Routes to Roots Heritage Trail
Timothy Thomas Fortune House
The T. Thomas Fortune House is a National Historic Landmark located in Red Bank, NJ. It is currently, the sole such landmark in New Jersey associated with African American history. Timothy Thomas Fortune, (October 3, 1856 - June 1928), was a distinguished orator, civil rights leader, journalist, author and publisher. Born into slavery in Marianna, Florida to Emanuel and Sarah Jane Fortune, he later began his education at Marianna's first school for African Americans after the Civil War.
After attending Howard University, Fortune relocated to New York City in 1881. Here, writing as T. Thomas Fortune, he was an early advocate of using the term Afro-American rather than negro or "colored" to identify his heritage. He later explained that the term derived from being, "African in origin and American in birth." His paper, the New York Age, was the most widely read black newspaper of its day, and under Fortune's leadership it played an important role in promoting Booker T. Washington as a national African American leader. In 1901 Fortune moved his family to Red Bank where he purchased a twelve room Second Empire style home. In the 1920s, Fortune edited Marcus Garvey's Negro World. Preservation New Jersey has listed the Timothy Thomas Fortune House as one of the top ten most endangered historic sites in New Jersey. For information on how you can assist in preserving this historic site please contact:
Ed Zipprich
Red Bank Historic Preservation Committee
(732) 219-5192; (917) 863-2408
ejzip@aol.com
Timothy Thomas Fortune House
94 W. Bergen Place
Red Bank, NJ
Additional Information
The Hub (article) http://preservationnj.org/magazine/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=119
Preservation New Jersey
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The Heath Farm
An original part of the Clinton and Mary Heath Family Farm, the farm now serves as a living history resource center exploring the historical impact of farming in the development of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Exhibits include authentic nineteenth century farm artifacts, a Spy House Collection donated by the late Gertrude Neidlinger, and a working honey bee colony and museum. For hours and exhibitions dates please access the farms website or call (732) 671-0566. Admission is free.
The Heath Farm
219 Harmony Road
(At The Corner of Peace Lane)
Middletown, NJ 07748
(732) 671-0566
http://heathfarm.tripod.com/peacelane/
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COUNTENANCE: Notable County Facts & Faces
African American Experiences in Monmouth County, 1700 - 1865
This site is an educational service and genealogy source for students, teachers, agencies and individuals interested in African American history. It provides information, images and documents on African American communities and families, both free and enslaved, in Monmouth County, New Jersey before the Civil War. This site also features an overview of the African American experience in the Antebellum United States.-- This site was prepared as a class project by the students of Monmouth University's (HS-103) U.S. History Before 1877 in the Fall of 1998.
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~afam/index.html
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Court Street School
This Colonial Revival style brick schoolhouse was designed by locally prominent Architect Warren H. Conover and constructed in 1921 to serve local African American children. (It was later expanded in 1926.) Today, the former schoolhouse is home to the Court Street School Education Community Center which provides numerous program activities for the area's young people.
Court Street School Education Community Center
125 Court Street
Freehold, NJ
(732) 462-1064
http://www.visitmonmouth.com/oralhistory/bios/Hendry-Russell.htm
http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/News/2002/0417/Front_Page/008.html
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County History and Resource Organizations
Monmouth County Historical Association
70 Court Street
Freehold, NJ 07728
Work: 732-462-1466
Fax: 732-462-8346
E-Mail: legriffith@monmouth.com
Middletown Township Historical Society
P.O. Box 180
Middletown, NJ 07748
E-Mail: middletownhist@earthlink.net
Monmouth County Historical Commission
Hall of Records, Room #201
Freehold, NJ 07728
(732) 431-7413
http://www.visitmonmouth.com/historicalcomm/
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