Freehold Township dates to 1693, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #214 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Freehold Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listings are the Hankinson-Moreau-Covenhoven House, the St. Peter's Episcopal Church and the Walker-Combs-Hartshorne Farmstead. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Freehold Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Freehold Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #214 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Freehold Township’s overall grade.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Freehold Township’s 3.6 sits near the middle of its state (49% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1693.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Freehold Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Freehold Township, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.
23 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Freehold Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Freehold Township on the map, 1888 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Freehold Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Cassville sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Freehold Township.
The Lenni Lenape Native Americans were the earliest known people to live in the area that became Freehold. The Lenape were a hunter-gatherer society. They were largely sedentary, changing campsites seasonally. They were prolific hunters of small game and birds. They were also skilled fisherman, and were known to harvest vast amounts of clams from the bays and inlets on the Jersey Shore. They also practiced some agriculture to augment their food supply. During this time, an important crossroad of two major Lenape trails was located in the area of Freehold.
Passages that mention Freehold Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 166Read the page →
Read the text
1874, 762 Pemberton and Highistown Railroad Company, incorporated 1864, 384 in Upper Freehold Township, 611 Pemberton, Israel, chief engineer, Raritan and Delaware Railroad Company, 1855, 380 Pemberton, Dr. John, Long Branch physician, 1880, 762 Pemberton, John, house of, Oceanport, 1884, 891
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 206Read the page →
Read the text
tion of, 2 part of Township boundary line, 1693, 103 origin of name, and early bridge, 371 head streams in Freehold Township, 503 a boundary of Middletown Township, 1693. 519 Swimming River Bridge, mentioned in 1708 road records, 374 mentioned in Atlantic Township boundaries, 1847, 665
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Freehold Township, 1693 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1693, according to Wikidata. Freehold Township’s post office opened in 1801, and the first U.S. census counted 3,785 people here in 1790.
How does Freehold Township rank for history?
Freehold Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #214 of 468 in New Jersey. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Freehold Township?
Three places: the Hankinson-Moreau-Covenhoven House (listed 1974), the St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1977) and the Walker-Combs-Hartshorne Farmstead (1990).
How old are the homes in Freehold Township?
2% of Freehold Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1984.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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