Hidden History of Monmouth County (Paperback or Softback)

Monmouth County's past encompasses more than just sandy beaches and rural farm life.

George Washington fought at the Battle of Monmouth as the region played a pivotal role in the birth of the republic. Henry Hudson anchored off Monmouth's shores in 1609 and was the first European to meet with the Lenape Native Americans there. A gun barrel of the USS New Jersey, the most decorated battleship in American history, was painstakingly transported to Battery Lewis, a fortification built along the county's highlands to protect New York Harbor during World War II. Bruce Springsteen elevated Asbury Park and the Stone Pony into a national music destination, and he remains the unofficial poet laureate of the Jersey Shore. Authors Rick Geffken and Muriel J. Smith highlight compelling stories of the seaside county's four-hundred-year history.

Rick Geffken is the coauthor of The Story of Shrewsbury Revisited, 1965-2015 and Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore (Arcadia Publishing). A popular speaker at many New Jersey historical societies, Rick has published numerous historical articles for the Two River Times; the Howell Times; Edge magazine; several Patch blogs; The Crown newsletter of Christ Episcopal Church, Shrewsbury; and the Monmouth Connection newsletter of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society. A decorated Vietnam veteran, he is a trustee of the Shrewsbury Historical Society, past president and a trustee of the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House and a member of the Monmouth County Historical Association.

Muriel J. Smith is an award-winning writer and journalist in investigative, political and news reporting. She wrote for several weekly and daily newspapers before becoming editor of The Courier in Middletown and editor for Forbes NJ Newspapers. She has authored three books: The New Jersey Alliance for Action: 25 Years of Progress, The Reporter and the Draft and I Know How to Grieve, I Want to Learn How to Laugh. Muriel is a member of the Monmouth County Historical Commission and former member of the Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commission, as well as several municipal historic societies. She has served on the Highlands Board of Education and was secretary of the Atlantic Highlands-Highlands Regional Sewerage Authority. She is a public relations writer for the Monmouth County Library Commission, mediator for New Jersey Civil Court, patient advocate for the New Jersey Department of the Elderly and CCD instructor at St. Rose of Lima in Freehold.