875-2943
Research the History of Your Monroe Township Home
In order to enrich the history of Monroe Township, the Historical Society is initiating a program to identify and celebrate our town’s rich heritage by recognizing the homes and families who lived within them who shaped and created our town. Once the genealogy of your home has been documented, the Historical Society will present the family with a cornerstone plaque to be mounted on the home that identifies the year the homestead was established
What do you need to do to document your home’s history?
- How old does my home have to be? As a starting point, we are asking for homes 100 years or older, i.e. 1900 or prior
- Possible proofs you can obtain. (a) Copy of building permit, (b) copy of deeds tracing the title back, nothing the book and page numbers (or photocopying page one of the deed from Grantor/Grantee book), (c) The Historic American Buildings Survey, (d) Tax ratable listing, (e) Plat book maps, (f) Bureau of Archives and History listing (“How to Research The History of a House, State of NJ” )
- Where can I find the deeds? Deeds can be accessed at the County Registrar of Deeds Offices at the Courthouse in Woodbury. Take not that Monroe Township at one time in its history was part of Camden County, so your research may require you to go to Camden County’s Registrar of Deeds. The staff in Woodbury will guide you.
- Take photographs of your home so that the Society can open a permanent file of your home for their archives.
- Prepare a short history of your home, summarizing the lineage that you have discovered in your research.
- Your next step is to bring your research materials to a regularly scheduled meeting on the Monroe Township Historical Society Board of Trustees for presentation. The Board meets the first Thursday of every month at the Ireland Hofer House, Main Street, Williamstown, NJ at 7:30pm
- The Board will receive your application and make arrangements with you to visit the property proposed for consideration.
- The Review Committee will report back to the Board at the next regularly scheduled meeting as to their review of all the materials submitted and recommend the awarding of the memorial plaque.
- The Board will vote its approval of make recommendations for further work that needs to be done before approval can be granted. An order for the plaque will be placed at that time.
- The plaque will be presented by the Review Committee and the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society.
- A press release will be circulated advising the recognition of the Historical home.
- What will the plaque contain? The plaque will contain the seal of the Historical Society plus the year of the house’s origination.
- Application to participate in the Historical Society’s house dating is listed below and should be completed and dropped off at the Ireland Hofer House in order to register. All applications will be reviewed and kept on file.
- A permanent file will be established at the Monroe Township Historical Society Museum archives for your home for future reference by researchers of our towns history.
- Your home will be added to the Monroe Township Historical Society’s proposed Homes Map.