Brookdale Farm is a former

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

breeding and training farm located at 805 Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown 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 wa ...

. Thomas Lloyd acquired the property in the late 18th century. In 1872, David Dunham Withers established the horse breeding and training operation. By 1889, the farm included . In 1968, of the farm were bequeathed by

Geraldine Morgan Thompson Geraldine Livingston Morgan Thompson (1872–1967) was an American social reform pioneer who became known as the "First Lady of New Jersey" due to her philanthropic and social service activities in New Jersey. Thompson owned Brookdale Farm, an es ...

to the county to create Thompson Park.

History

In 1774, Thomas Lloyd bought along the north bank of the

Swimming River The Swimming River is an estuary and the name of the Navesink River upstream of Red Bank in Colts Neck Township and Middletown Township, located in Monmouth County, New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Sen ...

. By 1786, he had built a large house here. The acreage had increased to by 1798. After his death in 1812, the property was divided and passed through several owners. In 1872, David Dunham Withers, active in the horse racing industry, bought for his Brookdale Stable. In 1893, William Payne Thompson purchased the property. His son, Lewis, married

in 1896. They became full owners of the property by 1899.

Historic district

The Brookdale Farm Historic District is a historic district encompassing the core part of the farm. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on November 9, 2020, for its significance in agriculture, architecture and entertainment/recreation from 1786 to 1932. The district has 19 contributing buildings and one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. Thomas Lloyd built his

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

house in 1786. It was renovated and expanded in

Colonial Revival style The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

by Harry Whitney in 1914. The Lloyd Barn was likely built in the 18th century. It was later upgraded by Geraldine Thompson. The two-story Ten Mare Barn was likely built by David Withers in 1883. The two-story, forty-stall Training Stable measures and is the largest building on the farm. Built starting , each section features a gabled

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

. With accompanying 102 photos. File:Thomas Lloyd House, Brookdale Farm, NJ.jpg, Thomas Lloyd House File:Lloyd Barn and Ten Mare Barn, Brookdale Farm, NJ.jpg, Lloyd Barn (right) and Ten Mare Barn (left)

Notable horses

Championship horses bred and/or trained at Brookdale Farm include: *

Broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

– winner of the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

, 1904; a great sire *

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

– winner of the Belmont Stakes, 1901 *

Equipoise Equipoise may refer to: * Clinical equipoise, or the principle of equipoise, a medical research term * Equilibrioception, the state of being balanced or in equilibrium * Boldenone undecylenate, an anabolic steroid, by the trade name ''Equipoise'' * ...

– the ''Brown Bullet of Brookdale'', won ten races in 1932 *

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

– winner of the Belmont Stakes, 1907 *

Regret Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable. Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...

– first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, 1915 * Sysonby – won 14 of 15 starts 1904–1905 *

Top Flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

– won 12 of 16 starts in 1932, a record for fillies

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Monmouth County, New Jersey Middletown Township, New Jersey Horse farms in the United States Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey American racehorse owners and breeders

History

Historic district

Notable horses

See also

References

External links