Nearly Ruined, A Victorian Village Rises from the Ashes

Nearly Ruined, A Victorian Village Rises from the Ashes. . , Downtown Toms River, also called the "village," includes both residential and commercial properties. None of these properties are as old as the town itself when it was separated from Shrewsbury Township, Monmouth County in 1767 and was chartered as the Township of Dover. Four key streets , Main Street, East Water Street, Washington Street, and Hooper Avenue , tell the unique story of the village's evolving past. Here is where a thriving seaport grew and where residents and the Monmouth Militia fiercely fought to save their colonial village and its blockhouse from the wrath of the War. From the ashes of their torched houses, displaced villagers gradually rebuilt their homes, businesses, and lives. By 1850, the New Jersey State Legislature charted the state's twentieth county, named Ocean, and designated Dover Township (renamed Toms River Township in 2006) as its county seat., Washington Street Historic District , The Washington Street Historic District extends eastward from Main Street to Lexington Avenue. It was named for Washington McKean, a local businessman who owned five stores in the downtown village, 125 acres between Hooper Avenue and Dock Street, and a one-half interest in The Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company. Hooper Avenue, another major downtown street that intersects with Washington Street, was named for Thomas Hooper, a local resident and Superintendent of the New Jersey Life Saving Service. When the state's newest county courthouse was built in 1850, Hooper believed that it needed more dignity than to be surrounded by narrow, rural dirt roads. So he widened the old "road to the Metedeconk" at his own expense and was rewarded by having the road named for him., Toms River Town Hall (c. 1901) , 33 Washington Street , Built in 1901 for $20,000 as the residence of John S. Holmes, a local sea captain, the mansion was then sold a few years alter to Henry Low, fourth president of the First National Bank. It was sold again to Dr. J. Philp Citta for use as an office and residence. Then, in the mid 1940s, Dover Township acquired the house when it out-grew space that it shared with Toms River Fire Company #1 in the old town hall at 26 Robbins Street. At that time, the entire house was remodeled and space added for offices in the attached new construction. The original façade was redesigned with four tall white columns and the exterior (both original and new additions) was re-surfaced with red bricks so that it complemented the 1851 Ocean County Courthouse located diagonally across Washington Street. As the township's population grew, more additions were built to accommodate the need for more office and meeting room space. Visitors to the Town Hall may view its collection of historic photographs and memorabilia, including displays in the Leonard "Bud" G. Lomell Meeting Room on the first -floor On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Lomell scaled off the cliff at Point du Hoc and disabled five massive German guns that threatened the lives of thousands of Allied troops landing on the beaches in Normandy, France. There is another small collection of artifacts exhibited in a case near the entrance to the Hirshblond Meeting Room on the second floor where the Township Council meets. Outside the Town Hall, along Robbins Street and in the quadrangle facing Washington Street, there are monuments, memorials, and time capsules that honor residents and events.