History Question

[dfx]

Anyone know precisely when Freehold Borough became the County Seat of Monmouth?


dfx

[jefffriedman]

Aug 6, 2010 12:14:55 GMT -5 dfx said:

Anyone know precisely when Freehold Borough became the County Seat of Monmouth?


dfx

1714

[BrianSullivan]

I see Jeff got the year that the Court House was built. That was before there even was a USA. For a time, the county seat was referred as simply "Monmouth Court House." If my memory serves me, it was in Freehold Township which included parts of or all of Colts Neck, Marlboro, Millstone, Upper Freehold, Manalapan and modern day Freehold township.

Monmouth County was one of the first four counties in the state, and Freehold was one of the first three townships in the county. The borough did not become the county seat until it was born in 1919.

[jefffriedman]

This was the county seat when it was part of England. It became the county seat when John Reed in 1713 sold the land to the Board of Chosen Freeholds to be a Courthouse and therefore county seat. Monmouth County was a county when the Capital of East Jersey was in Perth Amboy. Yes this was all prior to the formation of the USA but that does not change the fact that it was the county seat before there was a USA.

From Wikipedia
Monmouth County was established in 1675. Its name may come from the Rhode Island Monmouth Society[4] or from a suggestion from Colonel Lewis Morris. He suggested it be named after Monmouthshire in Wales, Great Britain. Other suggestions include that it was named for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (1649–1685), who had many allies among the East Jersey leadership.[5] In 1714, the first county government was established.

Freehold was originally named Monmouth Courthouse. In 1714, John Reid, the first Surveyor General of East Jersey, wanted the county seat located in Freehold Township and thus sold the property to the Board of Chosen Freeholders at a bargain price, what may have been the deciding factor in Freehold's competition with Middletown and Shrewsbury for the site. In return for the heavily-discounted price, Reid placed a restrictive covenant in the deed that, should the property ever cease being used as a courthouse, ownership would revert back to the Reid family. Direct descendants of John Reid still reside in Freehold Township.[20]

[BrianSullivan]

Jeff, I am no buff at local history and just went off the top of my head. Very nice follow through on your part.

[jefffriedman]

"Reid placed a restrictive covenant in the deed that, should the property ever cease being used as a courthouse, ownership would revert back to the Reid family"

This is why there is still the one courtroom on the third floor of the Hall of Records, without that courtroom the property would go back to the Reid family.