Aberdeen Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township abuts the Jersey Shore and is located within the Raritan Valley region. Part of the New York metropolitan area, the township both Old Bridge Township, in adjacent Middlesex County, New Jersey, as well as Staten Island in New York City.Capuzzo, Jill P. "Living In: Aberdeen, N.J.: Reasonably Priced Housing Not Far From the Beach", The New York Times, Published: October 6, 2021. Accessed June 9, 2022. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 19,329, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 1,119 (+6.1%) from the 2010 census count of 18,210, which had in turn reflected an increase of 756 (+4.3%) from the 17,454 recorded at the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
Aberdeen Township was part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and natural environment of the Raritan Bay coastline. The plan has since been integrated into the county's 2016 Master Plan.2016 Monmouth County Master Plan, Monmouth County, New Jersey, adopted October 17, 2016. Accessed September 17, 2023. Aberdeen has worked with neighboring Matawan to build transit-oriented development around the Aberdeen-Matawan train station.
History
Origins Those who settled in this area developed into the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. About the year 1000, an agricultural society developed, and small villages dotted what was to become New Jersey. The Lenape began a westward retreat in the face of European settlement and disease beginning in the late seventeenth century, beginning in Monmouth County by the mid-eighteenth century. Although the Lenape presently live in Ontario and Oklahoma, their legacy survives in such names as Mohingson, Luppatatong and Matawan Creeks and Raritan Bay.
The earliest known attempt at European settlement was in 1650 when the south side of Raritan Bay was purchased from the Lenni Lenape by the New Netherland Colony.
New Jersey The earliest English land grant in New Aberdeen was in 1677 when Sir George Carteret granted to Jonathan Holmes.Chang, Kathy; and Kesten, Karen L. "Birth of a town" , The hub, January 7, 2010. Accessed July 11, 2012. This is in present-day Oakshades on Mohingson Creek.
Matawan Township changed its name in 1977 to Aberdeen Township, which harkened back to the name of the portion of Monmouth County referred to by Scottish settlers as "New Aberdeen." New Aberdeen included the Northern portions of Monmouth County in the 1680s settled by Quakers and Presbyterians who fled Scotland to avoid religious persecution.Henderson, Helen. Matawan and Aberdeen: Of Town and Field, p. 26. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. . Accessed July 11, 2012.
In 1684, Surveyor General Thomas Rudyard received a grant of on Raritan Bay and Matawan Creek, the present location of Cliffwood and Cliffwood Beach. Owing to Rudyard's high office, this was quite controversial, and in 1685, the Board of Proprietors issued an order regarding the laying out of land. Section 7 addressed questionable activity such as Rudyard's, and he sold his land to his son-in-law, Samuel Winder.
The 1680s saw an influx of Scottish immigrants fleeing religious persecution in response to a 1683 book by George Scott extolling the virtues of Scottish settlement in East Jersey. In 1701, a village site of was granted by the Proprietors to 24 Scottish settlers of the area. These men and six others also purchased a landing site on Matawan Creek. The village site eventually came to be called Mount Pleasant, and the landing, as it became an important shipping point for the produce of Middletown Township, became Middletown Point. A third, very scattered settlement developed in the eighteenth century west of Matawan Creek, and was called Matawan or Matavan.Our Community (History), Trinity Episcopal Church. Accessed July 11, 2012.
Middletown Township In 1693, what was to become Aberdeen Township became part of Middletown Township which, at the time, consisted of what is now Aberdeen, Holmdel Township, Hazlet Township, Middletown (including Sandy Hook), Matawan Borough, Keyport, Union Beach, Keansburg, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and a sliver of Colts Neck Township. A portion of the township that extended as far northwest as Cheesequake Creek, was ceded to Middlesex County in 1710.
Raritan Township Middletown was considered too large and unwieldy, and legislation was passed in February 1848 that took the western half of Middletown Township to create a new municipality, Raritan Township (now Hazlet Township).Aumack, Catherine I. "Hazlet encompassed six other towns in 1848; High school still bears township's original Raritan name", Matawan Independent, September 30, 1998. Accessed July 11, 2012.
Matawan Township Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Beers passed the State General Assembly and Senate, was signed by Governor of New Jersey William A. Newell, and on February 23, 1857, Matavan Township was incorporated from portions of what was then Raritan Township.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 182. Accessed May 1, 2026. This included the village of Middletown Point, Mt. Pleasant, and Matavan. The Township was named for the creek as well as the village of Matavan. The spelling of "Matawan" or "Matavan" had been interchangeable, however, when the act was published "Matavan" had been used, which may derive from a Lenape word meaning "where two rivers come together".Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed July 19, 2015. It may also originate from the Southern Unami Matawonge, "bad riverbank" or "bad hill", a possible reference to bluffs along Raritan Bay which were subject to erosion and collapse prior to the construction of a seawall in the 1970s. Another possible source is Matawan, Northern Unami for "bad fog", which may have referred to fog generated on Raritan Bay.Grumet, Robert S. Manhattan to Minisink: American Indian Place Names in Greater New York and Vicinity, p. 84. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 2013. .
In 1865, due to postal confusion with Middletown, the Middletown Point post office was renamed "Matawan", to reflect the name of the Township. This section is the present downtown area of Matawan Borough. In 1882, the spelling of the Township was officially changed to "Matawan".
A small railroad station was erected along the New York and Long Branch Railroad tracks at a point called Hutchler's Crossing in 1875. Soon known as the Cliffwood Station, it operated on Cliffwood Avenue until the station closed in 1932.Staff. , Asbury Park Press, January 22, 2004. Accessed July 11, 2012. "To avoid duplication, "Hutschler's Crossing" is briefly used; the railroad then changes the station name to "Cliffwood."Henderson, Helen. Around Matawan and Aberdeen, p. 73.
In 1885, the Cliffwood post office was established and the name of the old Matavan settlement passed into obsolescence. Matawan was formed as a borough on June 28, 1895, from portions of Matawan Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Matawan expanded with portions of Matawan Township in 1931 and 1933.
In response to demand, a post office was established at Mount Pleasant in 1889. As that name was in use elsewhere, a new name was needed. "Freneau" was chosen, in honor of Philip Morin Freneau, the "Poet of Revolution," and a former Mount Pleasant resident who is buried in the area."How Freneau Got Its Name", Aberdeen Nj Life, April 19, 2009. Accessed August 20, 2013. "When the US Post Office sought to eliminate duplicate town names, Matavan Township's Mount Pleasant section was renamed Freneau in honor of Philip Freneau (1752-1832), a local poet who inspired the cause of liberty during the time of the American Revolution." This post office has since been closed.
Cliffwood Beach, formed in the 1920s, was originally a resort community until after World War II when year-round homes were the norm. River Gardens developed in the late 1940s. Strathmore, was built starting in the early 1960s by Levitt & Sons, marketed as a higher-end version of the Levittown communities that the firm was known for.Murray, Ed; and Strunsky, Steve. "This pool club was stuck in the '60s. Now, it's a posh modern retreat in suburbia", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 25, 2018. Accessed October 9, 2024. "The community originally known as Strathmore at Matawan was developed starting in 1961 by Levitt & Sons, the firm best known for its much larger Levittown community on Long Island, developed beginning in 1947 largely to provide low-cost housing for the young families of veterans returning from World War II. Unlike the unabashedly working-class nature of Levittown, Strathmore was more aspirational, taking its name from Levitt's more upscale, Strathmore subdivisions built before the war."Strathmore at Matawan, New Jersey, LevittownBeyond.com. Accessed October 9, 2024. The 2,000 new homes in the development led to a jump in the township's population of 10,000 over the decade, a jump of more than 140%.Evans, Scott. "Levitt was no homebody", PhillyBurbs.com, June 24, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2024. "Strathmore, N.J. Originally known as Strathmore-at-Matawan, the approximately 2,000 houses that Levitt erected, beginning in 1964, more than doubled the population of what was then called Matawan Township. In 1977, voters changed the municipality’s name to Aberdeen."
Aberdeen Township On November 8, 1977, the residents of Matawan Township voted to change the name of the Township to create a community identity separate from that of Matawan Borough. The residents voted to call their community Aberdeen Township.via Associated Press. "Aberdeen Told to Vote On Changing Address", The New York Times, June 13, 1978. p. NJ 23. Accessed September 22, 2018. Officials believed the new name would draw attention to the Township, as it is listed first alphabetically among New Jersey's municipalities.Ziegler, Harry. "At 5 years, road to identity rocky", Asbury Park Press, October 15, 1982. Accessed August 24, 2022. "Nov. 8, 1977 was a red letter day for this suburban community: Residents voted to change the township's name to Aberdeen by a slim 182-vote margin. Peter J. Koelsch, a member of the Matawan Historical Society, said Scottish settlers originally called the area New Aberdeen in the 17th century. Powers said one reason for the name was to place the township at the head of the alphabetical list of state municipalities, giving the township some needed recognition."
Today, Aberdeen is a suburban township of containing a mix of residential, light industry and shopping centers. Sections of the township include Cliffwood, Cliffwood Beach, Freneau, Oakshades, River Gardens, Strathmore, Santa Fe Junction and Woodfield. Three postal ZIP Codes serve the township: 07721, 07735, and 07747.