Page "Freehold Borough, New Jersey" Paragraph 25

Freehold was originally named Monmouth Courthouse.

In 1714, John Reid, the first Surveyor General of East Jersey, wanted the county seat located in Freehold Township and thus sold the property to the Board of Chosen Freeholders at a bargain price, what may have been the deciding factor in Freehold's competition with Middletown and Shrewsbury for the site.

In return for the heavily-discounted price, Reid placed a restrictive covenant in the deed that, should the property ever cease being used as a courthouse, ownership would revert back to the Reid family.

Direct descendants of John Reid still reside in Freehold Township.