Tinton Falls is planning to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of our modern borough in September of this year. In 1950, the area that is now Tinton Falls separated from the larger Shrewsbury Township and formed New Shrewsbury as an independent borough. In 1975, we changed our name to be “Tinton Falls”. Though the roots of our community go back to Lewis Morris’s 17th century iron works, these events formed the town that we recognize today.
Students in our schools will be exploring this history, and we hope the information and images on this page will be helpful to them. All of this information comes from primary sources, which means they were recorded by people who were present at the time the events occurred. Many of the resources students are familiar with are secondary sources (like encyclopedias or textbooks), created by historians or authors.
Newspaper articles
These are articles from local newspapers, which we have organized by date. Reading them in chronological order will give an understanding of what happened. Note: This is just a selection from the extensive newspaper coverage at the time, obtained through newspapers.com.
1950: Creation of New Shrewsbury
- 3/9/1950 – ‘New’ Shrewsbury plan approved – The Daily Register
The initial suggestion for the new township was to call it “Old Shrewsbury” - 7/17/1950 – Vote Scheduled in Shrewsbury – Asbury Park Press (Part 1, Part 2)
The referendum is scheduled for July 18, 1950 - 7/20/1950 – Borough of NS created by 136 vote majority – The Daily Register
Reporting on the vote results - 7/21/1950 – A new municipality – Asbury Park Press
Opposing sides on the issue want to work together - 8/22/1950 – New borough’s first mayor – The Daily Record
Photo of Mayor Kenneth Fields being sworn in as mayor - 8/24/1950 – New Shrewsbury’s new leaders – The Daily Register
Photo of the new borough council at their first meeting - 9/14/1950 – Council may order 2 new fire trucks – The Daily Register
The new borough holds its first meeting and creates needed laws
1975: Name Change to Tinton Falls
- 3/19/1975 – Tinton Falls seeks identity – Asbury Park Press
- 3/19/1975 – NS vote on new name asked – The Daily Register
Talks about the vote which will take place, and what it will mean if successful. - 3/23/1975 – Tinton Falls urged for NS
- 4/3/1975 – New Shrewsbury’s name – The Daily Register
Background on the identity issues facing the borough. - 4/11/1975 – Name change move debated – Asbury Park Press
- 8/18/1975 – New Shrewsbury’s identity – Asbury Park Press
Reasons for the proposed name change - 11/5/1975 – New Shrewsbury will be Tinton Falls – The Daily Register
This article reports on New Shrewsbury’s new name. - 11/5/1975 – Tinton Falls put on the map – Star Ledger
- 11/7/1975 – 2 generations witnessed name changes – The Daily Register
The article describes how a mother and son, both borough clerks, shared town milestones. - 1/12/2004 – Township from area giant over three centuries – Asbury Park Press
This article describes how the original Shrewsbury township eroded over time.
Photographs
These photos are also organized by date. We are indebted to Randall Gabrielan for allowing us to use material from his book Tinton Falls in the Twentieth Century, as well as to Monmouth University’s Guggenheim Library for providing access to the Dorn’s archival photo collection. Thanks also to Jonathan Cohen, local photographer, for sharing some of his images with us for this project.
Before 1950
- To be added
After 1950
- To be added