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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
TOMS RIVER, 48.2 miles (20 alt., 3,290 pop.), county seat of Ocean
County, is an attractive fishing community on the northern banks of Toms
River, a waterway discovered in 2673 by the surveyor, Capt. William Tom.
The town is widely known for its excellent clam chowder, always served
with ship's biscuit.
The OCEAN HOUSE (open), a large white frame tavern, has dominated
the triangular town square since 1787. The earliest building is still in use
in the rear. The old inn was a stagecoach stop on the Freehold to Tuckerton run. The OCEAN COUNTY COURTHOUSE (open weekdays 9-5), Washington St., 3 blocks L. of the square built in 1850 as a modified copy of
the Hudson County Courthouse, is a small red brick building with the tall
classic columns and pediment of the Greek Revival style. It is attractively
placed on a wide lawn under great trees. The COUNTY MUSEUM, in the
offices of the publicity director, contains Currier and Ives prints, early
newspapers, relics, and oddities.
During the Revolution the settlement was a starting point for patriots'
raids and its residents were described by the British as a piratical set of
banditti." On March 24, 1782, a band of Tories led by British officers attacked the crude blockhouse, built on a knoll, approximately where the
county courthouse stands today. Capt. Joshua Huddy, active in ridding
Monmouth County of Tory refugees, was in command of the stockade
with a few militiamen. Outnumbered and with ammunition spent, Huddy
was forced to surrender. Without a trial, he was brought to Water Witch
(see Tour 36) and hanged in retaliation for the killing of a Loyalist prisoner by patriots. The execution was directed by Capt. Richard Lippincott,
a pre-war neighbor and friend of Huddy. General Washington, sharing
the Colonists' wrath, ordered the death of an imprisoned British officer
in reprisal, but an apology from Gen. Sir Guy Carleton, plus dissolution
of the Loyalists' organization as the war drew near its end, closed the incident. The British burned the town after the attack. It became the county
seat when it was later rebuilt.
The vanished Toms River salt works, most important of many plants
along the New Jersey shore, were built in 1776 when the supply from
England was cut off. Salt water was evaporated, and the thick residue
strained and spread out to dry.
Right from the center of Toms River and then immediately L. across the old
bridge to SOUTH TOMS RIVER, 1 m. This was in 1837 pioneer ground for the
Mormons, who built without nails or other metal a small church that later served
as the first Ocean County courthouse. It no longer exists, but there are several Mormon houses and the GRAVEYARD. Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, visited the Toms River colony in 1840. Twelve years
later his converts here joined their co-religionists at Salt Lake.
South of Toms River, US 9 crosses the river on a concrete and steel
drawbridge. The shore (L) is crowded with small docks for fishing craft
and pleasure cruisers.
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