DATE LINE
- Monmouth County, New Jersey
- Very Early- Crustaceous (70 million to 100 million years ago!) Period Amid huge sequoias and swampy lowlands roamed the trachodon, the 20 foot tall duck billed dinosaur, browsing on evergreen trees. In the brackish bays of the estuary, plesiosaurs, long-necked marin lizards up to 40 feet in length, gorged on fish.
Learn about how the first nearly-complete skeleton of a dinosaur was found and excavated in Haddonfield, Camden County NJ, 1858. - Slightly later- Pleistocene period (Ice Age- 10,000 years ago. Great hairy mastedons and other long-vanished mammals roamed the Jersey Shore to the south of glacier which covered parts of North Jersey.
- Early - The area belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy
- 1524 - John DeVerazzano entered Sandy Hook in the ship Dolphin.
- 1584 -
- 1609 - Hendrick Hudson, for the States General, discovered what's now Newark Bay
"This is a good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see" - Sir Henry Hudson's Log-Book, 1609
- 1613 - The Dutch built two small trading fort on the Hudson River
- 1614 - Dutch settlers began to arrive in five vessels and settled along "Lange
Eylandt"
- 1624 - Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Indians for about $24
- 1632 - New Netherlands extended from Connecticut to Pennsylvania
- 1645 - Peitrus Stuyvesant, Director, ruled with great ability for 19 years
- 1648-The celebrated Stout manuscript says there were only 'six white families' in Middletown.
- 1664 - New Netherlands was invaded by the British
- 1665 - Monmouth Patent was established with a promise of "Free Libery of Conscience without any molestation or disturbance whatsoever in the way of worship."-Monmouth Patent
The 12 men who signed this patent agreed to have 100 families living in the area within 3 years. - 1673 - The Dutch drove out the British
- 1673 - Capt. Knyff and Lieut. Snell's report shows there were 391 male adults in East New Jersey.
- 1674 - The Treaty of Westminister gave the province to the British
- 1674 - The area was divided into the Provinces of East Jersey and West Jersey
- 1676 - NJ began licensing ordinaries (as inns and taverns were originally called) and fixing the prices to be charged for housing and feeding man and horse. The price of 'cyder' - at four pence a quart, eight pence for a meal, and six pence a day for pasture for a horse.
- 1682 - The population of Shrewsbury township was estimated at 400, and Middletown 100 families.
- 1683 - Monmouth County came into being from the Province of East Jersey
- 1702 - The population of the whole state was estimated at about 20,000. (Vide Hist Coll. NJ)
- 1726 - In 1726 the population of the whole State was 32,442.
- 1730 - The New England Weekly Journal of Feb. 23, 1730: "On Monday night (a week ago) was killed near Shrewsbury in the Jerseys, a monstrous large Panther, the like never seen before in these parts. Its legs being thicker than that of a Horse, with a body proportionable, and hte Nails of its Claws longer than the middle finger of a Man's Hand." "It seems the Indian who killed him was creeping up on the Ground, in order to have a shot at a buck, but hearing a rustling of Leaves behind him accidentally saw the Panther a few yards off, just ready to leap upon him be there-upon instantly fires, and luckily, with about 4 or 5 Swan shot, hit him in the Head and Killed him. The Indian received a considerable Reward for the Service from the Liberality of the Neighboring People."
- 1747 - Cider still cost 4 pence, but the Court of Quarter Sessions at Freehold set the price of meals at nine pence for breakfast or supper and one shilling for dinner. Horses were stabled overnight with "English Hay" for a shilling or on salt or "bogg hay" for 6 pence.
- 1776 - Our founding fathers in Philadelphia sign the Declaration of Independence.
- 1778 - The Battle of Monmouth: The Battle of Monmouth was part of the American Revolution. It was fought
near Monmouth Courthouse (Freehold) on June 28, 1778.
General George Washington chose Monmouth to confront the British while they were fleeing from Philadelphia toward New York. He ordered Gen. Charles Lee to launch the attack but instead, General Lee retreated. The British, under Sir Henry Clinton, immediately counter attacked and it was only the arrival of Generals Washington and Steuben that prevented disaster. The British forces escaped, losses were about equal on both sides and the battle is considered a draw. General Lee was court-marshalled for disobeying orders.
The legend of Molly Pitcher is associated with this event. When her husband was wounded, Molly "manned" the cannon that day and helped to route the British.
For those who insist on the bright glare of reality, her real name was Mary Ludwig Heis (or Hays), who got her nickname from bringing cool water to the weary troops. And it was probably Margaret Corbin on cannon. But that was another day, another battle and another place. Anyway, Molly was at Monmouth.
Molly's home county also claims her. (If you link over, look for 1778, then click BACK in order to return.)
- 1787 - New Jersey became the third of the original 13 United States
- 1820 - Rates set by the 1676 Court law fixed these prices: Breakfast or supper: 25 cents, Lodging: 12 1/2 cents, Madeira wine: 1.50 a quart, Country Rum or Cider: 6 1/4 cents a gill.
- 1858, summer, the 'eve of the Civil War' - in Haddonfield, Camden County, NJ, thefirst nearly-complete skeleton of a dinosaur was found and excavated by a "Victorian gentleman and fossil hobbyist" named William Parker Foulke while vacationing.
- 1864 - This year saw our nation gripped in the throes of the Civil War. In a concerted effor to restore economic stability, President Abraham Lincoln marshalled the congressional forces to pass the new National Banking Act of 1864. One of the first banks to be founded under the Act was the First National Bank of Jersey City, on April 18, 1864.
- 1869 - Ocean Grove was founded by Bishop Francis Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in America.
- 1873 - Monmouth County population total = 46,316; New Jersey State Population total: 1019413.....1,578 of them being "blind, deaf and dumb, idiots or insane".
- 1881 - March 19th- 37 residents voted unanimously to organize the new Borough of Neptune City.
Newspapers of the time show the new community dealt with problems of chicken thieves, intoxication, animals running at large, property damage and disorderly conduct, in general.
- 1881 - Nov. 20th - Shark River Inlet is opened. "The flats at low water are alive with clam diggers who are now able to secure clams in unlimited numbers - and duck shooting on Shark River is better than it has been in many years."
- 1888 - New York City fish markets receive more seafood from the Shark River area than from any other location.
- 1891 - The first (oil) streetlamps were installed in the Borough of Neptune City. Andrew Slocum the lamplighter was paid $8 per week for lighting the lamps each day.
- 1894 - electric street lamps were installed in the Borough of Neptune City.
- 1895 - Gugilelmo Marconi, who invented the radio-telegraph in 1895, built the first trans-Atlantic wireless telegraph tower in the United States.
- 1895 - Progress, progress! Underground gas lines were installed in Neptune City.
- 1900 - March 23rd- Avon separates from Neptune City.
- 1907 - Jan 28th Bradley Beach separated from Neptune City to form it's own town.
- 1909-1910 - at the cost of $87,000 completed the Bradley Beach Grammer School was one of the best constructed buildings on the coast,being absolutely fireproof. Having the thermostat system of ventilation and latest improved method of heating. Its hygenic and sanitary conditions of the best. There is an enrollment of 394 scholars, the average being 360 (circa 1913)
- 1927 - June 1st- Shark River Island was created by leveling off a large cliff in the vicinity of Boston Road and Steiner Ave. Why is this Neptune Township and not Neptune City? Well, prior to The Island's development all tidal waters were within Neptune Townships boundaries. Neptune City's southern border along Shark River is only to 'mean low tide' and includes none of the Shark River.
- 1961 - June- after 80 years of shell-fishing the State of New Jersey forbids shell-fishing in the Shark River because of polluted waters.
- 1976 - The Bicentennial Committee in Pennsylvania had a brilliant idea: They want to give the public an opportunity to re-dedicate themselves to the basic principles of this nation, by signing a copy of the Declaration of Independence. One problem: Half the citizens in the test run of the project refuse to sign the document! "Too radical," was the comment most offered by those who turned the Declaration down. But the men and women who founded the nation were political radicals and the document they wrote is radical. It wouldn't, for example, be adopted as a campaign platform by either the Democrats or Republicans.
See
Declaration of Independence to read it and consider the decisions our ancestors had to make.
For a more detailed account, see your encyclopedia.
Richard and Kathleen Pettys
Please report any errors so that they may be corrected. Thanks
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