The posted coordinates are for the Welcome/Visitor Center. It is here where you will pick up the necessary literature to make your visit a more memorable and productive one. There is a historian who works in the welcome center. If he is not with a group, he is always happy to sit down and discuss the history of this amazing place.
Historical Significance
The Battle of Monmouth (prounounced Mon-meth) was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in New Jersey on June 28, 1778, that was a turning point of the American Revolution. The main Continental Army under George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army's column led by Sir Henry Clinton as they left Freehold Court-House (modern Freehold Borough).
Monmouth is considered the second of only two major battles over the course of the war in which Washington's army faced British Regulars on straightforward terms in a set-piece field battle and were not tactically defeated (See also Battle of Princeton).
Background and General Information
During the 1990s, public and private sources funded extensive Battlefield restoration. The Craig farmhouse and the exterior of the 1745 Rhea-Applegate dwelling were restored, and the core of the Battlefield was rehabilitated with the reconstruction of Revolutionary War fences, lanes and a woodlot.
The Battlefield landscape can be explored from parking areas (waymarked) at the Visitor Center (waymarked) and along Monmouth County Rte. 522. Hiking the Battlefield, you will discover that the battlefields remain a working landscape. While one family farm (the Wikoff family) grows corn and soybeans on 285 acres and along Wemrock Road, another (the Applegates) cultivates extensive apple, cherry, peach and nectarine orchards. Grasslands and fallow fields are managed to provide shelter for grassland birds and small mammals.
While strolling the grounds, visitors can learn more about the battle through wayside exhibits located on Perrine Hill, Combs Hill, and the Hedgerow. Or pick up one of two detailed hiking guides in the Visitor Center, produced by the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield.