Shrewsbury

History

Shrewsbury was part of the Navesink Patent or Monmouth Tract granted soon after the creation of East Jersey in 1665. The tract included Shrewsbury, along with the other historic communities of Freehold Township in western Monmouth County and Middletown Township in northern Monmouth County. When it was formed in 1693, Shrewsbury covered an area of almost , extending to the north to the Navesink River, south to include all of present-day Ocean County, east to the Atlantic Ocean and west to the present-day border of Monmouth County. It retained its size and scope until 1750, when various different municipalities began to break off from it. The first of those being Stafford Township, which was formed in 1750 and taking away much of modern-day Ocean County. The Parker Homestead, one of the oldest structures in the state, was built by early settlers to the region. Many of the early settlers of the region originated from Long Island, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. What is now Shrewsbury Township was originally formed on October 31, 1693, and was created as a township by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Shrewsbury Borough broke off from Shrewsbury Township, and was officially established on May 11, 1926.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.19 square miles (5.67 km2), including 2.16 square miles (5.60 km2) of land and 0.03 square miles (0.07 km2) of water (1.32%). Shrewsbury Borough prior to 1926 was a part of Shrewsbury Township, which had originally encompassed most of Monmouth and Ocean counties, including several of the other municipalities nearby, until finally shrinking down to under one square mile.

Race & ethnicity