Lupakitongue creek, running south by west up the creek; from there, northwesterly to the bay, and along the coast to the place of beginning. This tract was then known as Brown's Point, which is doubtless a corruption of Bowne's, as there is no tradition that any per- son named Brown was ever an owner or a settler there. On January 13th, 1715, Thomas Kearney purchased of John Bowne a half-interest in 40 acres of meadow-land on Lupakitongue bay, and on November 14th of the same year a one-third interest in the 140 acres of Michael Kear- ney. He also purchased from Abraham Watson, on August 21st, 1717, 112 acres for $120, bounded east, north and west by land formerly of John Bowne. Shortly after he moved from New York to this place. Thomas Kearney, on November 19th, 1717, purchased from Elisha Lawrence several tracts for £320, also from other parties various lots of land, the entire purchase aggregating 645 acres, which was acquired in three years. On this tract he erected a residence known for genera- tions as the Kearney Homestead. In a road record of 1768, mention is made of a road that led "to Major Kearney's upon a hill called Wood-Pit Hill." This hill was probably the elevation on which the Kearney house stood, on land of Kearney's first purchase. The Major Kearney here referred to was the Major Philip Kearney frequently mentioned in the annals of the Revolution. The lands mentioned above do not em- brace the part of Keyport lying east of the Lupatcong creek. The Kear- ney estate was added to by later generations and contained at one time over 900 acres. The plantation was named Keygrove farm, and so known for many years.
The Point, prior to the Revolution and down to 1829, was known as "Fishing Point," and celebrated as the home of Chingarora oysters, which were free to all. Nearly every farmer for miles around owned clam rakes and oyster tongs, and obtained a part of his living from the bay. Edmund Kearney, who came into possession of the estate in 1811, died in 1822; it then embraced 781 acres, the greater part of which was covered with a heavy growth of valuable timber. The land, by reason of its timber and coast advantages, attracted the attention of business men as an excellent place to establish a town. An applica- tion being made for a division of the estate, the court ordered a sale at public auction, November 4th, 1829, the purchasers being Isaac K. Lip- pincott, Thomas and Joseph Carhart, Amos and Thomas J. Walling, Jonathan Tilton, Ezra Osborn, Richard C. Burrowes, James Sproul and Horatio Kearney. The sales amounted to $19,941.19. At the time of the sale, it was suspected that parties from Middletown Point, fearing
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