Allaire State Park is a park located in

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan *Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah *Howell Cou ...

and in Wall Township in

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

, United States, near the borough of Farmingdale, operated and maintained by the

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry In the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is an administrative division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management and ...

and is part of the

New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route extends along eastern and southern coast of New Jersey for nearly 300 miles. It travels along the Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy to Sandy Hook, along Jersey Shore at the Atlantic Ocean to Cape May, and ...

. The park is known for its restored 19th century

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

Allaire Village Allaire Village is a living history museum located within New Jersey's Allaire State Park in Wall Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. The property was initially an Indian ceremonial ground prior to 1650, by 1750 a sawmill had been established ...

, on the park premises. It is named after

James P. Allaire James Peter Allaire (July 12, 1785 – May 20, 1858) was a noted master mechanic and steam engine builder, and founder of the Allaire Iron Works (est. 1815), the first marine steam engine company in New York City, and later Howell Works (est. 1822) ...

, founder of the

Howell Works Howell Works (later the Howell Works Company) was a bog iron-based production facility for pig iron which was established in New Jersey in the early 19th century by American engineer and philanthropist James P. Allaire. It is notable as one of ...

at the same site. The park also hosts the Pine Creek Railroad, a tourist railroad. The park, which is located in the coastal plain geographic region of New Jersey, is an example of

podzol In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of hum ...

ic soils. These soils are high in iron particle content and are fairly acidic. Picnic facilities including

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

grills, tables, playgrounds and sanitary facilities are available within the developed area of the park. The

Manasquan River The Manasquan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 waterway in central New Jersey. It flows from western Monmouth County, beginning in Freehold T ...

flows eastward through the park, seasonal canoe rentals are offered offsite by private vendors. The Manasquan River is classified as

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

within the park and requires a fishing license. The park charges an entrance fee on weekends in the summer.

Allaire Village

The park's signature feature is the

, originally named

in the early 19th century. It was a prosperous industrial town producing

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

from the surrounding

bog iron Bog iron is a form of impure iron deposit that develops in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in solution. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite (FeO(OH)). Iron-bea ...

deposits. The buildings which remain and have been restored today include a general store,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop,

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

's shop, manager's house, foreman's house and a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. One of the workers'

row house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...

buildings has been recreated and now houses a Visitor Center and Museum (free). The historic village is run by a non-profit organization independent of the park and charges a nominal fee to enter the buildings.

Pine Creek Railroad

The

Pine Creek Railroad The New Jersey Museum of Transportation is a museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, and operation of historic railroad equipment. The organization runs excursion trains on a narrow gauge tourist railroad named the ''Pine Creek Railroa ...

is an excursion rail line operated by railroad enthusiasts of the

New Jersey Museum of Transportation The New Jersey Museum of Transportation is a museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, and operation of historic railroad equipment. The organization runs excursion trains on a narrow gauge tourist railroad named the ''Pine Creek Railroa ...

. The museum, an independent

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization, moved its locomotives and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

to Allaire State Park in 1962 where it runs weekend trains on a ½ mile loop of track through the park. The physical rail line for the railroad was repurposed from a disused spur of track at a former rug company, 'A&M Karadheusian Rug Company' in Freehold, NJ. The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders sold the track for $1.00 to the museum for use at Allaire State Park. The Pine Creek Railroad, like Allaire Village is an independent private organization operating within the park.

Nature Interpretive Center

The Nature Interpretive Center currently operates weekends during the summer.

Campground

The Allaire State Park family campground provides

flush toilet A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another lo ...

s, shower facilities, and a seasonal trailer sanitary dump station. The campground is open all year. Prices range from $20 a night for a regular tent site, to $30 for a yurt, and $40 for a shelter. There are 45 tent and trailer sites with picnic tables available for guests with their own camping equipment. In addition there are four

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...

s (circular tents built on a wood deck), and six cabin-like shelters available for rent. There is also a group campground located on the south side of the park, which has an area with six large sites.

Trails

*Nature Center Trail (Red) An easy-to-moderate hiking/multi-use trail looping at a length of . *Canal Trail (Pink) An easy hiking trail spanning with a loop at one end. *Brisbane Trail (Orange) An easy-to-moderate multi-use trail spanning . *Upper Squankum Trail (Yellow) An easy-to-moderate multi-use trail spanning most of which is in the location of former

Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad The Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad was a short-line railroad in New Jersey. The railroad traversed through the Raritan Valley communities of Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Manalapan Township, Englishtown Borough, Monroe To ...

tracks. *

Capital to Coast Trail The Capital to Coast Trail is a cross-state multi-use trail network that is designed to span the state of New Jersey (west to east) from the Delaware River in Trenton to the beach front town of Manasquan on the Atlantic Ocean. The cross-state tra ...

(Purple) A multi-use, paved section of the proposed Capital to the Coast Trail is located in Allaire state park spanning within the park, and spanning a distance of from the trailhead to the segment end in to Manasquan as the

Edgar Felix Bikeway The Edgar Felix Bikeway is a rail trail in New Jersey between Manasquan and Allaire State Park. The trail was constructed on a former roadbed of the Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad and the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad. ...

. *Pine Trail (Orange) A moderate multi-use trail spanning . *Mountain Laurel Trail (Blue) An easy-to-moderate multi-use trail spanning . *Oak Trail (White) An easy-to-moderate multi-use path spanning that splits off from the Pine Trail to become more difficult before joining the Mountain Laurel Trail. *Boy Scout (Pink) An easy-to-moderate multi-use trail spanning looping around the group camping sites. ''All trail classifications and distances are made by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff o ...

, which oversees the State Parks. Note: Bicycles are not permitted on trails within the developed part of the park. Allaire's mountain biking trails may be accessed by riding the

to Hospital road on the eastern edge of the park.''

References

External links

NY-NJTC: Allaire State Park Trail Details and Info

New Jersey Museum of Transportation

Nature Programs at Allaire State Park
–

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) is a nonprofit organization based in Princeton, New Jersey, and their work consists of protecting the endangered species of wildlife that live, breed, and migrate through New Jersey. CWF is a ...

Allaire State Park Trail Map
{{authority control State parks of New Jersey Parks in Monmouth County, New Jersey Howell Township, New Jersey Wall Township, New Jersey Nature centers in New Jersey