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Howell:

One of  Monmouth County's Largest Communities!

As the people hustle out of town for the workday, they leave the intrinsic beauty of Howell's countryside for a few hours, only to return at night with more appreciation for what they left. This township with a 200-year history, keeps on ticking, offering convenient shopping on busy Route 9, and quiet country character in the nooks and crannies of the rest of the township.

Howell, named after Richard Howell, the third governor of New Jersey, was formed in 1801 when an act of the Legislature took territory from Shrewsbury Township. After that, the township, one of the oldest in the area, began to shrink. In 1850, Ocean County formed and took what is now Brick and Lakewood townships from Howell. The following year, the township of Wall was formed from a part of Howell.

Though Howell is one of the fastest-growing townships around, with new housing developments and strip malls in the works, it still has the feel of an old-fashioned farm town once you leave the Route 9 corridor. Often, people have one of two widespread perceptions of the town, depending on where they spend time. One is that Howell is a rural farming community. The other is that it is a commercial area with shopping centers that dot Route 9.

Inside Howell's 62 square miles lie a variety of sections: Ramtown, Squankum, Freewood Acres, Adelphia, Ardena, Jerseyville and Southard. At the time they were named, more than 150 years ago, they were neighborhoods, communities within the township. Today, they are little more than marking points among the sprawl of single-family residential neighborhoods, places for people to name to others when describing where they live.

The Manasquan River cuts through the center of town, and Howell is home to the Manasquan Reservoir, Joseph C. Irwin Recreation Area, and a 770-acre hiking and fishing area located on Windeler Road.

In addition to aesthetic beauty, there's spiritual enrichment here, too. There are 24 houses of worship in Howell and Farmingdale, the most interesting of which, to outsiders, are temples of the Kalmyk people. The Kalmyks are followers of Tibetan Buddhism from the former Soviet Union who settled in the Freewood Acres section of Howell.

Together, the people who live in this unique community are working to preserve its natural beauty and vibrant history, while progressing to make room for future commercial development and the convenience it brings. A town that is at once rural and suburban is treasured by residents on this day, and surely will be for generations to come.

Common Facts

Schools

HOWELL TOWNSHIP
Administrative Offices
200 Squankum-Yellowbrook Rd., Howell 07731-057
(732) 751-2480