Rumson

Rumson, New Jersey is a seven square mile New York City bedroom community. Two of those seven square miles consist of water.

Long before Rumson became Rumson, Rumson was Navarumsunk. Or, Narumsum. And later, Ramson’s Neck.

British settlers purchased Navarumsunk/Narumsum – located between the Navesink River and the Shrewsbury River – from the Lenape Indians.

Negotiations for the sale of Navarumsunk/Narumsum began in 1663.
Two years later, Governor Richard Nicholls confirmed the sale within constructs available to British Governors through the Monmouth Patent. No longer Lenape territory, Navarumsunk/Narumsum became Ramson’s Neck.

The catalyst for this 1665 land sale was colonial expansion – a British land conveyance.

The British took New Netherlands – in which Navaramsunk/Narumsum was located – from the Dutch. Establishing framework for the land sale.

Britain was led by King Charles II. Charles II granted this land – then controlled by the Dutch – to his brother James, The Duke of York.

The Duke’s real estate holdings stretched from Connecticut to Delaware. Expansive, yet undeveloped. So the Duke enlisted Governor Richard Nicholls to establish settlements.

The Monmouth Patent bestowed upon Governor Nichols the responsibility to attract one hundred settlers within three years to the region. These settlements were to be established in a section of the Duke’s territory which today is Monmouth County, Ocean County and Middlesex County.
Governor Nicholls needed one hundred settlements to take hold to prevent the territory from reverting back to the Duke.

To attract settlers Governor Nicholls marketed a benefit: self governance.
Settlers were Patentees. Aptly named, as settlements were established according to the Monmouth Patent.

The establishment of British settlements according to the Monmouth Patent ran into a road block in 1674 when the Dutch retook New Netherlands. One year later, the English regained control of New Netherlands. Restarting settlements.

Seven years later, the goal set for Governor Nicholls by The Duke of York – one hundred settlements – was exceeded.

Rumson…

By 1682, four settlements were established near Ramson’s Neck. Ramson’s Neck at that time consisted of thousands of acres of plantations. These Ramson’s Neck settlements, over time, evolved into boroughs. Such as Rumson.

Up through the Revolutionary War, Ramson’s Neck (known as Rumson), Fair Haven, Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury were part of Shrewsbury Township.

Rumson was part of Shrewsbury until becoming an independent borough in 1907.