History of Freehold comes alive on map Comprehensive tour will take visitors to 75 sites in county seat BY DICK METZGAR Staff Writer It’s incredible how much history can be packed into a 1.9-square-mile community. Randall Gabrielan, the executive director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, came to that conclusion recently after completing a historic tour of Freehold Borough, a task that took more than a year. “It’s amazing how much history is crowded into such a small town,” Gabrielan said. “I found that there’s something historic in every section of the town, and on nearly every street there is a site of historic significance. There are the obvious sites such as the Battle of Monmouth Monument, the American Hotel and the Covenhoven House, but there are so many other sites of historic importance that are often overlooked.” In fact, the tour map of Freehold that has been produced by the commission includes 75 sites arranged numerically on a map so that an individual can use it to visit the various designated sites in an orderly fashion, the executive director said. “I think it would be nearly impossible for a person to complete the tour in one day because there is so much to be seen,” Gabrielan said. “The fact that the borough is the county seat, one of the oldest in the country, adds considerable enhancement to its history.” As many sites as there are on the map, there are other locations in town that could have been included, Gabrielan said. “The map locates all of the main historic sites, government buildings and structures of architectural interest,” he said. “However, still more sites ... could have been included save for space constraints and a desire to avoid a crowded map. Thus, some buildings, especially houses, may serve as representative examples of styles. Careful examination of map entries may be useful in recognizing other noteworthy structures of similar type and structure.” The map is color coded to identify churches, commercial buildings, government buildings, historic buildings, historic sites, residential buildings, and sites of historic fires. The map also spotlights sites where buildings no longer exist, but that were very important in the development of the county seat. These sites include the Joseph Brakeley Canning Co. at Manalapan and Bowne avenues, dating from 1882 to 1929. The canning company was one of Freehold’s most important early industries, where the county and borough public works facilities were later located, and where an assisted living facility is now located. The map also identifies some of the borough’s early private schools at South and Institute streets, schools which no longer exist, including the Freehold Institute, which was run as a leading boys private school from 1848 until the 1890s. From 1900 until 1947, it was the site of the New Jersey Military Academy. The St. Rose of Lima School is now located on the site. Each site featured on the map is accompanied by a small photograph and a short description of its history. The map also includes a history of the borough. Sponsored by Freehold Borough and the Freehold Center Partnership, Gabrielan gave special thanks to J. Michael La Rosa, a member of the Monmouth County Planning Board who was the graphics supervisor of the project. “His aid and expertise in laying out the map was extremely valuable,” Gabrielan said. Free copies of the map can be obtained at the Monmouth County Economic Development and Tourism Department, 31 E. Main St., Freehold, and the Freehold Center Partnership office, 17 Broad St., Freehold. Copies may also be requested by calling (732) 431-7413.