Black History
December 29, 1675
How Enslavement Came to Monmouth County
Editor's note: On December 29, 1675, the entrepreneur Lewis Morris purchased a one-half interest in a bog iron property in Monmouth County near Colts Neck. He built an iron forge on the river in what today is Tinton Falls, and...
November 4, 1762
Marlpit Hall, c. 1762
Marlpit Hall, c. 1762 137 Kings Highway Middletown, NJ 07748 While four of the five historical houses owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA) have ties to Patriots of the American Revolution, this house represents the residence of a...
June 11, 1764
Sandy Hook Is America’s Oldest Continuously Operating Lighthouse
Lighthouses have been aiding navigators for more than 2,000 years. The first lighthouse in America was the Boston Light, built in 1716 at Boston Harbor. Sandy Hook Lighthouse was the fifth lighthouse built in the United States, but it is...
November 8, 1775
A Timeline of the Escaped Slave Titus who Became the Dreaded Loyalist Raider Colonel Tye
On November 8, 1775, a 22-year-old slave named Titus ran away from his owner and master, John Corlies of Colts Neck. Corlies was a Quaker who did not agree with Monmouth County Quaker views on the handling of slaves. Quakers during...
November 15, 1775
Titus Becomes Tye in Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment of Black Loyalist Soldiers
On November 15, 1775, the former Colts Neck slave named Titus, now calling himself simply "Tye," took part in the first armed conflict in American history involving an organized unit of African American soldiers. But they were fighting for the...
July 15, 1779
Colonel Tye and his Black Brigade Become the Scourge of Monmouth County Patriots
Col. Tye, now based in Refugeetown on Sandy Hook, along with other escaped slaves, black freedmen, and loyalists from Monmouth County as well as elsewhere. Col. Tye begins a reign of terror, leading raids into his former neighborhoods at the...
September 1, 1780
The Fatal Showdown Between Colonel Tye and Joshua Huddy
Original illustration exclusively for Monmouth Timeline, ©2021 by Charles Swerdlow, all rights reserved. In the years following the Battle of Monmouth, residents of Monmouth County engaged in an escalating civil war between residents siding with the Revolutionary cause, and residents...
November 25, 1783
After the Death of Tye, The Black Brigade Soldiers On
Following the death of Colonel Tye, the Black Brigade came under the leadership of the African Bahamian soldier Stephen Blucke, whose Black Pioneers together with the Brigade made frequent raids from Sandy Hook into Long Island and New Jersey even...
August 20, 1882
Bicentennial Hall, formerly Fisk Chapel, the African Methodist Episcopal Bethel Church of Fair Haven
Bicentennial Hall is the oldest building in Fair Haven. It was originally called Fisk Chapel, also known as the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Bethel Church. It is the oldest religious edifice still in use on the Rumson peninsula, and one...
March 5, 1886
Samuel Johnson, Victim of a Lynching
Thousands of Black people were the victims of racial terror lynching in the United States between 1865 and 1950, including hundreds of lynchings that took place outside the South. Violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans led to fatal...
August 29, 1900
Cedar View Cemetery of Lincroft: A Final Resting Place for Black Families and Civil War Veterans
By John R. Barrows On August 29, 1900, Charles Reeves died, age 80, in Lincroft. A former slave, he lived his entire life in the Middletown area, and was laid to rest in Cedar View Cemetery. Charles Reeves was considered...
October 4, 1901
Lewis O. Summersett – The Man Who Brought T. Thomas Fortune to Monmouth County
Editor’s note: On or about October 4, 1901, a group of African American leaders from Monmouth County gathered in Red Bank to form a new political organization, the Afro-American Republican Union. Executive committee members included William E. Rock, publisher of...
May 4, 1902
Booker T. Washington Comes To Red Bank For Historic Meeting with T. Thomas Fortune
On May 4, 1902, Booker T. Washington, described at the time by the Red Bank Register as “probably the foremost negro statesman in the United States,” was hosted by T. Thomas Fortune, the noted African American journalist and advocate, at...
December 13, 1903
Sonny Greer, Duke Ellington’s Drummer Extraordinaire
On December 13, 1903, William Alexander “Sonny” Greer was born in Long Branch. Considered one of the greatest jazz percussionists in history, he is most famous for being the immortal bandleader Duke Ellington’s drummer for 30 years. [caption id="attachment_1675"...
August 21, 1904
The Legendary William “Count” Basie
William James "Count" Basie was born on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank. A pianist, he played vaudeville before eventually forming his own big band and helping to define the era of swing with hits like "One O'Clock Jump" and...
January 1, 1915
Court Street School Education Community Center
140 Court St, Freehold The Court Street School is one of the principal structures associated with the segregated history of early twentieth century education for African Americans in Freehold, New Jersey. The original school was organized in 1915 exclusively for...
September 8, 1934
The First Separate Battalion to the Rescue
Editor’s note: On September 8, 1934, one of the worst maritime disasters in Monmouth County history occurred when the S.S. Morro Castle, a luxury passenger liner, caught fire during a raging storm that turned the ship into an inferno. Award-winning...
January 1, 1940
The Turf Club
Text courtesy of the Asbury Park African American Music Project, used with permission. In the 1960s, there were dozens of music venues on the west side of Asbury Park, all along Springwood Avenue. Today, only one structure remains that was...
September 2, 1945
Dr. Walter McAfee: Camp Evans Mathematician, Scholar, and Scientist
Editor’s note: On September 2, 1945, documents were signed finalizing the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the United States and Allied Forces, ending World War II. Within days, with victory assured, scientists at leading research centers such as...
April 26, 1946
George Ashby, The Last New Jersey Civil War Veteran
Editor’s Note: On April 26,1946, George Ashby died; he was the last surviving New Jersey Civil War veteran. This story, by noted New Jersey historian and author Joseph G. Bilby, is excerpted with the author’s permission from his book “Freedom...
May 4, 1959
Count Basie Wins Two of the First-Ever Grammy Awards
By John R. Barrows On May 4, 1959, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), commonly called the Recording Academy, staged simultaneous award ceremonies in New York City and Beverly Hills, Calif., where 28 prizes were awarded to...
June 3, 1959
Sam Mills, the Greatest Football Player in Monmouth County History
By John R. Barrows They all said Sam Mills was too small. His entire life, at every step, too small. Too small even for small college football. MUCH too small to be a pro football player, especially a linebacker. ...
June 24, 1961
Frank Budd, World’s Fastest Human
On June 24, 1961, at the AAU Championships at Downing Stadium in New York City, Frank Budd (second from right in the photo) became the first man to run the 100-yard dash in 9.2 seconds, setting a new world record...
October 8, 1966
Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1966 Speech at Monmouth College
Editor’s note: A complete transcript of Dr. King's address to Monmouth College is available online here And an audio recording is available here On October 6, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., described by a local newspaper at the time...
July 4, 1970
West Side Community Center and the Asbury Park Riots of 1970
The following text is courtesy the Westside Community Center Historic Restoration Association, used with permission. In 1942, The Westside Community Center was founded in Asbury Park, New Jersey as the successor to the Urban League. Rev. John Ashby, Lorenzo W....
January 19, 2000
The Count Basie Monument
On January 19, 2000, legendary blues musician B.B. King performed at the Count Basie Theatre, but prior to taking the stage, he unveiled a new bronze sculpture of Basie, known around these parts by his signature song, “The Kid from...
May 23, 2019
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank
On May 23, 2019, the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center officially opened at 94 Drs. James Parker Ave. in Red Bank. This new community organization is headquartered in the fully restored T. Thomas Fortune House, one of the most historically...
December 31, 2020
Thrice-Told Tales That Urgently Need Retelling
Book review by John R. Barrows Stories of Slavery in New Jersey, by Rick Geffken, ©2021 The History Press, Charleston, S.C., forward by Walter D. Greason, Ph.D. 206 pages, $21.99. Available January 4, 2021. There are a number of good...
February 1, 2024
Introducing The Monmouth County Black History Trail
After the ceremonies were over commemorating the new historic marker in Eatontown for Samuel "Mingo Jack" Johnson, the New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Coalition was sent a list of suggestions by the Equal Justice Initiative for ways to build on...