Marlboro, New Jersey, United States

🇺🇸 Marlboro Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Marlboro Township was formed in 1848, from portions of Freehold Township. The township was named for the marl beds found in the area.

History: Lenni Lenape The Lenni Lenape Native Americans were the first known organized inhabitants of this area, having settled here about one thousand years ago and forming an agricultural society, occupying small villages that dotted what was to become Marlboro Township. Their villages were known to be in the Wickatunk and Crawford's Corner sections of the township.

In 1600, the Delaware / Lenape Native American population in the surrounding area may have numbered as many as 20,000. Several wars, at least 14 separate epidemics (yellow fever, smallpox, influenza, encephalitis lethargica, etc.) and disastrous over-harvesting of the animal populations reduced their population to around 4,000 by the year 1700. Since the Lenape people, like all Native Americans, had no immunity to European diseases, when the populations contacted the epidemics, they frequently proved fatal. Some Lenape starved to death as a result of animal over-harvesting, while others were forced to trade their land for goods such as clothing and food. They were eventually moved to reservations set up by the US Government. They were first moved to the only Indian Reservation in New Jersey, the Brotherton Reservation in Burlington County, New Jersey (1758–1802). Those who remained survived through attempting to adapt to the dominant culture, becoming farmers and tradesmen. As the Lenni Lenape population declined, and the European population increased, the history of the area was increasingly defined by the new European inhabitants and the Lenape Native American tribes played an increasingly secondary role.

Dutch arrival Within a period of 112 years, 1497–1609, four European explorers claimed this land for their sponsors: John Cabot, 1497, for England; Giovanni de Verrazano, 1524, for France; Estevan Gomez, 1525, for Spain, Henry Hudson, 1609, for Holland. After the Dutch arrival to the region in the 1620s, the Lenape were successful in restricting Dutch settlement to Pavonia in present-day Jersey City along the Hudson River until the 1660s and the Swedish settlement to New Sweden (1655 – The Dutch defeat the Swedes on the Delaware). The Dutch established a garrison at Bergen allowing settlement of areas within the province of New Netherland. For 50 years, 1614–1664, the Monmouth County area came under the influence of the Dutch, but it was not settled until after English rule in 1664.

The initial European proprietors of the area purchased the land from the Lenni Lenape leader or Sakamaker. The chief of the Unami, or Turtle clan, was traditionally the great chief of all the Lenni Lenape. One of the sons of the leader, was Weequehela who negotiated the sale of several of the initial tracts of land to the first farmers. An early deed refers to "the chief sachems or leaders of Toponemus".

On April 2, 1664, the English appointed Richard Nicolls to serve as the Deputy Governor of New York and New Jersey. One year later, April 8, 1665, Nicolls issued "The Monmouth Patent" to twelve men who had come from Western Long Island and New England seeking permanent stability for religious and civil freedom as well as the prospect of improving their estates. Nicolls was unaware that in June, 1664, James had given a lease and release for New Jersey to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, thus invalidating the grant to the Monmouth Patentees. The rule at the time was that land should be purchased from the Patent.

However, in the time between 1685 and the early 18th century, the patent was ignored and land was gradually purchased from the Lenni Lenape causing confusion and disputes over ownership. Following the initial sale of land, the history of the township starts about 1685, when the land was first settled by European farmers from Scotland, England and the Netherlands. The Scottish exiles and early Dutch settlers lived on isolated clearings carved out of the forest. The lingua franca or common language spoken in the area was likely, overwhelmingly Dutch. However, this was one of many languages spoken with the culture very steeped in New Netherlander. The official documentation at the time is frequently found to be in the Dutch language. The documents of the time also suggest that money transactions used the British shilling. The English and Scotch settlers were Quakers. After initial European contact, the Lenape population sharply declined.

The first settlers of the area were led by missionary George Keith. They were Quakers. The Quakers established a town called "Topanemus" and nearby a meetinghouse and a cemetery on what is now Topanemus Road and held the first meeting on October 10, 1702. The first leader of the church was Rev. George Keith who received a large grant of land in the area due to his position as Surveyor-General. Among the first listed communicants of the new church were Garret and Jan Schenck. The church later changed its affiliation to the Episcopal faith and became St. Peter's Episcopal Church which is now located in Freehold. The old burial ground still remains on Topanemus Road. In 1692 those of the Presbyterian Faith built a church and burial ground on what is now Gordons Corner Road. The church eventually moved to Tennent where it became known as the Old Tennent Church and played a role in the American Revolutionary War. The old Scots Cemetery still remains at its original site.

Marl's discovery The township of Marlboro is named for the prevalence of marl, which was first discovered in the area east of the village in 1768. Marl was used extensively on farms and spread during the winter months to be tilled into the soil in the spring. The "Marl Pits" are clearly reflected on maps from 1889 shown as a dirt road off of Hudson Street heading towards the current location of the township soccer fields. Farmers used marl to improve the soil in the days before commercial fertilizers and there was a heavy demand for it. Marlboro Township's first industry was the export of the material, used primarily as fertilizer. In 1853, the Marl was harvested and transported to other parts of the state and to the Keyport docks via the Freehold Marl Company Railroad (now the Henry Hudson Trail). The marl was then sent to New York and other parts of the country via ship. Prior to the finding of Marl, the area was known as 'Bucktown' for John Buck who owned a tavern in the area.

Revolutionary War Marlboro Township was the scene of a number of skirmishes during the American Revolutionary War, in particular following the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. During the war, the Pleasant Valley section was often raided by the British for food supplies and livestock. The area was referred to as the "Hornet's Nest" because of the intensity of attacks on the British by local militia. Beacon Hill (of present-day Beacon Hill Road) was one of three Monmouth County sites where beacons were placed to warn the residents and the Continental forces if the enemy should approach from the bay. There was also considerable activity in the Montrose area of the Township as British troops, retreating from the Battle of Monmouth, tried to wind their way to ships lying off Sandy Hook.

The area was also frequently sacked for food and livestock. The woods and surrounding vegetation were hunted for animals to depletion by the British. One description of a hunt was recorded: "A great deer-drive was organized, taking in almost the entire northern portion of Monmouth county. Before daylight… a line of men… was stretched… somewhere near Marlboro. At an appointed hour this line of beaters, with shot and shout… proceeded forward to drive as large as possible a number of deer to the shore between Port Monmouth and Atlantic Highlands. The drive was completely successful… that deer were almost exterminated in the northerly part of the county".

Township formation Under the direction and influence of John W. Herbert, Marlboro was established as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 17, 1848, formed from portions of Freehold Township. The township's name was originally "Marlborough", but was subsequently changed to "Marlboro". It is not known when the name was officially changed, with maps and other documents in the decades after the township's establishment referring variously to "Marlboro" or "Marlborough". The first elected freeholder was John W. Herbert.

Marlboro was rural and composed mostly of dairy farms, potato, tomato and other farms laced with small hamlets with modest inns or taverns. Before World War II Marlboro Township was actually the nation's largest grower of potatoes and also known for a large tomato and egg industry. During World War II, egg farms significantly expanded to accommodate military demand.

Following World War II, the state began to significantly build and improve the area transportation infrastructure. As the infrastructure improved, the population started to increase. The 1950s and 1960s saw Marlboro starting to significantly grow. Housing developments started to replace the farm and rural nature as the community expanded. After the early 1970s, Marlboro became a growing suburb for people working in New York and in large nearby corporations. During the 1980s and early 1990s most of the new housing developments featured four- or five-bedroom houses, but later the trend shifted toward larger estate homes. The building effort became so advanced that Marlboro Township placed restrictions for building around wetlands; called the Stream Corridor Preservation Restrictions to mitigate construction and habitat contamination.

The year 2000 saw continued growth of the housing trend toward larger homes. Towards the end of the decade, housing growth declined due to the Great Recession.

Town center The Marlboro township centre has historically been considered an area around the intersection of Main Street (Route 79) and School Road. In the late 19th century the intersection held two hotels (both of them are now gone), general store (was on the lot of the current fire department building), and Post Office (was on the lot of a current Chinese Restaurant). Behind the current small mini-mart on the corner of this intersection, you can still see one of the original barns from the early 19th century. However, Marlboro no longer has any official town centre and can be considered an example of suburban sprawl. Efforts are underway to create an official "Village Center" and multiple proposals have come forward in recent discussions. Current vision statements suggest the creation of a pedestrian-friendly, mixed use Village Center, with an emphasis on walkability and traffic calming.

Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital Opened in 1931, Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital was located on 400 acres (1.6 km²) in the eastern part of the township. It was opened with much fanfare as a "state of the art" psychiatric facility. It was closed 67 years later on June 30, 1998, as part of a three-year deinstitutionalization plan in which some the state's largest facilities were being shut down, with Marlboro's 800 patients being shifted to smaller facilities and group homes. The land that the hospital was placed on was known as the "Big Woods Settlement". It was largely farm land but there was a large distillery on the property which was torn down to make room for the hospital. Additionally, due to the long residential stays at the hospital, a cemetery was also located near the hospital for the residents who died while in residence and were unclaimed. The hospital was completely demolished in 2015. Most of the land was handed over to the Monmouth County Park system, with some of the ground becoming the final linkage of the Henry Hudson Trail. The park system had developed the Big Brook Park and continues to expand and work on the park to provide services to the Monmouth County residents.

40% Green In June 2009, Marlboro Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MTMUA) deployed a 900 kW solar power array from Sharp that will enable the MTMUA to meet nearly 40% of its electricity needs with emissions-free solar-generated power. This is considered one of the largest of its kind in the East. This solar energy system will reduce New Jersey CO2 emissions by more than 4,200,000 lb (1,900,000 kg) annually; SO2 emissions by 28,000 lb (13,000 kg); and NO2 emissions by 18,000 lb (8,200 kg)., as well as eliminating significant amounts of mercury. Additionally, Marlboro has been recognised as a Cool City by the Sierra Club. Marlboro is the 10th Monmouth County municipality to be named a Cool City.

Preston Airfield Marlboro had an airport, Preston Airfield, which opened in 1954 and was in operation for almost 50 years. The airport was opened by Rhea Preston on his farm and consisted of two runways, one was 2,400 feet (730 m) as well as airplane hangars. It obtained a paved runway before 1972. In 1974, the airport had approximately 100 planes, 8 of which are used for air instruction. It won many awards and in 1974 was cited by the state Aviation Advisory Council as the "best maintained" airport. In 1975, the airport was given Planning Board approval to expand with 21 additional hangars and add an 840 square foot operations building. Exact records are not known as to when it changed its name to Marlboro Airport. The Garden State Art Center was known to have used the airport to fly in entertainers such as Jimmy Buffett, Jon Bon Jovi, and Howard Stern for performances. Planning board records reflect the intention to make this change in 1976. The NJ department of Transportation provided $4.8 million to expand Preston Airport. In 1979, the airport was described as having a single runway 2,200 feet (670 m) long. The airport was used for private aviation (Fixed wing as well as helicopters) as well as having a private school for flying instruction. In 2000, the airport was purchased by Marlboro Holdings LLC owned by Anthony Spalliero who closed it with the intent to redevelop the airport into housing. To foster the case for redevelopment, Spalliero donated land holdings he had near the airport to the township board of education, which was used to develop the Marlboro Early Learning Center, a school specialized for kindergarten classes. Following a $100,000 pay-off to former mayor Matthew Scannapieco the planning board used the distance to the new school as justification to close the airfield citing a reference to a fatal plane crash in 1997. Part of the airport has now been developed into Marlboro Memorial Cemetery which now borders the defunct airfield. The other part of the airfield has been absorbed into the Monmouth County Park System.

Historic sites Marlboro Township has a number of historically significant sites. These were identified by the Marlboro Township Historic Commission, Monmouth County Historical Association, Monmouth County Park System and other entities. The township of Marlboro has erected signs in front of some of the historically significant buildings to explain their historical significant status. Multiple signs can be seen along Main Street and on some other streets in the town centre area.

The Marlboro Township Historic Commission was set up to assist in preserving and publicizing the township's history. It recommends programs and policies to the mayor and the township council on issues of historic significance. It provides homeowners with information on historic preservation and renovation. The commission also maintains signs in Marlboro Township of some of the historically significant locations. The Historic Commission is composed of nine members, appointed by the mayor for three year terms, who volunteer their time without receiving any compensation.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 30.45 square miles (78.85 km²), including 30.34 square miles (78.58 km²) of land and 0.11 square miles (0.27 km²) of water (0.34%). The New Jersey Geological Survey map suggests the land is mostly made up of cretaceous soil consisting of sand, silt and clay.

Morganville (2010 Census population of 5,040) and Robertsville (2010 population of 11,297) are places and unincorporated communities located within Marlboro Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beacon Hill, Bradevelt, Claytons Corner, Henningers Mills, Herberts Corner, Hillsdale, Marlboro (also known as Marlboro Village), Monmouth Heights, Montrose, Mount Pleasant, Pleasant Valley, Smocks Corner, Spring Valley and Wickatunk.

The township borders Aberdeen Township, Colts Neck Township, Freehold Township, Holmdel Township, Manalapan Township and Matawan in Monmouth County; and Old Bridge Township in Middlesex County.

Industrial park In 1958 the township set aside 1500 acres for industrial growth. Officially known as the Marlboro Industrial Park, it is located off Vanderburg Road. The industrial park slogan, created by John B. Ackley, is "You get a lot to like in Marlboro".