Monmouth Tract facts for kids
The Monmouth Tract, also known as the Monmouth Patent or Navesink Tract, was a large area of land given to early settlers in New Jersey. This happened a long time ago, when America was still a group of colonies ruled by England. It was like a special permission slip for land.
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A New Beginning in New Jersey
In 1664, an English officer named Richard Nicolls took control of the land that is now New Jersey and New York. Before this, it was a Dutch colony called New Netherland. Nicolls made sure English laws were used and set up rules for how people could get land.
Getting the Land Grant
After giving land for a place called Elizabeth-Town, Nicolls gave out the Monmouth Tract on April 8, 1665. This land was shaped like a triangle. It stretched from Sandy Hook to the mouth of the Raritan River. From there, it went about 25 miles (40 km) upstream, then southeast to Barnegat Bay.
Who Received the Land?
Twelve men, many of whom were Quakers from Long Island, bought this large piece of land. It was first called Navesink. This name likely came from the Navesink tribe, a group of the Lenape people who lived in the area.
The Monmouth Tract later became the towns of Freehold, Middletown, and Shrewsbury. Eventually, this area grew into Monmouth County.
The 13 people who received the Monmouth land grant were:
- Richard Lippincott
- William Golden (Goulding) (Golder)
- Samuel Spicer
- Richard Gibbons
- Richard Stout
- James Grover
- John Bowne
- John Tilton
- Nathaniel Sylvester
- William Reape
- Walter Clark
- Nichols Davis
- Obadiah Holmes
How Monmouth County Got Its Name
In 1675, Monmouth became one of the first four counties in the East Jersey colony. The other first counties were Bergen, Essex, and Middlesex.
People think the Monmouth Tract and later Monmouth County got its name in a few ways:
- From the Rhode Island Monmouth Society.
- From a suggestion by Colonel Lewis Morris. He thought it should be named after Monmouthshire in Wales, Great Britain.
- Some also believe it was named after James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. He had many friends among the leaders of East Jersey.
