Free Acres is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
located along the border of
Berkeley Heights in
Union County and
Watchung in
Somerset County, in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, United States. Free Acres was created in 1910 as a
social experiment by
Bolton Hall, an Irish-born New York entrepreneur, reformer and follower of
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
.
Hall believed in economist
Henry George
Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...
's idea of
single taxation, under which residents pay a
land value tax to the community based on the value of the land alone, and in turn, the community pays a lump sum to the municipality.
The wooded community of 85 households is located about west of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Residents own their houses, but pay a lease for the land, which is owned collectively by the community. Free Acres contains a farmhouse and a
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
-fed pool. Residents of Free Acres still pay tax to the Free Acres Association, which is now a more common version of the property tax, based on the value of the land and any improvements. The association maintains the community's streets and swimming pool, approves architectural changes to homes, and pays a lump sum in taxes to the two municipalities.
Among the early residents of Free Acres were author
Thorne Smith
James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two ''Topper'' novels, comic fantasy fiction involving se ...
and his wife Celia, and actor
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
and his wife Billie. It has been home to scientists who worked at the nearby
Bell Labs
Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984),
then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996)
and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007),
is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
Murray Hill.
See also
*
Commune
*
Tragedy of the Commons
References
External links
A history of Free AcresHistoric Photos of Free Acres
Georgist communities
Watchung, New Jersey
Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in Somerset County, New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in Union County, New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in New Jersey
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