The Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad was a short-line railroad 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 ...
Manalapan Township
Manalapan Township (, ) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the t ...
Monmouth Junction
Monmouth Junction is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within South Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.South Brunswick Township. Its former
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
, along with a portion of the
Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad
The Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad was a shortline railroad that traversed via central New Jersey. The railroad was formed under a special law of New Jersey, on April 3, 1867. On May 21, 1879, it was one of three railroads consolidated to f ...
's right-of-way, has become 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.
...
and the Freehold right-of-way between Route 537 and Big Brook Park in Marlboro Township has become the
Henry Hudson Trail
The Henry Hudson Trail is a rail trail in western and northern Monmouth County, New Jersey. The trail is named for Henry Hudson, who explored the harbor at Atlantic Highlands and the Raritan Bayshore coastline in the early 1600s. The trail is no ...
. The section of right of way from Route 537 parallel to Jackson Street and behind the former Karagheusian Rug Mill to the former
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
depot on Jackson Street at Mechanic Street in Freehold Borough has not as of yet been improved to be part of the trail. It is not clear whether this part of the right of way is still owned by New Jersey Transit which owns the rest of the line north into Matawan. The latter has been ‘railbanked’ which means it can be reactivated (if economic conditions warrant.)
History
The railroad was first chartered on March 12, 1851, and incorporated on March 21, 1851. By the end of 1851, only $40,000 of bonds were subscribed, so the
Camden and Amboy Railroad
The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...
was given authorization to subscribe $100,000 of additional stock to fund the new railroad. Surveying for the line began on September 8, 1851, grading began on October 19, 1852, and the first track was laid on April 4, 1853. The first section of line was opened on July 18, 1853. The establishment of the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad caused Jamesburg to become a railroad hub. The company was formed as a means to haul
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
for fertilizer production. The headquarters of the railroad was originally in Jamesburg; later it was moved to Camden.
William L. Dayton
William Lewis Dayton (February 17, 1807 – December 1, 1864) was an American politician, active first in the Whig Party and later in the Republican Party. In the 1856 presidential election, he became the first Republican vice-presidential ...
, who would later serve as a
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
, the first
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee for Vice President (in 1856), and as Minister to France, was an attorney for the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad. Dayton had helped in settling land disputes arising from the location of the railroad's right-of-way route passage.Chang, Kathy; and Kesten, Karen L "Birth of a town" ''South Brunswick Sentinel'', June 2, 2011. Accessed June 23, 2021. In 1866, the community of
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
in nearby South Brunswick Township was renamed in his honor.
The railroad was reorganized under a special law of New Jersey, on May 21, 1879, when it was incorporated, in which three railroads consolidated to form the company, including the Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad, the Freehold Marl Company Railroad (which later became the Monmouth County Agricultural Railroad) and
Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company
The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...
.
The length of the trackage amounted to . The Allaire family was a major stock holder in the company and
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) ...
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
took over the abandoned railroad line, and operations resumed. The railroad line is known as the Freehold Industrial Track, which occasionally runs freight service between
Freehold
Freehold may refer to:
In real estate
*Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple
*Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England
*Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...
Raritan River Railroad
The Raritan River Rail Road was a shortline railroad in Middlesex County, New Jersey U.S., Founded in 1888, it was based in South Amboy, from which it ran west as far as New Brunswick. It served both passengers and freight in its heyday and o ...
*
Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line
The Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) is a passenger rail project in the US state of New Jersey, proposed by NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) to serve the Central New Jersey counties of Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex. The line would originate/t ...