Manalapan Brook is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the South River in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

counties,

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.

Course

The Manalapan Brook's source is at in western Monmouth County, a few miles south of

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revolutio ...

, and roughly adjacent to the headwaters of 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 ...

Matchaponix Brook Matchaponix Brook is a tributary of the South River in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, New Jersey in the United States. Matchaponix Brook (Lenape for "country of poor bread") is born in Englishtown at the convergence of Weamaconk Creek and McGel ...

and

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...

systems in the much larger Raritan Basin. This long brook flows generally north, traversing, along with its tributaries, much of Monmouth and Middlesex Counties. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

, the Manalapan Brook watershed, is a area, includes the municipalities of Millstone Township, Freehold Township,

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 ...

, Englishtown, Monroe Township, Jamesburg,

Helmetta Helmetta is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is nestled within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, with Manalapan Brook (a Raritan River tributary) flowing through the center of the community. As of the ...

, Spotswood, South Brunswick Township, and East Brunswick Township. There are man-made lakes created by dames alongside the course of the brook, including: Bulk's Lake (near the Charleston Springs Golf Course in Millstone), Millhurst Pond (Manalapan), Lake Manalapan (Jamesburg), Helmetta Pond (Helmetta), and Devoe Lake (Spotswood). After crossing the dammed section named Lake Manalapan in Jamesburg, Manalapan Brook continues north along CR 615 (Main Street) before flowing into Devoe Lake in Spotswood. The flow then merges with the Matchaponix Brook forming the South River at along the border of Spotswood and Old Bridge Township.

History

* The name of the brook of ''Manalapan'' is

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

for "Land of good bread" or "Land of good". The name also derives from

, one of the several municipalities the stream flows through. The Lenape fished at Lake Manalapan and the surrounding watershed. Manalapan in the Unami Lenape dialect more correctly corresponds to Man- "tilt/slant" Alapan- "Sunny weather"- combined would describe sun rays through Manalapan's forests and fields, which were maintained by the Lenape by a combination of localized syntropic farming and hunter-gathering lifestyle. * The rich soil deposits in the watershed made it ideal for cultivation in the 19th and 20th centuries. The viability of being able to cultivate agriculture in this watershed, allowed there for various

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

to become established along this long brook. Most notable of mills located on the brook, included Millhurst Mill in Manalapan, Buckelew Mills (owned by the prestigious Buckelew family) in Jamesburg, and G. W. Helme Snuff Mill (established by

George Washington Helme George Washington Helme (May 18, 1822 – June 16, 1893) was the founder of Helmetta, New Jersey. Early life and family Helme, born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, USA, was the ninth child and fifth son of Major Oliver Helme (descendant of an old Rhod ...

) in Helmetta."The History Girl: Tobacco Town: The George W. Helme Sunff Mill"
Accessed September 8, 2021.

Gallery

File:Manalapan_Brook_headwaters.jpg, Manalapan Brook near its headwaters in Millstone Township File:Manalapan_Brook_at_Camp_Topanemus.tif, Manalapan Brook flowing behind in Millstone Township File:Manalapan_Brook_looking_downstream_(Charleston_Springs).jpg, Bulk's Lake near Charleston Springs in Millstone Township File:Manalapan Brook near Millhurst Mills.png, Manalapan Brook flowing behind the Millhurst Mill in Manalapan Township File:Manalapan_Brook_in_Manalapan_(under_CR._572A).jpg, Manalapan Brook flowing under County Route 527A in Manalapan Township File:Manalapan_Brook_in_Monroe_(near_Gasko's).tif, Manalapan Brook flowing near in Monroe Township File:Manalapan_Brook_flowing_towards_Lake_Manalapan.jpg, Manalapan Brook flowing towards Lake Manalapan in Monroe Township File:Manalapan_Brook_in_Helmetta.tif, Manalapan Brook in Helmetta

Succession and pathway of Manalapan Brook

The Manalapan Brook, a 105-mile inland waterway (New Jersey), connects from the Raritan Bay to the lesser known end; splitting apart into two branches in Manalapan, this is a list of important landmarks in Central New Jersey where the Manalapan Brook is present (sometimes in larger water-body forms). * Atlantic Ocean (Starts Here, near the

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Per ...

) * Raritan Bay to the Mouth of Raritan River (Near

Perth Amboy, NJ Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, t ...

and passes under the Governor Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge) * Raritan River (Continues for about 1-3 Miles; it splits into a tributary of the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Rar ...

, known as the South River) * South River (The South River splits at

Duhernal Lake Duhernal Lake is a lake in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The lake is currently formed at the confluence of the South River, Matchaponix Bay and the outflow of Devoe Lake. It currently forms the border between the towns of Spotswoo ...

on the border between Old Bridge Township and Spotswood, with the

traveling southward towards Englishtown, while the Manalapan Brook continues to travel southwestward towards Jamesburg) * Devoe Lake (The brook flows underneath CR. 613 (Devoe Ave.) into Devoe Lake) * Helmetta Pond (The brook continues southwest, roughly parallel to CR. 615 (Bordentown Ave.) through

, as Helmetta Pond is connected to the brook to the slight northeast, with the lake also being connected by Cedar Brook to its north, which drains through pinelands from Devoe Lake) * Lake Manalapan (The brook flows underneath CR. 522 into Lake Manalapan in Jamesburg, passing by Thompson Park, on the other side of the lake the brook takes a sharp southeast turn as it flows underneath Freehold Industrial Track) * Manalapan Brook (The brook flows for a few miles through hillier terrain and farmland, roughly parallel with CR. 522 in Monroe Township) * Federal Road (The brook crosses under Federal Road near in Monroe Township) * James Monroe Memorial Park (The brook flows through James Monroe Memorial Park in Monroe Township) * Monmouth County (The brook flows into western Monmouth County into

) * Manalapan Brook (The brook flows underneath CR. 527A near in Manalapan Township) * Manalapan Brook (Continues through farmland in Manalapan Township (Off Of McCaffery Road) and splits into two branches): * ''1: The eastern (secondary) section flows southeastward underneath CR. 527, continues flowing underneath the "Freehold Bypass" section of Route 33 into a wide creek, continues through southern Manalapan Township Roughly Parallel to Kinney/Gully Road, before crossing into Freehold Township as a large creek (aptly named "Turtle Hollow" by locals, in lieu of the development of the same name surrounding this creek) and then flows directly south underneath Gully Road, the brook flows between two developments before ending as another creek (serving as the secondary brook's headwaters) near

CentraState Medical Center CentraState Healthcare System is a non-for-profit community health organization consisting of an acute-care hospital, an ambulatory care campus, three senior living communities, a Family Medicine Residency Program, and a charitable foundation. Es ...

) * ''2: The western (main) section flows southward underneath Route 33 and then shortly after that underneath CR. 527 into Millhurst Pond, the brook then turns sharply southwest through a mixture of marsh and forested areas into Smithburg (a small community in which the municipalities of Freehold Township,

and Millstone Township intersect) the brook then crosses underneath CR. 527 again into Bulk's Lake near Charleston Springs Golf Course, the brook continues southwest through Millstone Township crossing underneath CR. 524 and then flows through forested areas near YMCA's , before ending near a mixture of forested areas, wetlands, and housing developments (serving as the main brook's headwaters) on Stillhouse Road (not too far from the headwaters for the Toms River and the

)

Parks along Manalapan Brook

*Charleston Springs County Park (Millstone) *Thompson Grove Park (Manalapan) *James Monroe Memorial Park (Monroe) * Thompson County Park (Monroe and Jamesburg) *Jamesburg Knights of Columbus Park (Jamesburg) *Helmetta Lake Park (Helmetta) *Mundy Ave Park (Spotswood)

References

External links

* *
U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
* * {{authority control Tributaries of the Raritan River Rivers of New Jersey Rivers of Monmouth County, New Jersey Rivers of Middlesex County, New Jersey