* Stone Road Meadows Preservation
Top 10 Reasons Why "Stone Road Meadows" Should Be Preserved As A Park
1 ) No county park in the western Bayshore, where there exists one of the highest concentrations of people in Monmouth County
2) The historical aspects associated with the property, including, but not limited to, the "Century House" designation that exists on the corner of Poole Avenue and Stone Road. ( Van Mater Farm)
( This might be the ideal spot for a historical center for the Bayshore).
3) Open space benefiting at least three Bayshore towns, including Hazlet, Union Beach, and Keyport.
(Concept sketch for a possible Stone Road Meadows Park)
4) Works in conjunction with the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, encouraged by Monmouth County.
5) Will help to revitalize and beautify the "Gateway to the Bayshore," along Route 36.
6) Addresses preservation of the environment by providing continued open space as a much needed watershed repository that will be destroyed by development.
7) Aid in the alleviation of the flooding associated Flat Creek in Hazlet and Union Beach at or near Route 36.
8) Potential site for farmland preservation, even as part of the county park system. (Organic farming and farm market?)
9) Can complement the DOT plan to reconstruct the bridge at Route 36.
10) The opportunity to preserve the last large piece of open space in Hazlet and the Bayshore.
(Aerial view of the endangered Stone Road Meadows looking eastward. It is a natural open oasis amidst the suburban sprawl. The blue colored areas are wet areas.)
chronology of the Van Mater farm at Stone Road Meadows
The territory in Raritan and Middletown townships...extending along Raritan Bay from Port Monmouth westward to a point about a mile and a half northwest of Keyport, afterwards knows as Union city, in the Colonial records is named Wakaka...... Richard Hartshorne, who perfected his title May 26th 1676, by purchasing ..... three necks of land called by the Indians, Wacake, Arowonoe and Conoskunk. the land of Richard Hartshorne extended up Wakaka creek and nearly to its head.... Historical Report SRM.doc
The lands now known as “Stone Road Meadows” comprise the last, but central portion of an early Hazlet Farm and Homestead originally purchased April 1, 1836 by Gilbert Van Mater, an early figure in Monmouth County (1). The family emigrated to New Jersey from Holland and became large landowners and farmers of the County. Gilbert Van Mater’s wife, Sarah Taylor was a descendant of Norman Baron Taillefer who came to England with the Conqueror in 1066 (2). McLane Family Follow-up
Fire in The Historic Van Mater Homestead, Van Maters Conner
Fire is never happy, but this one, after all the years the farm house has been here. It has out-lasted being destroyed, almost. The Story of Stone Road Meadows "The last Farm in the Bayshore"
Hazlet Township: The Story of Stone Road Meadows "The last Farm in the Bayshore"
Written by Stephen Gale When is an Historic Farm not an Historic Farm?
Recently, it was purported by some interested sources, that Devino and Jackiewicz LLC, the owners of the Historic Van Mater Farmstead buildings, at Stone Road Meadows in Hazlet, are poised to demolish these early 19th century (1836) Greek revival style structures in the immediate future. If so, the destruction may begin in as little as two weeks. This is the last historic farm along the Raritan Bay. Those of us who have been struggling for more than two years to obtain help in preserving this important site are saddened by this news. Facing Challenges to Natural and Historic Resource Preservation
On February 20th we asked the Hazlet Township Committee to begin to take the authoritative steps to protect and preserve Stone Road Meadows and the Van Mater Homestead - two of our last surviving historic, agricultural and open space sites.
“Stone Road Meadows and the Van Mater Homestead”
The current owners of the historic “Van Mater Homestead”, situated on the corner of Stone Road and Poole Avenue in Hazlet Township , have recently presented conceptual drawings to the Hazlet Planning Board, proposing the construction of a high density residential condominium development at that site.
Stone Road Meadows Status Report January 2007
This year, we fully intend to persist with and zealously increase the thrust of our struggle and endeavor to preserve Stone Road Meadows and the Van Mater Homestead.
Support grows for new Hazlet park
Historical Update-Stone Road Meadows
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