Monmouth County - Oakhurst - “Farms Galore: Ocean Township’s Rural Past”
Our Town Gallery, Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712
From its earliest settlements, Ocean Township—like most of Monmouth County—was farmland. Our founding families—the Potters, Drummonds, Whites, Tuckers, land that today is covered with homes, apartments, offices, and shopping centers.
The mini-exhibit tells the story of our rural beginnings and traces the forces that transformed the Township from a farming community to a modern, high-density (2,497 people per square mile) suburb.
Wayside stayed rural
The population of the 11+ square miles that make up today’s Ocean Township increased at a slow, steady pace through the first half of the 20th century. Oakhurst grew to accommodate the engineers working at Deal Test Site (Joe Palaia Park) in the 1920s and 30s. Wanamassa grew, post-WWII, as returning GIs moved into developments along Sunset Ave. All this time, Wayside remained farmland.
Through the 1950s, Middlebrook Farm spread west from Rte. 35 to Poplar Road. Prize-winning Jersey cows grazed where Middlebrook stores stand today. The Dangler family raised dairy cows on the Long Lane Farm (now site of the Intermediate School) and delivered milk to area homes. Families, including the Bownes, Osborns, Whites, and dozens more, owned and worked farms in Wayside.
What happened?
A combination of forces eventually brought change to Wayside, too. A new generation unwilling to stay on the farm. Rising property taxes. And offers too-good-to-refuse from eager developers. Middlebrook, Continental, Twinbrook, and West Park apartments went up. Neighborhoods of upscale homes took over farmland. In the 30 years between 1950 and 1980, the population of the township nearly tripled (6,735 to 18,643).
The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is located in the Eden Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712 and is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), Thursday Evenings (7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 15 through December 15) and the first and second Sundays of each month (1p.m. to 4 p.m.).
