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AHistory
History · Upper Freehold Township

Upper Freehold Township dates to 1731, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #52 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 57 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1790.

1731founded
7on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Upper Freehold Township began

When was Upper Freehold Township founded?

1731

Upper Freehold Township dates its founding to 1731 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 3,442 in 17902020 census: 7,273295 years

How historic is Upper Freehold Township?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Upper Freehold Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Freehold Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #52 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Freehold Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1731, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194012.0% of homes (±6.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register7 listings, 79 historic buildings, 109 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 89%

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 Upper Freehold Township’s 109 sits above most of its state (87% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 79 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1731.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points).

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 Upper Freehold Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Upper Freehold Township, and 22 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Upper Freehold Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Imlaystown
1832–today
Hornerstown
1834–1929
New Sharon
1850–1912
Walnford
1850–1904
Prospertown
1856–1913
Cream Ridge
1874–today
Red Valley
1875–1906
Davis
1884–1919
Nelsonville
1887–1923
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArneytownCooleys CornerCream RidgeEllisdaleEmleys HillHomes MillsHornerstownImlaystownKirbys MillsNelsonvilleNew CantonNew SharonPolhemustownProspertownPullentownRed ValleyRobinsvilleSharonShrewsburySpring MillWalnfordWrightsville
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Upper Freehold Township
Cream RidgeEmleys HillOld Yellow Meeting House

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Upper Freehold Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Upper Freehold Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUpper Freehold (Township): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Upper Freehold Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000180018501900195020005,026 in 1840Low: 1,737

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.

23 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Upper Freehold Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Upper Freehold Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Upper Freehold Township.

Read it all →

Upper Freehold Township dates back to 1731, when it was formed from portions of Freehold Township. It was formally incorporated as a township by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Over the years, portions of the township have been taken to form Millstone Township (February 28, 1844), Jackson Township (March 6, 1844) and Allentown (January 20, 1889). The name of the township derives from Freehold Township, which in turn is derived from the word freehold, an English legal term describing fee simple property ownership.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Upper Freehold Township in 1885

Passages that mention Upper Freehold Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

in 1758, Limming, John, (son of William) taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1731, taxed in Upper Freehold Township in 1758, Limming, John, Jr., taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758, Limming, Thomas, taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758,
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 128Read the page →
Read the text

in 1758, Limming, John, (son of William) taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1731, taxed in Upper Freehold Township in 1758, Limming, John, Jr., taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758, Limming, Thomas, taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
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
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.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Upper Freehold Township, 1731 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1731
    FoundingUpper Freehold Township is established
  3. 1754Born hereGilbert Imlay is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1830In the archiveBox Grove, Coxs Corner (color)
  6. 1832Post officeThe Imlaystown post office opens
  7. 1834Post officeThe Hornerstown post office opens
  8. 1850Post officeThe New Sharon post office opens
  9. 1873In the archiveUpper Freehold (Township)
  10. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1912Post officeThe New Sharon post office closes
  13. 1929Post officeThe Hornerstown post office closes
  14. 21st century
  15. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,273
By decade

Upper Freehold Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Box Grove, Coxs Corner (color)1830Box Grove, Coxs Corner (color)Document
1870s1 item
Upper Freehold (Township)1873Upper Freehold (Township)
Today10 recent
2014-05-11 11 57 03 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis Station Road, Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey20142014-05-11 11 57 03 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis…2014-05-11 11 56 22 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis Station Road, Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey20142014-05-11 11 56 22 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis…2014-05-11 11 55 56 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis Station Road, Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey20142014-05-11 11 55 56 Magnolia at a nursery along Davis…2014-05-11 08 39 31 Sod farm along Allentown-Lakewood Road (Monmouth County Route 526) in Upper Freehold Township, New …20142014-05-11 08 39 31 Sod farm along Allentown-Lakewood…Coward- Smith House (2)2012Coward- Smith House (2)Union Transportation Trail trestle over the Lahaway Creek in Homerstown, New Jersey2010Union Transportation Trail trestle over the Lahaway C…Springtime Nursery - early morning2008Springtime Nursery - early morningMERINO HILL HOUSE AND FARM, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ2008MERINO HILL HOUSE AND FARM, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJCOWARD HENDRICKSON HOUSE, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ2008COWARD HENDRICKSON HOUSE, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJUpper freehold twp nj 0252005Upper freehold twp nj 025
On the map

Upper Freehold Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Upper Freehold Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Upper Freehold Township on the 1888 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1893 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1906 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1918 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1948 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1957 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1981 USGS mapUpper Freehold Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Bordentown 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 Upper Freehold Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Upper Freehold (Township)
Retake this viewUpper Freehold (Township), 1873

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Upper Freehold Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 listings protect 79 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
79
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Upper Freehold Baptist Meeting
Upper Freehold Baptist MeetingArneytown Historic DistrictSalter's MillImlaystown Historic DistrictMerino Hill House and FarmWalnfordCoward-Smith House
BuildingsDistricts
Upper Freehold Baptist MeetingBuilding
Arneytown Historic DistrictDistrict
Salter's MillBuilding
Imlaystown Historic DistrictDistrict
Merino Hill House and FarmBuilding
All 7 listings
WalnfordDistrict · listed 1976Coward-Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1989

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Millstone Township2 historic placesB−Roosevelt1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRobbinsville Township1 historic placeB−Allentown2 historic placesA+North Hanover TownshipIts storyDHamilton Township8 historic placesB+

Questions about Upper Freehold Township’s history

What year was Upper Freehold Township founded?

In 1731, according to Wikidata. Upper Freehold Township’s post office opened in 1832, and the first U.S. census counted 3,442 people here in 1790.

How does Upper Freehold Township rank for history?

Upper Freehold Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #52 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 Upper Freehold Township?

7 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Upper Freehold Baptist Meeting (listed 1975, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Arneytown Historic District, the Imlaystown Historic District and the Walnford, with 57 contributing buildings. 79 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Upper Freehold Township?

12% of Upper Freehold Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 2000.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.