Beginnings of a great city  —

John Slocum

How far back does Long Branch go? Try May 1668.

According to local folklore, five associates of the original Monmouth Patent holders in 1665 (John Slocum, Eliakim Wardell, Jasper and Peter Parker and George Hulett) had come to Monmouth County (then in the British colony of New Jersey) to find suitable land and more religious freedom. At that time the men were trying to resolve a land acquisition dispute with Native American locals.

Starting at dawn at a spot near today’s North Lower Broadway in Long Branch, Slocum engaged in a “two falls out of three” wrestling match with Lenape tribe member Vow-a-Vapon. Under the terms, if Slocum won he could buy all the land that he could “walk off” in one day. If he lost his group left with nothing.

Slocum won a tough match — defeating an opponent who was “greased from head to foot.” The agreed upon payment for the land was “20 shillings per acre.” The Slocum take ended up being about 375 acres of land.

Most shared the reward of Slocum’s struggle. He got Long Branch, the Parker’s took Rumson/Little Silver, Wardell received Monmouth Beach/Sea Bright, and Hulett disappeared. The Slocum family would hold much of the land for some 200 years, according to a 1904 Long Branch Daily Record account.

In 1683, Slocum was appointed a captain in the colonial militia and later was made a County Ranger. He is also responsible for first developing an old Indian trail (today’s Broadway). Born in Portsmouth, RI in March 1645; he died in February 1702. Slocum Place in the city is named for the family; they also ran the city newspaper for over 25 years.

Entertaining a Nation (1940)

Myth or fact, the Slocum account has added weight to it — being cited in the 1940 Long Branch city-bio book, Entertaining a Nation. Plus, the Daily Record — “the people’s paper” in Long Branch — repeats the tale in its July 1951 “Golden Anniversary Edition.”

The first recorded mention of the name Long Branch came in a March 1682 land survey for Abijah Edwards, according to a Long Branch Daily Record story in August 1963, when it was then part of Shrewsbury Twp. In February 1849, Long Branch separated from Shrewsbury Twp. becoming part of Ocean Twp and governed by a three-member township committee.

By April 1867, Long Branch had incorporated as a borough and was governed by the Long Branch Commission (officially, the “Long Branch Police, Sanitary and Improvement Commission”). The first commissioners were: Louis B. Brown, Samuel Laird, Francis Corlies, Jacob Herbert, and Cornelius Van Derveer. Joseph Cooper was the first mayor and John Lanning was the first town lawyer. This five-member city commission set-up would run things in Long Branch for nearly half a century.

In December 1904, Long Branch was reincorporated as a city (under the Coult Charter Act). C. Asa Francis was the first mayor under this charter making Long Branch a city. He was inaugurated amidst a celebratory parade and ball, with the state’s governor in attendance. In the city’s first election in November 1904, Republicans won big — capturing the mayor’s seat and a clear majority on city council. Just under 3,000 voters went to the polls.

“Long Branch is rich in opportunity.”
–Daily Record, August 1930

According to a May 1954 Long Branch Daily Record story celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the city, the Long Branch Board of Trade (businesses) and Long Branch Property Holders Association (homeowners) also deserve congratulations “for launching the movement to win a new government for Long Branch.”

First LB mayor: Joseph E. Cooper

More civic change came in February 1966, when city voters backed by nearly 3-to-1 the Mayor-Council (Plan A) form of municipal government under the Faulkner Act. In May 1966, for the first time a mayor was popularly elected — with 68% of registered voters casting ballots. Sworn-in July 1966, the first mayor was, Paul Nastasio, and the first city council members were: Henry Cioffi, Samuel Teicher, Elliot Katz, Robert Cornell, and A.V. Ippolito.

Today’s city government operates with a mayor and five-member City Council, whose members are elected at-large in nonpartisan elections to serve four-year terms of office on a concurrent basis.

First Residents: The Lenape —HERE

Wrestling match for all of Long Branch between John Slocum and Vow-a-Vapon, 1668.

The Slocum wrestling match in mural from, 1668. The mosaic was done by West End School students (Beth Anne Duze Woolley Photo).

Mayors of Long Branch:

John Pallone – 2018-present

Adam Schneider – 1990-2018

Philip D. Huhn – 1982-1990

Henry R. “Skip” Cioffi – 1970-1982

Paul Nastasio, Jr. – 1966-1970

Vincent J. Mazza – 1965-1966

Milton F. Untermeyer, Jr. – 1963-1965

Thomas L. McClintock – 1961-1963

Paul Kiernan – 1960-1961

Daniel J. Maher – 1956-1960

Dr. Alexander Vineberg – 1952-1956

J. William Jones – 1948-1952

Paul Kiernan – 1944-1948

Alton V. Evans – 1936-1944

C. Dorman McFaddin – 1932-1936

J. William Jones – 1928-1932

Frank L. Howland – 1924-1928

Clarence J. Housman – 1920-1924

John W. Flock, Sr. – 1918-1920

Marshall Woolley – 1916-1918

Bryant B. Newcomb – 1912-1916

Henry Joline – 1912

Edwin W. Packer – 1910-1912

Charles O. McFaddin – 1907-1910

C. Asa Francis – 1904-1906

Rufus Blodgett – 1903-1904

Walter S. Reed, MD – 1901-1903

Benjamin Morris – 1900-1901

Augustus Chandler – 1899-1900

Rufus Blodgett – 1893-1898

George W. Brown – 1890-1893

Wilbur A. Heisley – 1887-1890

George W. Brown – 1884-1886

Richard Woodward – 1883-1884

Thomas R. Woolley – 1879-1883

Joseph E. Cooper – 1867-1879

City of Long Branch Mayor & Council (2018 -) From Left: Mayor John Pallone and Council members: Mario Vieira, Anita Voogt, Bill Dangler, Rose Widdis and seated, Mary Jane Celli.

Obituary for Dorman McFaddin. Asbury Park Press, September 1967. He was mayor of Long Branch, Monmouth County Surrogate and Freeholder, and McFaddin Motors founder.