AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ
| This section features several sites where African Americans, both enslaved and free, lived in Monmouth County, NJ from Colonial times to the Civil War. While some African Americans toiled as slaves on local plantations, other black New Jerseyans established their own farms, homes and built businesses and churches to support their communities. Monmouth County is an excellent are to survey, for this research, because it has one of the largest rural black populations in the Mid-Atlantic region. The pictures associated with this section were taken by the students in HS 103 in an attempt to visually record and raise public awareness of these sites and their importance to Monmouth County history. |
| If you wish to visit the sites mentioned in this
section, please click here for Map of Monmouth County.
|
THE IMPORTANCE OF CHURCHES IN BLACK COMMUNITIES
| The church was often a place where African
Americans, particularly slaves, could come together to seek some refuge from hardships and
gather as a community in peace. The are several important black churches in Monmouth
County, here are just a few. |
| Located in Freehold, read about Old Tennent Church. |
| Click here to take a tour of Old Tennent Church and Cemetary. |
| The first site is the Clinton A.M.E., (African American Episcopal)
Church. This church is believed to be one of
the earliest Afro-American churches. The church is located on Red Hill Rd. in Middletown .
|
| There are many other congregations similar to this one located throughout Monmouth. Some others include: AME Zion Church in Freehold, AME Zion Church in Manalapan, and The Saint James African American Episcopal Church in Matawan, established in 1851 |
OTHER SITES |
| There were also other important sites of African American history besides those located around the churches. |
| Fair Haven was the home of Charles Williams and Julia Reevey, a black family. The Reevey's owned property in Fair Haven in 1855. Since then, the site has been demolished. |
| Also located in Fair Haven, was the Brown family. The Brown's owned property in that area that is now named Brown's Lane. |
| Monmouth County also houses many African American cemeteries. Perhaps one of the first cemeteries of Monmouth was in Tinton Falls on the Morris Plantation. "Morris's plantation at Tinton Falls was perhaps the first place in Monmouth where natural reproduction significantly increased the number of enslaved African American", according to author Graham Russell Hodges. This plantation created a sacred meeting place for the black in the community. |
| Monmouth County is a great place to explore.
There are many inspiring sites of local and African American history to visit, so take
your friends and family and visit some today! |