Middletown house of murdered patriot ranked No. 2 among NJ endangered history landmarks
It’s easy to forget how brutal and bloody the American Revolution was. The story of Middletown resident Joseph Murray is a stark reminder.
A father of four children ages 9 and under who was described in one history book as a “bold and active patriot,” Murray was murdered as he worked in his cornfield on June 8, 1780. Three assailants sprang an ambush and shot him with muskets, and when that failed to take him down, they hacked him to death with their bayonets.
No arrests were made nor charges brought, although historians suspect that a loyalist Middletown power broker arranged the hit.
“This was a message from the British that there was no safety for folks who opposed the crown,” Richard Veit, chair of the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University, told the Asbury Park Press in 2016. “But American patriots probably saw that they needed to redouble their efforts because of how cruel their opponent could be.”
Murray’s martyrdom was significant enough that efforts were made through the centuries to preserve his farmhouse. Now the future of that 250-year-old landmark is at a crossroads, to the point of ranking No. 2 on Preservation New Jersey’s 2023 list of the state’s 10 most endangered historic places. The nonprofit watchdog announced the list Sunday on Sandy Hook.
Built around 1770 in what is now Poricy Park, Murray’s farmhouse remained owned by his descendants until the 1860s. It nearly was town down in the 1970s to make way for a sewage plant before concerned locals fought to preserve it. Purchased by Middletown Township in 1973 and restored in 1986, it’s been a popular destination for school trips and has featured living history exhibitions about colonial-era homesteading.
But as Preservation New Jersey notes, grant money for repairs and upkeep has been hard to come by.
“While some funding has been secured through capital budgeting, there is not enough set aside to see the restoration project through,” the nonprofit said in a press release. “Debates have ensued on the understanding of state requirements, questions regarding the need for repairs, and finding proper contractors to complete the project.”
The farmhouse’s inclusion on the endangered historic places list is timely in advance of the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. Monmouth County is loaded with significant Revolutionary War landmarks, from Monmouth Battlefield State Park to Matawan’s Burrowes Mansion, where a reenactment of a deadly loyalist raid from 1778 took place Saturday.
Murray’s place in history is not widely known – his foremost agitation was stealing British and loyalist horses for use by the local patriot militia – but his doings and death made enough waves that a stone marker sits on the fateful spot of the bayoneting. It reads: “At this site Joseph Murray was murdered by Tories in retaliation for his daring patriot deeds.”
Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Middletown house of murdered patriot makes NJ endangered landmark list
