Free Acres is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located along the border of

Berkeley Heights Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, Berkeley Heights is a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, nestled within the Rar ...

in Union County and Watchung in Somerset County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Free Acres was created in 1910 as a

social experiment A social experiment is a method of psychological or sociological research that observes people's reactions to certain situations or events. The experiment depends on a particular social approach where the main source of information is the parti ...

by Bolton Hall, an Irish-born New York entrepreneur, reformer and follower of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. Hall believed in economist

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

's idea of

single tax A single tax is a system of taxation based mainly or exclusively on one tax, typically chosen for its special properties, often being a tax on land value. Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert and Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban were ear ...

ation, under which residents pay a

land value tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic efficiency, ec ...

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 he ...

-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 and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

and his wife Billie. It has been home to scientists who worked at the nearby

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

Murray Hill.

References

External links

A history of Free Acres

Historic 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 Intentional communities in New Jersey {{UnionCountyNJ-geo-stub

See also

References

External links