History of the Toll House Located at Oakley Museum

The Toll House located on the property of the Oakley Farm in Freehold Township is one of only 2 remaining in the State of New Jersey as of 2006. It was built ca. 1850. Toll Houses came into being in the mid to late 18th century. They were usually owned and operated by a coop of farmers living along a main road. The farmers would ‘man the gate’ and charge $.05 for single horse and $.10 for 2 horses.

The reason for the Toll House was to help the farmers pay for upkeep of the road. In the early days of travel all roads were dirt, clay, sand, etc. If they were not kept graded (level) the horse could possibly break an ankle or you could lose a wheel on the buggy or wagon and it could take several days to get it fixed. If your horse broke an ankle or leg you would have no transportation. Therefore it was in the best interest of the farmers to have the road kept up. It is not known how many of these structures were in the state originally but suffice it to say that they were probably stationed along all major thorofares in the state.

The Toll House located at Oakley Farm once stood at the corner of Rt. 537 and Burlington Rd. and is a Historic Landmark Site. The present Main St. (Rte. 537) was built in 1798. It was nothing but 2 tracks thru sandy soil. The original road, or trail (also known as the Burlington Path), traversed between the present Administration Building for Township Schools(on Rt. 537 and also known as the original West Freehold School ca.1935) and the Barkalow School on Stillwells Crnr. Rd. It continued past the Baptist Cemetery on Barkalow Ave. and came out on W. Main St. in Freehold at McLean St..

This new road, from Freehold to Smithburg (5 miles) was called the Freehold-Smithburg Turnpike and was a toll road. There was a Toll House and Gate at W. Freehold Village intersection diagonally across from original Moore’s Tavern/Inn. This establishment was originally built by Moses Mount around 1793 and at that time West Freehold was known as Mount’s Corner.

Athough the Tollhouse was on the Northeast Corner, the gate was hinged on the opposite Southeast Corner of the road. The toll keeper would collect fees and turn them over to the shareholders of the coop for a return on their investment and for upkeep of the road.

At Elk’s Point in what is now Freehold Boro there was a plank road on the westerly side of the Burlington Path (Main St.) which is now known as Rt. 79. Those who did not choose to pay the toll used the old and poorer road alongside. By the 1850’s roads in the area included the Matawan to Freehold Rd.(Rt.79). The Lakewood to Freehold Rd. and the Jamesburg to Freehold Rd.(Rt.522). These were all dirt roads at that time.

On February 20, 1850 the Monmouth County Plank Rd. Co. was incorporated to build a plank road from Freehold Village(boro) thru Marlboro village into what was then known as Middletown Point (now Matawan).