USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1 > Part 3
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Navesink is about six miles, and its average width about one and a half miles.
Shark River enters the ocean about five and one-half miles north of the southern boundary of the county. It is formed chiefly by the ocean tides and contains but a small proportion of fresh water. The head-stream of Shark River, coming down from the northwest to a point about three miles from the ocean, widens out into what is called Shark River Pond, which is more than a mile in width at the broadest part, but at its lower end abruptly contracts into the narrow outlet through which the tide-waters pass to and from the sea.
The Manasquan River enters the ocean at the southeast corner of Monmouth County, and for several miles above its mouth forms the boundary between this and Ocean County. Its head-streams take their rise in the western part of the county, south and southwest of the county seat. The principal one of these is Squan Brook (it being, in fact, the main stream), which flows in a general southeasterly direction to the county line, and thence along the bound- ary (as mentioned) to the sea. The lower part of this stream widens out, like Shark River, into a lagoon or pond, which, at a short distance from the sea, narrows into a channel called Manasquan Inlet, which is the mouth of the river.
The north branch of Metedeconk River flows about sixteen miles through the extreme south- ern part of Monmouth, then passes south into Ocean County and joins the main river, which afterwards enters the north end of Barnegat Bay.
Through the southwest corner of the county a number of small streams flow westwardly into the Delaware or its tributaries. The principal of these are Crosswicks Creek, which enters the Delaware at Bordentown ; Doctor's Creek, which is a tributary of Crosswicks; and two forks of Assanpink Creek, which joins the Del- aware at Trenton. To the north and east of these streams several others flow northwest across the Monmouth County border into Mer- cer and Middlesex, where their waters find their way into the Millsione River, and through it to the Raritan. These small streams are Rocky
3
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND NATURAL FEATURES.
Brook, Millstone Creek and some others of less size. Beyond these, to the northeast, are the Manlapan and Matchaponix Creeks and Deep Run, all of which flow northwest from Mon- mouth into Middlesex County, where they enter the South River. In the extreme north- west part of Monmouth is Matawan Creek, which flows northeastwardly into Raritan Bay. From this point eastward to the Nave- sink Highlands are Lupatcong, Chingaroras, Thorn's and Wakake Creeks, all running northward into Raritan Bay; and Pew's and Compton's Creeks and many other small streams, all flowing in nearly the same direction into Shoal Harbor and Sandy Hook Bay.
The streams of this region (southeastern New Jersey), says Professor George H. Cook, "unlike those of the northern part of the State, have no apparent connection with the geological struc- ture of the country. They are simply channels worn in the surface of the ground, following the lines of most rapid descent to tide-water."
With the exception of a small area in its southeastern corner, the county of Monmouth is all of what is known to geologists as the Cretaceous Formation, which includes the plas- tic clays and the several veins or beds of marl. The name Cretaceous, says Professor Cook,1 was given to this formation in England, on account of the white chalk which is there a conspicuous member of it. The name is retained among geologists even when the chalk is wanting, as is the case in this country. The mineral sub- stance, green sand, is found in rock of many ages, but nowhere else so abundantly as in the Cretaceous rocks of Europe and of the United States.
The organic remains of the formation are very abundant, and furnish satisfactory evidence upon the question of geological age. In the lowest part of the plastic clays, at Fisher's brick- yard, near Woods' Landing, on the Raritan, there is a bed of sand and sandy clay, which is full of impressions of leaves, twigs, cones, etc.,
beautifully preserved. Among these are leaves resembling those of the willow, sweet gum, mag- nolia, poplar and many other broad-leaved plants, which are considered by geologists as indicating a period not earlier than the Creta- ceous. The bones of enormous crocodiles and other saurians are found in immense numbers in the clay marls and in the beds of green sand ; they are usually found scattered, a single one in a place, but sometimes almost a whole skele- ton is found together. They have been col- lected in many places. The Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia has probably the best collection of them. There are many in the Museum of Rutgers College, and public and private collections in all parts of the country contain specimens. These saurians have not been found in any age in such numbers since the Cretaceous.
The Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey is found immediately southeast of the Red Sandstone, and included in a belt or strip of country extending obliquely across the State from Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays, on the northeast, to the head of the Delaware Bay, near Salem, on the southwest.
The northwestern boundary of this belt, be- ginning at Woodbridge Neck, on the shore of Staten Island Sound, passes just north of the villages of Woodbridge and Bonhamtown to the Raritan River, a few rods below the mouth of Mill Brook. Then, crossing the Raritan, it is easily traced along the south side of Lawrence Brook, and at distances varying from a few rods to a quarter of a mile from the stream to the bend of the brook, a mile west of Dean's Pond. From there it can be traced in almost a straight line to the Delaware and Raritan Canal, half-way between Clarksville and Baker's Basin, and then near the line of the canal to Trenton and the Delaware River. From Trenton to Salem, the Delaware marks the northwestern and western boundary, with the exception of some limited patches of marsh or alluvium along the river.
The southeastern boundary of the formation is much more difficult to define. There is no rock ; the surface is uniform and the soil and subsoil are everywhere more or less sandy.
" Nearly all the facts in this chapter relating to the geology of Monmouth County are taken from the 1868 Re- port of Professor George A. Cook, State geologist, and here given chiefly in his own words.
·
4
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
While the line drawn cannot be far from the true location, its exact place has frequently been a matter of doubt. The following, however, is the judgment formed by the State geologist after an examination of the ground :
The line of the southeastern boundary runs a mile south of Salem City, and within a half- mile south of Woodstown, near Eldridge's Hill and Harrisonville; two and a half miles south- east of Mullica Hill; two miles southeast of Barnesborough ; half a mile southeast of Hurff- ville; half a mile southeast of Blackwoodtown, through Clementon; near Gibbsborough, Mill- ford, Chairville, Buddstown ; two miles south- east of Pemberton; two miles southeast of New Egypt; thence to the Manasquan a mile above Lower Squankum, in Monmouth County, to Shark River, just above the village, and to Corlies' Pond and the sea-shore at Deal. The eastern boundary is along the shore of the Atlantic, of Raritan Bay and Staten Island Sound to Woodbridge Neck. The extreme length of the formation, from the Highlands of Navesink to the Delaware, above Salem, is ninety-nine and five-eighths miles. Its breadth at the northeast end, from Woodbridge to Deal, is twenty-seven miles, and at the southwest end, from the mouth of Oldman's Creek to Woods- town, it is ten and three-quarters miles. The area included in this formation is not far from one thousand five hundred square miles ; and it will be seen by the preceding description of its boundaries that the Cretaceous Formation embraces the whole county of Monmouth, except a comparatively small area in its south- eastern corner, which is on the Tertiary; extending along the sea-shore from Deal to Manasquan, and back from the ocean to a line passing from New Egypt to the vicinity of Lower Squankum and Shark River.
The Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey consists of a series of beds or strata, lying con- formably upon each other, and all having a gentle descent or dip towards the southeast. The strata differ from each other in mineral composition, but they are all earthy in form, except at a few detached points where the mineral of the strata has been cemented, by oxide of iron, into a kind of sandstone or con-
glomerate. They appear to have lain undisturbed ever since their deposition from the ocean, having no folds or curves in them, but lying smooth and parallel, like the leaves of a book. As the dip of the strata is towards the southeast, their edges show themselves upon the surface in northeast and southwest lines. If the surface were uniform these lines would be straight, but owing to inequalities of the surface, they pre- sent irregularities of greater or less extent, curving to the northwest on high ground and to the southeast on low or descending ground. The lowest strata have their outcrop farthest to the northwest.
The Plastic Clays, which form the lower strata of the Cretaceous Formation, have their outerop chiefly to the northwest of the limits of Monmouth County, extending from Raritan Bay and River southwestwardly through Middlesex, and beyond to the Delaware. With these are included the fire and alum clays of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, Woods' Landing, Washington and Trenton, and the potters' clays of South Amboy, Cheesequakes, Bridgeboro', Billingsport, Bridgeport and other places. There are also beds of light-colored sand, and in many places fossil trees and beds of lignite are found. This part of the formation occupies the north- western border of the district of the Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey.
The Clay Marls, the outerop of which is found along the northwestern side of Monmouth County, lie immediately southeast of the Plastic Clays, and are separated from them by a line which is not very easily recognized. It can be traced on the map in an almost straight line from just north of Cheesequakes Creek, on Raritan Bay, to Bordentown, on the Delaware. The material of which the Clay Marls is com- posed is chiefly dark-colored clay, with green- sand grains sparingly intermixed.
The Lower Marl Bed, which is found out- cropping along the entire length of Monmouth County from northeast to southwest, is a stra- tum of green sand marl, which is very exten- sively and profitably used in agriculture. It lies along the southeast border of the Clay Marls, and can be well seen in Middletown, Marlboro', Holmdel, Frechold township, Cream Ridge, Ar-
5
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND NATURAL FEATURES.
neystown, near Mount Holly, near Haddonfield, Carpenter's Landing, Batten's Mill, Marshall- ville and other points, and is now largely developed at many places in the county of Mon- mouth.
The "strike" of the strata of the Lower Marl Bed was determined by the State geologist by taking two points in that bed, at tide-level, on opposite sides of the State, and drawing a straight line between them. This he marks on his geological map as the " Register Line." It touches the Lower Marl Bed at tide-water ; the Sandy Hook isthmus at its narrowest part, north- east of the Highlands ; again on the north bank of the river, opposite the town of Red Bank; and at Hop Brook, near Sugar Loaf Hill. From the latter point it passes southwest, directly through the village of Freehold, through West Freehold and the township of Upper Freehold, to and across the Delaware River, striking the Lower Marl Bed at Mount Holly, Clement's Bridge, Carpenter's Landing, and above Scull- town at Marshallville, Salem County, and St. George's, Delaware. The distance from St. George's to the northeastern point at Sandy Hook Bay is one hundred and six miles, with a true bearing of north 55° east. The finding of the Lower Marl Bed at intermediate points on the same level and on the same line proves that there is no important change of direction in the strike for the whole distance.
The inclination, descent, or, as it is technically termed, the "dip," is at right angles to the "strike." The amount of the dip of the Lower Bed is only about thirty feet in a mile, and trials at different points have shown it to be nearly uniform. The Perrine marl-pits, north of Freehold, are one hundred feet above tide, and three miles north of the Register Line, which shows thirty-three feet per mile descent. This marl-bed is considerably too high at Cream Ridge and at Arneystown for the usual dip, showing that there is at those places either an elevation of the bed or a curve to the south- cast. Farther on towards the southwest the bed is too little exposed to furnish accurate data from which to calculate its dip, but enough has been ascertained to show that it continues nearly the same.
The material lying over and to the south- east of the Lower Marl Bed is composed mainly of areddish sand, having more or less clay inter- mixed at both its upper and lower parts. Its characteristic appearance is well seen at the Navesink Highlands, at the Red Bank hills, and at various other points in Monmouth County.
The Middle Marl Bed is found on a belt of varying width, extending southwestwardly across the county from Long Branch and the south shore of Shrewsbury River to the south- ernmost corner of Upper Freehold township. The northwestern edge of this belt is a little southward of Old Shrewsbury, Scobeyville, Colt's Neck and Freehold, and it includes Long Branch, Horse Neck, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Blue Ball, Clarksburg and Hornerstown, also New Egypt, in Ocean County. " The old road from Keyport to Holmdel, at its summit on Big Hill, just touches the bottom of the second marl bed at the height of three hundred and two feet ; eight and a quarter miles south- east of this the marl is at tide-level. This gives a descent of nearly thirty-seven feet per mile. Newell's marl, on the east side of the road from Freehold to Blue Ball, is, at top, one hundred and twenty-three feet above tide. Shepherd's marl, south of Blue Ball, is eighty- four feet above tide ; the distance between them, measured in a southeast direction, is about one and one-eighth miles, giving a descent of a lit- tle over thirty-four feet per mile." 1
The Upper Marl Bed, which consists of green sand disposed in layers parallel to those of the Middle Marl Bed, and separated from the latter by a stratum of yellow sand, makes its ap- pearance in a belt of quite regular width, cross- ing the southeastern part of Monmouth County in a south westerly direction from the ocean shore at and in the vicinity of Deal, by Shark River village, Farmingdale and West Farms, to Ben- nett's Mills, Cassville and the vicinity of New Egypt, in Ocean County. This is the last (up- per) of the Cretaceous strata, and is covered and joined on the southeast by the Tertiary Forma- tion, as before mentioned.
1 Geological Report of 1868.
6
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
In climate, Monmouth differs very little from the other sea-coast counties of New Jersey, having a mean temperature only slightly lower than that of the section extending southward from Little Egg Harbor to Cape May. A set- tler in Monmouth County (Richard Hartshorne), writing in the year 1683, said with reference to the climate here : " As for the temperature of the air, it is wonderfully suited to the humours of mankind ; the wind and weather rarely hold- ing in one point, or one kind, for ten days to- gether. It is a rare thing for a vessel to be wind-bound for a week together, the wind sel- dom holding in one point more than forty-eight hours ; and in a short time we have wet and dry, warm and cold weather, which changes we often desire in England, and look for before they come."
The climate of places near the sea is always much less variable than that of inland points, though between them there may be but very slight difference in degrees of mean tempera- ture. In the former also the mild weather commences earlier in the spring and continues later in the autumn. To this rule the cli- mate of Monmouth County affords no excep- tion.
In the hot season of the year the cool breezes and invigorating influence of the ocean induce
many thousands of people from all parts of the country (especially from New York and Phila- delphia) to make their summer residence at the various and widely-famed resorts on the Mon- mouth shore ; and it is not alone in summer- time that its climatic advantages are made ap- parent. Through the fall and until the close of the month of December the air is generally dry and bracing; in January and February light snows fall frequently, but are quickly melted by the sea air. March usually brings with it sharp northwesterly gales and unpleas- ant weather, which, however, is of but short con- tinuance, being soon banished by the early open- ing of spring. The softening influence of the sea and the health-giving atmosphere which pervades the pine districts, lying a short distance inland, have brought this region into notice as a desira- ble place of residence in winter as well as in summer; and extensive establishments for the accommodation of invalids and others through all the year have recently been opened at Long Branch, on the sea-shore, and also at Lakewood, in the pine region adjoining the southern boundary of Monmouth County.
Following is a table of temperature and rain- fall at Freehold, made from careful and accu- rate observations taken at that place, from July 1, 1879, to July 1, 1880 :
Table of Temperature and Rain-fall at Freehold, Monmouth County, from July 1st, 1879, to July 1st, 1880.
MINIMUM TEMP.
MAXIMUM TEMP.
Monthly mean
Rain or snow
Total inches of
rain-fall, or
Mean inches of
rain-fall for
Mean relative
humidity.
Percentage.
Prevailing
"Timinder and
lightning on
July
1 & 6
56
16
97
73.76
10
5.45
4.91
78.3
W.
10
August
10
51
3
92.5
70.853
10
9.58
6.59
83.4
W.
5
September
26
37
1
85
61.44
8
1.86
2.92
80.2
W.
6
October .
26
24.5
3
83
58.49
9
0.68
2.85
79.6
W.
2
November
21
15.5
12
72
41.498
7
1.71
4.40
74.2
W.
1
December
27
8
4
60
36.71
12
6.77
3.82
80.3
N.W.
January
14
11
28
58.5
38.183
11
2.06
3.03
81.4
W.
1
February
2
9
27
67
34.757
11
2.69
2.67
76.1
W.
March
25
16
5
69
36.863
16
5.71
5.95
74.2
N.W.
April
12
23
15
82
49.707
12
2.91
2.90
67.5
N. W.
7
May
1
32
27
94.5
67.15
6
0.82
2.32
69.2
W.
5
June
3
49
24
94.2
71.966
7
1.58
2.99
71.6
W.
8
Totals .
332.0
954.7
641.377
119
41.82
916.0
W.
45
Means
29.3
79.5
53.448
9.9
3.48
78.3
W.
3.7
days.
Date.
Deg.
Date.
Deg.
temperature.
fell on days.
melted snow.
five years.
Winds.
..
7
ARCHÆOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.
CHAPTER II.
ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.1
A STRAIGHT line connecting Raritan Bay and Delaware River at their nearest points would hardly be more than thirty miles long. Here the State of New Jersey is so constricted as to seem nearly cut in two. Lying between these waters, the physical environment of Monmouth County is unique. It is also favored with an open frontage on the sea. Here, too, the Nave- sink Highlands rise to the height of four hundred feet above the ocean-level. This ridge is flanked on the east by Raritan Bay and on the west by the Shrewsbury River. Southward the State is flat. Doubtless this region was the first land seen by Captain Hudson. Nowhere in the State was nature so lavish to the aborigines of the soil; the rivers affording their peculiar fish in abundance, notably the salmon and the trout; the ocean front gave other kinds of fish and mollusks, while the bay, shut in like a nursery of the sea, gave still other fish and immense beds of oysters, a luxury which attracted the ancient red man from far and near. The diversity of soil gave diversity of woods, thus providing these children of the hunt a paradise of game. In the sandy interior flourished the pine, with the grouse. The damp lowlands near the shore were fringed with dark evergreens,-impenetrable thickets of cedar, in summer vocal with the polyglot mocking-bird. On the higher lands grew nobler woods of de- ciduous trees,-the various oaks, maples, poplars and locusts with the elm, ash, tulip, walnut, butternut and the hickories. Many of these were of great magnitude, and in their shelter roamed deer, bears, and even some beasts of prey.
Upon this high land is an Indian path or trail extending many miles to the north. This marked the course of their movements; for these children of nature migrated twice in the year, like the birds, only in an inverse order, for when the birds were coming from the south, they were coming from the north, and so in
the fall they left in contrary directions. " The Indian could hunt the large game north in winter, but only in summer could he take the riches of the sea. Hence we might expect that a place so esteemed for ages by the ancestors of those red men who first saw the "pale face" should in some way or other tell something of their history. Such knowledge, though lim- ited, has been got together grain by grain, as stone relics one after another have been un- earthed, through that sort of study known as philosophical or scientific induction. Con- ducted in such a spirit, a description and inter- pretation of these relics would constitute the archæology of the county.
It is hardly more than twenty years ago when the Danish savants surprised the scien- tific world with an interesting discovery. Upon their shore existed immense beds of oyster-shells. It had long been held that these beds afforded proof that the land had risen from the sea or that the sea had re- ceded from the land. . Careful examination at last proved that these shells were not in natural position ; that they had been placed there by slow accumulations; that among them were implements of stone and bones of animals in such numbers and condition as proved that the animals had been eaten by an ancient people. In a word, these vast accumulations were the home refuse of a prehistoric race. To these de- posits they gave the homely name Kjoekken- moeddings, which simply means kitchen-leav- ings. In 1856-57 it was our good fortune to discover an immense deposit of this character not two miles from Keyport. It was a great bed of oyster-shells on a farm not far from the bay. As such it had long been known. A study of this accumulation determined, to my surprise, that it was an American Kjockken- moedding. It was plain that these were not white men's leavings. This deposit was an Algonquin kitchen-midden. Besides oysters, it represented the former mollusks of the bay, and contained broken stone implements and fragments of Indian pottery. It was a monu- ment of the Stone Age, and doubtless the bottom strata was pre-Columbian. We com- municated our find to Dr. Rau, the archæol-
1 By Samuel Lockwood, Ph.D.
8
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
ogist, who published an account in Smithsonian Report, 1864. Our discovery is stated on page 371.1 I detected the fire-places or cooking spots of these ancient people, one being covered deeply with humus. The charred remains were there, for carbon is almost imperishable. The very method of cooking was revealed by the vitrified boulders. The stones thus glazed by the intensity of the fire were not obtainable in these parts, and must have been brought from a considerable distance and their carriage in- " volved much labor. Hence they had a purpose, and the only purpose supposable is that they were cooking-stones, which were heated to red- ness and put into the pot to make the water boil.
.
In these middens I often found fragments of pottery showing great extremes of quality. Some would be thin, compact and hard, and some quite thick, porous and very coarse. Nearly all were ornamented with geometrical designs, rather crude, but done with a free hand, while others were covered with impressions made by a stamp of the simplest sort. None of these sherds showed glazing, the ancient potter not having reached this stage of the art. Among those primitive folks the women made the pots. These sherds indicated pots of sizes from that which would hold a quart to that which would contain a number of gallons; in fact, large enough to cook a mess for a number of per- sons. They all had convex bottoms; a flat- bottomed vessel was not to be found, so that to stand alone the pot must rest in a depression of the ground. I found also a broken steatite pot. Doubtless, when the accident happened it occasioned much grief, as a soapstone pot could resist fire and as the stone could only be obtained from a great distance, it had an in- trinsic value. The pots were made of the clay near by, but it had to be tempered to prevent its cracking in the rude baking to which it was subjected. . This tempering was effected by mixing sand or pulverized shells, or both, in the clay. The sand in some was similar to that obtained at the washing up on shore, but in
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