Monmouth Timeline

Sea Bright

Sea Bright was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 21, 1889, from portions of Ocean Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. The borough was reincorporated on March 10, 1897. Additional portions of Ocean Township were annexed by the borough in March 1909. While some attribute the name to a suggestion made by Martha Bayard Stevens, other sources say that the borough was named for Sea Bright, England, though there is no evidence such a place exists. Earlier sources often spell it as one word, "Seabright", as seen in the United States Coast Guard's Station Seabright and the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club.

Source: Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 185.

History of Sea Bright
Official town logo of the Borough of Sea Bright, N.J.
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Image: Pilot William D. Frayne endangering his own life by risking a side-to-side landing, while his plane was on fire over France, 1917. Frayne's bravery saved the life of his observer and won him Army Silver Star for heroism. Original illustration by Charlie Swerdlow, History Depicted, ©2024, commissioned by Monmouth Timeline.
October 17, 1918

The Silver Star: William D. Frayne of Sea Bright

By John R. Barrows   Editor’s note: Most of what we present here about hero pilot Bill Frayne’s wartime exploits is owed to Steve Ruffin and his exhaustive work with original source records as published in Over the Front, the
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Photo of sheet music score to the song "Monmouth County." Photos and text courtesy of the Archives Division of the Monmouth County Clerk.
May 17, 1923

Monmouth County’s Official Song is “Monmouth County”

On July 5, 1939, the song “Monmouth County” was formally adopted as our county’s official song by the chosen freeholders.  With lyrics written by Captain Cyril A. Smack of Sea Bright, and music by his sister, Gertrude Smack Seaman of
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