In 1684 New Jersey’s Governor Lawrie established a road connecting the
two capitals of New Jersey. This road connected Perth Amboy (capital of
East Jersey) and Burlington (capital of West Jersey). The road was named
‘The Burlington Path’ or ‘The Great Road’ and also had the name of the
‘Old Indian Trail’(named because this was an important route for the
Unami Clan of the Leni-Lenape tribe) when they went to the seashore to
collect their winter store of oysters, clams, shells, etc.
Travel at that time was by stagecoach. The stage operated
on regular schedules and took between three and four days to travel from
Perth Amboy to Burlington in one direction. Winter travel was not
possible along this route until 1750. Around 1770 the trip between New
York and Philadelphia took only four days one way. The Burlington Path
followed the ridge or watershed along its route. In 1796, by an act of
the State Legislature the name was changed to Monmouth Road, which we
now known as County Route 537 or Main Street.
Coming from the eastern part of the county, the Burlington
Path started at Long Branch and joined the Minnesink Trail at or near
Middletown, then to Tinton Falls through Colts Neck where it took a
southwest course to Freehold, traveling down Main Street for a
considerable distance. The path, then made various turns through the
pines and farm country slightly south of town to Crosswicks. Upon
reaching Crosswicks, the path divided, one branch went to the Trenton
Falls and the other to the Delaware River.
In 1765 the stagecoach stops were:
• Bordentown
• Allentown
• Smithburg Tavern*
• Mount’s Tavern
• Willow Tree Inn (Tavern)
• Stone Tavern*
• Freehold
• Colts Neck
• Tinton Falls
• Eatontown
• Long Branch
*The Stone Tavern stood until1968 when it was destroyed by
fire. It was located about four miles southeast of the original
Monmouth County Court House on what is now Gravel Hill Road. The walls
of the building were said to be three feet thick. General Knyphausen
used the tavern as headquarters on June 25, 1776, on his way to the
Court House during the American Revolution.
*Joel Parker, who was twice governor of the State of New
Jersey, was born in the Smithburg Tavern, which is on the corner of
Siloam Road. and Route 537. Governor Parker served from 1863-69 and
again from 1873-75.
On their march from Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, General
Henry Clinton’s troops stopped at the Willow Tree Inn (Tavern),
Clarksburg and Stone Tavern, in the vicinity of Upper Freehold Township
near Stone Lake reaching Freehold on June 26, just two days before the
Battle of Monmouth. He made his headquarters in the Covenhoven House on
West Main St.
The word "tavern" referred to an inn or hotel as well as a
place to get refreshments on long trips. There are stories of horse
races, which took place between Willow Tree Tavern and Stone Tavern. The
driver who finished last had to buy drinks for all the race
contestants.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Early Schools of Freehold, N.J. and Vicinity 1667-1928 by Lillian Lauler Wilber c. 1969 pub. By Schuyler Press
A Century’s Progress in Educational Values in
Freehold-lecture given before the Freehold Woman’s Club(Under the
Auspices of the Education Department-Freehold High School), by Lillian
F. Lauler-March 15, 1944