Local city information for Middletown, NJ

Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census had a total population of 66,327. Middletown is one of the oldest sites of European settlement in New Jersey.

Middletown Township was originally formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Atlantic Township (February 8, 1847, now Colts Neck Township), Raritan Township (February 25, 1848, now Hazlet Township), Atlantic Highlands (February 28, 1887), Highlands (March 22, 1900) and Keansburg (March 22, 1917).

In 2006 & 2008, Middletown was voted in the Top 100 in CNN Money's Best Places to Live.

Middletown is part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural beauty of the Raritan Bayshore coastline.

Though small communities of Lenape Native Americans were common throughout the area, the first known European landing in what would become Middletown Township occurred in 1609, when the English explorer Henry Hudson landed along the shores of the Sandy Hook Bay. Hudson was in search of the mythical Northwest Passage in the service of the Dutch West India Company. Middletown Township was established in 1664, after the English conquest of New Amsterdam, but there was unauthorized settlement before that. The long-standing tradition had Penelope Stout, one of the first settlers, hiding in a tree from hostile Native Americans.

During the American Revolution, Middletown and much of the rest of Eastern Monmouth County was held by the British. After the Battle of Monmouth, the British retreat from Freehold Township, New Jersey carried them down King's Highway in Middletown to their embarkation points in the bay.

Upon the completion of a railroad junction in 1875, the town grew more rapidly, eventually changing from a group of small and loosely connected fishing and agricultural villages into a wealthy and alarmingly fast-growing suburb at the turn of the 20th century. If Middletown ever had a recognizable town center or town square, it was lost in that rapid growth soon after World War II.

In May 1958, several Nike Ajax missiles exploded at Battery NY-53 in Chapel Hill, killing ten Army and civilian personnel. The accident was one of the worst missile-related disasters of the Cold War.

Middletown was extremely hard hit during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, losing 37 of its residents, among the largest number for any municipality in New Jersey. A memorial to the victims stands next to the Middletown Train Station.

The planned Middletown Town Center is a major concern to the town, because of traffic issues, open space, etc.

A popular landmark in the community is the "Evil Clown of Middletown", a towering sign along Route 35 painted to resemble a circus clown that currently advertises a liquor store. The sign is a remnant of an old supermarket that used to be at that location called "Food Circus". The clown and recent successful attempts from residents to save it from demolition have been featured in the pages of Weird NJ magazine, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in the Kevin Smith-directed film Clerks II.

The Indian Trails 15K road race is held each year in April. The race benefits the Monmouth Conservation Foundation. There is also a 5K walk/run event for fun.

Vince Lombardi - NFL Coach is buried next to his wife and his parents, in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Middletown Township, New Jersey.

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