Long Branch

New Jersey, United States

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Long Branch, city, Monmouth county, eastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies along the Atlantic Ocean, 50 miles (80 km) south of New York City. Settled in 1668 on land purchased from the Delaware Indians, it was named for its location on the Long Branch of the South Shrewsbury River. Its development as a summer coastal resort began in the 1780s. By the 1830s gambling and horse racing brought an influx of visitors into Long Branch. During the Gilded Age (1870s and ’80s) it was frequented by many notables, including Lillie Langtry, Lillian Russell, and “Diamond Jim” Brady. It became the summer capital of U.S. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, and Woodrow Wilson. After Garfield was shot in Washington, D.C. (July 2, 1881), a spur line was laid from the Elberon Railway Station to the porch of Francklyn Cottage, a local residence, where he was taken to recover. He died there on September 19, 1881.

With the establishment of textile and electronics industries and the foundation in 1933 at West Long Branch of Monmouth College (now Monmouth University), Long Branch became a year-round residential city. The manufacture of electronic devices and equipment are still important to the economy. Long Branch includes the communities of Elberon, North Long Branch, and West End. Inc. 1904. Pop. (2000) 31,340; (2010) 30,719.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

Monmouth

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Monmouth

county, New Jersey, United States

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Monmouth, county, east-central New Jersey, U.S., bounded by Raritan and Sandy Hook bays to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. It comprises a coastal lowland drained by the Manasquan, Shark, Navesink, Swimming, Shrewsbury, and Millstone rivers. The county is forested primarily with oak, hickory, and shortleaf pine. Sandy Hook, a peninsula extending northward from the northeastern corner of the county, is part of Gateway National Recreation Area. The lighthouse on its northern tip, built in 1764, is the oldest in operation in the country.

Algonquian-speaking Delaware Indians inhabited the region before it was permanently settled by Europeans. Freehold, the county seat, was the site of the Battle of Monmouth Court House (June 28, 1778) during the American Revolution. Allaire State Park contains a restored 19th-century iron-making village. Ocean Grove was founded in 1869 as a Methodist summer resort. West Long Branch is the home of Monmouth University (founded 1933). Other communities are Middletown, Howell, Long Branch, Neptune, Marlboro, Manalapan, and Asbury Park.

Monmouth, one of New Jersey’s original counties, was created in 1683 and named for Monmouth, Wales. The primary economic activities are services, retail trade, and agriculture (nurseries and greenhouses). Area 472 square miles (1,222 square km). Pop. (2000) 615,301; (2010) 630,380.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.