FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP HISTORIC SITES TOUR
UPDATED 2004


Municipal Plaza Area:

1. Schanck Road –
Once a toll road bears the name of a Dutch family common to Monmouth County. This road may have been named for the Schanck family that in the 1800’s donated the land upon which the Battle of Monmouth Monument stands today in front of the Courthouse in Freehold Boro.

2. The Clayton Farmhouse –
Located on Schanck Road across from the Municipal Plaza. One block north stands the remains of an old oak tree said to be the site of the Conover family burial plot. It was in this vicinity that two gravestones were removed when the present housing development was built. These gravestones were recently returned to the Freehold area from Vermont and they are now part of the permanent collection of the Monmouth County Historical Museum located on Court Street in Freehold Boro.

3. The Burlington Path –
Part of this major transportation route is located just south of the parking lot of Moore’s Restaurant (originally named Mount’s Tavern/Inn). You will notice a long dirt path that runs west to east and continues between the two schools located on Stillwell Corner Road. The path was the principle route across this section of the county in colonial times and was said to be an important Leni-Lenape Indian Trail before that. It traversed the state from Burlington to Perth Amboy. The Indians used it to go to the sea and collect their winter store of oysters, clams, shells, etc. In 1684 when it was established transportation over the route was mostly by stagecoach. Sir Henry Clinton and his British troops also used the route as they marched into freehold on the way to the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. To read more pick up a copy of the “History of the Burlington Path—Freehold Township, New Jersey” which is available at Municipal Complex or Oakley Farmhouse.