Post by Marc LeVine on Dec 2, 2006 11:56:23 GMT -5
If You're Thinking of Living in: Freehold Borough
By JERRY CHESLOW
Published: January 26, 1992
A "HOLE in the doughnut" municipality, the historic Borough of Freehold, is surrounded by the township of the same name.
Settled in the late 17th century by Scots, it was a center for Monmouth County as early as 1715, when the first courthouse was built at what is now the intersection of Main and Court Streets. A stone's throw away, at Court and Monument Streets, is the Monmouth Battle Memorial, a granite obelisk commemorating the Revolutionary War battle fought in June 1788 in neighboring Freehold Township and nearby Manalapan.
The 1.9-square-mile borough is the seat of Monmouth County, home to its offices, courthouse and Hall of Records, which together make up 24 percent of the borough's assessed property valuation. Although municipal officials resent the county's not paying property taxes, local business people note that the county offices draw people downtown.
"The malls took the major shopping away from our business district," said Susan Lithgow, co-owner of the Coffee Shop on the Square West, on Main Street. "Now our main business comes from the offices in town."
A few doors down is St. Peter's, an Episcopal church built in 1771 that served as a hospital for both British and Colonial soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth. Also on Main Street is the early 18th-century Covenhoven House, which the British general Henry Clinton used as his headquarters. And on East Main isthe Freehold Public Library, a small brick structure whose construction was financed by Andrew Carnegie in 1903 after fire damaged the former library.
The borough grew up around the current county Route 537 (Main Street), and state Routes 9 and 33 (Park Avenue), which were colonial roads to New York City and Philadelphia. Many local farmers also raised horses, leading to the establishment in 1853 of Freehold Raceway, the oldest harness racing track in the United States. The Raceway, on Route 9, still holds 11 races on Tuesdays and Sundays from August through May.
The highest priced house on the market, at $595,000, is a 200-year-old Colonial mansion -- the 6-bedroom, 8-bath, 6,000-square-foot Boxwood Hall at 19 Schanck Street, just north of the courthouse.
Among the prime housing areas are Brinckerhoff, Broad and Yard Streets, in the southwestern part of the borough, where 19th-century Victorian homes, shaded by oak and maple trees, dominate in a mixture of housing styles. Bob Coutts, owner of ReMax of Freehold Realtors on East Main Street, said house prices there ranged from $150,000 to $300,000, depending on the size and condition of the home. A remodeled 130-year-old, 5-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath Victorian at West Main and Yard Streets is listed for $299,900.
There also are modern ranch, colonial, and split-level homes, most far from the main roads. Modern three-bedroom homes on newer roads, such as Dogwood or Brookwood Streets, are priced from $150,000 to $175,000 and four-bedrooms houses at about $25,000 more.
William and Patricia Chambers moved from Ocean Township and bought a three-bedroom ranch on Sunset Court, just behind Brinckerhoff Avenue, in October 1990. Their son William Jr., 5 years old, "has cerebral palsy," Mr. Chambers said, "and we needed a house in which everything is on one level for him."
Mr. Chambers, a department manager at a ShopRite in Woodbridge, is a native of Freehold Township; his wife, Patricia, a registered nurse, grew up in the borough.
"WE came back because we have lots of friends in the borough, Patty's father still lives here, and we've heard nothing but good things about the schools," Mr. Chambers said.
The least expensive one-family houses are in what residents call "Texas," a mainly low-income section around the defunct A & M Karagheusian Carpet Mill. Frame houses built for the factory workers nearly 100 years ago on Bond or Factory Streets sell for $55,000 to $95,000. A two-bedroom, 12-foot-wide factory house on Bond Street is listed for $59,000.
There are two major town-house communities, the 54-unit Patriot's Pointe off Route 537 and the 194-unit Kingsley Square off Stokes Street. Two- and three- bedrooms range from $80,000 to $115,000.
The largest condominium complex is Briarwood West on Route 537, which has 176 two-bedroom units. Last year, the builder held an auction to close out unsold units, which brought $65,000 to $80,000, according to Mayor Michael Wilson.
Rental housing is plentiful. The largest complex is the 104-unit Post & Coach on South Street, which has 104 apartments. One-bedroom units rent for $575 a month and two-bedrooms for $675.
The closing of the carpet mill in 1964 marked the beginning of the borough's decline, which was accelerated by the building of shopping malls along Route 9. Then, in 1987, several residents raised money to plant flowers along Main Street. That was followed by the 1988 reconstruction of one block of Main Street. The sidewalk was widened and bricked, Victorian-style street lights were installed and cafes were allowed to put tables on the sidewalks. The county bricked the plaza in front of the Hall of Records.
"It gave us back a downtown," Mayor Wilson said. "Now we have a soul." Most of the restaurants are downtown, where they can take advantage of the courthouse trade. They include Oh! Brothers, an American-style restaurant in the historic American Hotel, now used for conferences and meetings; Court Jester, which has pub-style food; Frederici's, an Italian restaurant; Sante Fe, which serves Tex/Mex food; La Cipollina, a Northern Italian restaurant just off West Main; the Little Doll House on West Main Street, which serves home-style food, and Barristers, a pub in a shopping center on Route 79.
Downtown businesses include several convenience food stores, banks, pharmacies and office supply stores. The borough has one supermarket, on Route 33, but many residents shop for food in Freehold Township and patronize the Freehold Raceway Mall, in the township.
The revitalized downtown is just one aspect of the renaissance of the borough, according to Vivian Taylor, the 69-year-old Borough Clerk, who has lived in the borough all her life. "The older people are selling off the houses that are starting to run down," she said. "Younger people are buying them and fixing them up. So the neighborhoods that were starting to run down are coming back."
THE borough's public school system comprises two K-5 elementary schools and the Park Avenue Intermediate School. Parents can choose between the Freehold Early Learning Center, a large, 18-year-old school with no internal walls on Dutch Lane Road, and the more traditional Park Avenue Elementary School.
The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Janet E. Kalafat, calls her district "a microcosm of the real world -- a quality, integrated district where there is interracial harmony and respect." The district is 55 percent white and 45 percent minority-- mainly black and Spanish-speaking.
Besides a core curriculum of math, English, social studies, science and language, the middle school offers a wide range of electives, including art, dancing and Junior Great Books. From there, the students go to the Freehold Regional High School District, which consists of five schools in Monmouth County, each of which has a specialty. Freehold Borough High School is the district's magnet school for medical technology.
The borough has one Roman Catholic parochial school -- St. Rose of Lima on McLean Street.
Many adult residents use the sports facilities at the schools for recreation. There also are several small neighborhood parks and two baseball diamonds on Otterson Road. The borough also owns the 40-acre Lake Topanemus Park in Freehold Township.
By JERRY CHESLOW
Published: January 26, 1992
A "HOLE in the doughnut" municipality, the historic Borough of Freehold, is surrounded by the township of the same name.
Settled in the late 17th century by Scots, it was a center for Monmouth County as early as 1715, when the first courthouse was built at what is now the intersection of Main and Court Streets. A stone's throw away, at Court and Monument Streets, is the Monmouth Battle Memorial, a granite obelisk commemorating the Revolutionary War battle fought in June 1788 in neighboring Freehold Township and nearby Manalapan.
The 1.9-square-mile borough is the seat of Monmouth County, home to its offices, courthouse and Hall of Records, which together make up 24 percent of the borough's assessed property valuation. Although municipal officials resent the county's not paying property taxes, local business people note that the county offices draw people downtown.
"The malls took the major shopping away from our business district," said Susan Lithgow, co-owner of the Coffee Shop on the Square West, on Main Street. "Now our main business comes from the offices in town."
A few doors down is St. Peter's, an Episcopal church built in 1771 that served as a hospital for both British and Colonial soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth. Also on Main Street is the early 18th-century Covenhoven House, which the British general Henry Clinton used as his headquarters. And on East Main isthe Freehold Public Library, a small brick structure whose construction was financed by Andrew Carnegie in 1903 after fire damaged the former library.
The borough grew up around the current county Route 537 (Main Street), and state Routes 9 and 33 (Park Avenue), which were colonial roads to New York City and Philadelphia. Many local farmers also raised horses, leading to the establishment in 1853 of Freehold Raceway, the oldest harness racing track in the United States. The Raceway, on Route 9, still holds 11 races on Tuesdays and Sundays from August through May.
The highest priced house on the market, at $595,000, is a 200-year-old Colonial mansion -- the 6-bedroom, 8-bath, 6,000-square-foot Boxwood Hall at 19 Schanck Street, just north of the courthouse.
Among the prime housing areas are Brinckerhoff, Broad and Yard Streets, in the southwestern part of the borough, where 19th-century Victorian homes, shaded by oak and maple trees, dominate in a mixture of housing styles. Bob Coutts, owner of ReMax of Freehold Realtors on East Main Street, said house prices there ranged from $150,000 to $300,000, depending on the size and condition of the home. A remodeled 130-year-old, 5-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath Victorian at West Main and Yard Streets is listed for $299,900.
There also are modern ranch, colonial, and split-level homes, most far from the main roads. Modern three-bedroom homes on newer roads, such as Dogwood or Brookwood Streets, are priced from $150,000 to $175,000 and four-bedrooms houses at about $25,000 more.
William and Patricia Chambers moved from Ocean Township and bought a three-bedroom ranch on Sunset Court, just behind Brinckerhoff Avenue, in October 1990. Their son William Jr., 5 years old, "has cerebral palsy," Mr. Chambers said, "and we needed a house in which everything is on one level for him."
Mr. Chambers, a department manager at a ShopRite in Woodbridge, is a native of Freehold Township; his wife, Patricia, a registered nurse, grew up in the borough.
"WE came back because we have lots of friends in the borough, Patty's father still lives here, and we've heard nothing but good things about the schools," Mr. Chambers said.
The least expensive one-family houses are in what residents call "Texas," a mainly low-income section around the defunct A & M Karagheusian Carpet Mill. Frame houses built for the factory workers nearly 100 years ago on Bond or Factory Streets sell for $55,000 to $95,000. A two-bedroom, 12-foot-wide factory house on Bond Street is listed for $59,000.
There are two major town-house communities, the 54-unit Patriot's Pointe off Route 537 and the 194-unit Kingsley Square off Stokes Street. Two- and three- bedrooms range from $80,000 to $115,000.
The largest condominium complex is Briarwood West on Route 537, which has 176 two-bedroom units. Last year, the builder held an auction to close out unsold units, which brought $65,000 to $80,000, according to Mayor Michael Wilson.
Rental housing is plentiful. The largest complex is the 104-unit Post & Coach on South Street, which has 104 apartments. One-bedroom units rent for $575 a month and two-bedrooms for $675.
The closing of the carpet mill in 1964 marked the beginning of the borough's decline, which was accelerated by the building of shopping malls along Route 9. Then, in 1987, several residents raised money to plant flowers along Main Street. That was followed by the 1988 reconstruction of one block of Main Street. The sidewalk was widened and bricked, Victorian-style street lights were installed and cafes were allowed to put tables on the sidewalks. The county bricked the plaza in front of the Hall of Records.
"It gave us back a downtown," Mayor Wilson said. "Now we have a soul." Most of the restaurants are downtown, where they can take advantage of the courthouse trade. They include Oh! Brothers, an American-style restaurant in the historic American Hotel, now used for conferences and meetings; Court Jester, which has pub-style food; Frederici's, an Italian restaurant; Sante Fe, which serves Tex/Mex food; La Cipollina, a Northern Italian restaurant just off West Main; the Little Doll House on West Main Street, which serves home-style food, and Barristers, a pub in a shopping center on Route 79.
Downtown businesses include several convenience food stores, banks, pharmacies and office supply stores. The borough has one supermarket, on Route 33, but many residents shop for food in Freehold Township and patronize the Freehold Raceway Mall, in the township.
The revitalized downtown is just one aspect of the renaissance of the borough, according to Vivian Taylor, the 69-year-old Borough Clerk, who has lived in the borough all her life. "The older people are selling off the houses that are starting to run down," she said. "Younger people are buying them and fixing them up. So the neighborhoods that were starting to run down are coming back."
THE borough's public school system comprises two K-5 elementary schools and the Park Avenue Intermediate School. Parents can choose between the Freehold Early Learning Center, a large, 18-year-old school with no internal walls on Dutch Lane Road, and the more traditional Park Avenue Elementary School.
The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Janet E. Kalafat, calls her district "a microcosm of the real world -- a quality, integrated district where there is interracial harmony and respect." The district is 55 percent white and 45 percent minority-- mainly black and Spanish-speaking.
Besides a core curriculum of math, English, social studies, science and language, the middle school offers a wide range of electives, including art, dancing and Junior Great Books. From there, the students go to the Freehold Regional High School District, which consists of five schools in Monmouth County, each of which has a specialty. Freehold Borough High School is the district's magnet school for medical technology.
The borough has one Roman Catholic parochial school -- St. Rose of Lima on McLean Street.
Many adult residents use the sports facilities at the schools for recreation. There also are several small neighborhood parks and two baseball diamonds on Otterson Road. The borough also owns the 40-acre Lake Topanemus Park in Freehold Township.