| Author |
Monmouth County (N.J.) County Clerk |
| Title |
Road Returns, 1740-1979 |
| Physical Details |
32 cubic feet |
Forms part of the repository's County Clerk's Office subgroup. Surveyors' road returns, arranged alphabetically by town and chronologically thereunder, consisting of applications by freeholders and property owners to the Monmouth County, N.J., Court of Common Pleas, petitioning the court to either open a new road or vacate the whole (or portions thereof) of an old one, after which the court would appoint surveyors to view the proposed road and subsequently make a survey which was "returned" to the court. Surveyors' returns include names of property owners, landmarks, maps, protests, dedications, and takeovers.
Transferred to the repository by Jane G. Clayton, Monmouth County Clerk. Finding aid and indexes in the repository. The repository also has microfilm of the collection available for public use.
| OTHER AUTHORS: |
New Jersey. Court of Common Pleas (Monmouth County) |
| Monmouth County (N.J.) County Clerk |
| SUBJECTS: |
Surveyors--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| Roads--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| Surveying--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| Monmouth County (N.J.)--Surveys |
| Monmouth County (N.J.)--Maps |
| Monmouth County (N.J.)--Politics and government |
| County Government--New Jersey--Records and correspondence |
| GENRE OR FORM: |
Public records--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| RECORD GROUP |
COUN500 |
| SUBGROUP |
County Clerk's Office |
| SERIES TITLE |
Road Returns |
| DATES |
1740-1979 |
| VOLUME |
32 cubic feet |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SCOPE AND CONTENT
USE
OTHER SOURCES
Road Returns are arranged alphabetically in seventy-seven boxes by town or township and chronologically thereunder. The Road Return series consists of applications by freeholders and property owners to the Common Pleas Court petitioning the Court to either open a new road, vacate an old road, or to vacate portions of an old road. The Court would then appoint six Surveyors of the Highway. The Surveyors, after viewing the proposed road, would notify the Court as to their decision whether the road was necessary. A survey was then "returned" to the Court giving the official date when the road would be opened to the public.
The Surveyors' return is extremely detailed down to the chains, links, minutes, and degrees from one point to the next along the new route. What is even more important is the fact that property owners and landmarks are also included in their reports. Maps of the roads were sometimes included with their surveys. The Road Return series contains 702 maps prepared by the Surveyors.
Property owners along the new road or along a road to be vacated, who felt the road would inconvenience them in any way, were allowed to file a "caveat," an official protest submitted to the Court by the protesting party or parties.
The series also includes dedications of roads and county takeovers of township road.
II. USE
A computer index is available listing the road returns chronologically by township or town. The index includes the applicant's name and, where possible, brief descriptions of the road. If the road connected two towns or extended to another county, the index provides the destination ("TOTOWN"). If the file contains a map, the index so indicates. The index also references the microfilm.
The series is available for use on 15 rolls of microfilm. Original documents will be retrieved only under exceptional circumstances.
III. OTHER SOURCES
Road returns also can be found within Common Pleas court records and deed books.
Page Last Updated: 2/9/2011 10:29:00 AM