Pride in Our Past & Present
Settled by a group of Scottish Presbyterians beginning in the 1680’s, Matawan was first called New Aberdeen, and then Mount Pleasant. Today, Matawan’s historic town core retains its appeal as a place to live, work, and shop.
America’s 250th Birthday celeBRATION
The Borough of Matawan has adopted the 250-Resolution formally announcing Matawan’s participation in the upcoming 250th birthday celebration of the United States of America.
Special Announcement: The Matawan Historical Society is pleased to announce that it is collaborating with the Keyport Historical Society on a series of special events celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. This includes co-sponsoring related lectures in our regular monthly meeting series, as well as partnering on special events commemorating the local fight for independence in the Bayshore area. Both Matawan and Keyport are proud partners in the RevolutionNJ and MonmouthNJ 250 programs.
Matawan and Keyport’s first collaborative event will be John Schneider’s lecture “The Deadly Divide: America’s First Civil War During the American Revolution” on January 26, 2026. A complete list of our upcoming events will be published soon.
Burrowes Mansion History
The new edition of The Burrowes Mansion of Matawan New Jersey: and Notations on the History of Monmouth County, Second Edition (2023) by Mary Lou Diecker and Barry C. Orr is now available! The Burrowes Mansion, constructed in 1723, celebrated its 300th Birthday in 2023, and this newly expanded edition of the book commemorates that anniversary. Please visit our “Shop” page to order your copy.
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🎄 TOMORROW. 🎄
Vendors load in tonight. Doors open at 8:00 AM sharp Saturday.
Set an alarm - the serious collectors will be in line before we unlock, and the best pieces move in the first hour.
📅 Saturday, November 14 | 8 AM – 3 PM
📍 Matawan Borough Hall & Gymnasium, 201 Broad Street
🎟️ $5 at the door | 🅿️ Free parking | 🏠 All indoors
10,000 square feet. 2,000 of you already RSVP'd.
Share this and take somebody along 👇
Christmas Antiques Market at Matawan Borough Hall
#ChristmasAntiques #VintageChristmas #MatawanNJ #MonmouthCounty #Tomorrow
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For more than 70 years, one of the strangest landmarks along Route 35 wasn't a diner, a gas station, or a roadside attraction... but a giant pirate ship
And if you grew up around Cliffwood Beach, Keyport, Matawan, Aberdeen, or Old Bridge, chances are you remember seeing it!
On May 13, 1993, a devastating fire destroyed the famous Pirate Ship, ending a remarkable chapter of New Jersey roadside history.
The story began in the early 1920s, when real estate developers Morrisey & Walker were transforming Cliffwood Beach into a summer resort community.
To attract buyers, they came up with an unusual idea.
Why not build a real estate office that looked like a pirate ship?
Inspired by local legends of Captain Kidd and buried treasure along Raritan Bay, they constructed an elaborate wooden ship complete with masts, decorative trim, and a distinctive bow.
The developers even promoted the idea of hidden pirate treasure in the area, renaming a local pond Treasure Lakr
It was actually a fully functioning real estate office where prospective buyers could inquire about summer cottages and property in Cliffwood Beach.
Over the decades, the ship became one of Route 35's most recognizable landmarks.
Generations of Jersey families passed it while traveling to the Shore, and children couldn't help wondering why an enormous pirate ship was sitting beside the highway!
But here's something even more unbelievable
In October 1971, the 100-ton ship was moved across Route 35
The complicated move cost approximately $50,000 and required telephone wires to be raised so the enormous structure could pass underneath.
The ship was transported stern-first across the highway before being settled into its new location.
For years afterward, the Pirate Ship continued serving as a real estate office under owner Paul Cahill.
But by the early 1990s, its future had become uncertain.
Cahill had retired, the building was vacant, and the property eventually went into foreclosure.
In late 1992, the unusual landmark was put up for auction.
A new owner purchased the ship, and plans were underway to transfer the property to a local Knights of Columbus chapter.
But before those plans could become reality, disaster struck. On May 13th, 1993, the pirate ship caught fire
The blaze destroyed the historic wooden structure that had stood for generations.
All that remained was the charred hull and wreckage of a landmark that had once been one of the most unusual sights along Route 35.
And just like that, the Pirate Ship was gone.
Today, the roadside landmark exists only in old photographs, postcards, and the memories of people who grew up passing it.
But for generations of Jersey residents, the sight of that enormous ship sitting beside a highway was something you simply never forgot
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