The Families Who Built the Shore: A Legacy Monmouth Field Guide

A Tapestry of Sea Breeze and Stone

Drive down Longstreet Road in Holmdel on a quiet Saturday morning and you can still feel the weight of the centuries that shaped this shore. The Dutch fieldstone foundations, the red-brick farmsteads, the lighthouse beams that once guided ships into New York Harbor — these are not relics. They are the living architecture of Monmouth County, maintained by families who chose to stay, to steward, and to pass the story forward. This is a field guide to the people, places, and institutions that keep that story alive.

The Founding Families

Longstreet

• The Longstreet family has been rooted in Monmouth County since the early 1700s, with the name still carried by one of the region's most recognizable roads
• Longstreet Farm in Holmdel operates as a working historic farm, offering seasonal tours, orchard walks, and horticultural workshops for families
• Longstreet Farm

Holmes

• William Holmes, a descendant of Obadiah Holmes and Cornelius Hendrickson, built the Holmes-Hendrickson House around 1754 — one of the oldest surviving Dutch-German vernacular farmhouses in New Jersey
• The house was moved to its current location at 62 Longstreet Road in 1959 by the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA), after Bell Labs purchased the original farm property
• Ownership transferred to the Monmouth County Park System in 2019; MCHA continues to run docent programs and educational events at the site
• Open Fri-Sun, May through September; admission $5 adults, $2.50 students, free for MCHA members and children under six

Conover

• The Conover family was among the earliest merchants in Monmouth County, financing infrastructure that linked coastal resorts to New York City in the 19th century

Applegate

• The Applegate family was active in coastal development and civic life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• MCHA's digitization initiative has made thousands of Applegate family letters available online, revealing early 20th-century strategies for shaping the shore's built environment
• MCHA Digital Collections

The Gilded Age Shore

Long Branch: "The Monte Carlo of America"

• By the mid-19th century, Long Branch was already considered the "Monte Carlo of America," drawing the Vanderbilts, Goulds, Drezels, and Sloans to its boardwalks
• Between the 1870s and 1920s, seven U.S. Presidents visited Long Branch: Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley, and Wilson
• President James Garfield died here in 1881 from his assassination wounds — a moment that still anchors the town's identity
• Long Branch

Elberon, Deal, and Allenhurst

• Elberon's Gilded Age "Casino" was a social hub for industrial magnates; the building was later restored and repurposed as a community arts center
• Deal's 1905 Ocean Drive paved the first public promenade on the Monmouth shore, fostering a culture of seaside recreation that persists today
• Allenhurst's architecture from this era — designed by firms including McKim, Mead & White — remains a visible marker of the Gilded Age's emphasis on leisure and elegance

Twin Lights: A Lighthouse That Changed American History

• The Twin Lights of the Navesink were first lit in 1828; the current brick and sandstone complex was built in 1862
• In 1841, the first Fresnel lenses used in the United States were installed here — making Navesink a laboratory for lighthouse technology
• In 1898, an electric generator building was constructed, making the Twin Lights the first in the U.S. with their own source of electricity and, at the time, the most powerful lights in the country
• In 1899, the first Marconi wireless telegraph in the United States was erected at the site
• The Twin Lights Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) formed in Highlands in 1955, helped save this National Historic Landmark from ruin
• National Trust for Historic Preservation grants in 2021 and 2023 are funding viewshed restoration, including fencing, invasive-species treatments, and native seeding
• NJ Historic Trust listing

Church of the Presidents: A Gilded Age Landmark Under Restoration

• Consecrated in 1879 as St. James Protestant Episcopal Chapel in Elberon, Long Branch, the church earned its nickname because seven U.S. Presidents visited the area between the 1870s and 1920s
• Designed in the Shingle Style by William Appleton Potter and Robert Henderson Robertson, the same firm that designed many of Long Branch's most luxurious summer homes
• The building was saved from demolition in 1953 by local preservationists and rededicated as the Long Branch Historical Museum in 1955
• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976
• As of April 2026, a major renovation funded by close to $2 million in state and federal grants is underway — structural stabilization, interior and exterior restoration, and preservation of the distinctive Carpenter Gothic design and rare stained-glass features
• Reopening is expected in 2027 as a museum and educational center

Historic Walnford: A Living Iron-Working Village

• Walnford, a 19th-century iron-working village in Monmouth County, contains 16 preserved structures including the original gristmill and boarding house
• The site hosts "Living History Days," where volunteers reenact daily life from 1800-1900, engaging schoolchildren in tactile, place-based learning

Monmouth County Historical Association: Stewards of Memory

• Founded in 1893, MCHA curates over 30,000 artifacts ranging from colonial furniture to Gilded Age postcards
• The association's "Monmouth Moments" lecture series draws 1,200+ attendees annually, featuring scholars on regional history
• MCHA's digitization initiative has made 12,000 primary documents accessible online, supporting genealogical research for local families
• mcha.org · MCHA is based in Freehold, NJ

Why It Matters Locally

These families, structures, and institutions form the cultural backbone of Monmouth County. They enrich property values, enhance tourism, and provide a shared sense of identity that nurtures civic pride for current and future generations. When a family in Rumson, Fair Haven, or Sea Girt learns that the road they drive on every morning is named for a family who farmed the land 300 years ago, that knowledge becomes a form of stewardship — a reason to care for the shore, not just live on it.

How to Get Involved

• Visit the Holmes-Hendrickson House — 62 Longstreet Road, Holmdel. Open Fri-Sun, May through September. Admission $5 adults, $2.50 students, free for MCHA members and children under six. mcha.org
• Join the MCHA Membership Program — $75 annual fee; benefits include free exhibition access, quarterly newsletters, and discounts at partner historic sites. MCHA Membership
• Support Twin Lights viewshed restoration — the 2021 and 2023 National Trust grants are funding fencing, invasive treatments, and native seeding. Learn about volunteer opportunities at twinlightslighthouse.org
• Attend the Church of the Presidents renovation update — the Long Branch Historical Museum Association is planning public tours once structural work is complete. Follow updates at longbranch.org
• Volunteer at Longstreet Farm — seasonal docent and horticulture programs for families. longstreetfarm.org

How Love of Humanity Supports This Work

Love of Humanity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, partners with the Monmouth County Historical Association and local preservation groups to amplify donor impact and facilitate co-created family education programs. By linking the stories of Monmouth's founding families to the institutions that steward them today, we make it easier for families to see their role in the ongoing story of the shore — and to act on it. If you sit on a board, direct a foundation, or steward a family office in Monmouth, we are ready to collaborate on heritage education that connects generations.

Support This Kind of Work

Support Love of Humanity: https://lovehumanity.charity/#donate · Stripe https://buy.stripe.com/bJe00javHcLX43OgnncAo00

Board leader, foundation director, head of school, or family-office trustee reading this? We build co-branded family education with Monmouth institutions. partnerships@donatetoloveofhumanity.com

This roundup is editorial. No fees were paid. Love of Humanity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Corrections: director@lovehumanity.charity · Partnership: partnerships@donatetoloveofhumanity.com