Politics & Government

Freehold Boro Names Council Chambers for Revolutionary Figure

As it works to complete a redesign of its chambers the Freehold Borough Council announced on Monday night that the room will now be known as Nathaniel Scudder Hall.

Calling Scudder a “unknown American hero,” Mayor J. Nolan Higgins said the council believed it was an appropriate honor for the Freehold native. “It’s something that was in the back of the mind of the Borough Historian and I,” he said.

Naming the chamber for Scudder, he said is the first of what he hopes will be a two step process in the work being done on the room. The first was to put a fresh coat of paint on the wall and other refurbishments. The next step, he said, will be to find maps and prints of the borough that can be hung on the walls to make it feel more like a part of the borough.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Scudder, who was born right near where Boro Hall is currently located. After attending what is now Princeton University he set up a medical practice and eventually served in the Continental Congress.

Scudder was one of two delegates from the state who signed the Articles of Confederation. He went on to become a colonel in the militia and fought in the Battle of Monmouth. He was killed in the line of duty becoming the only member of the Continental Congress to die in battle and is buried at the Old Tennent Cemetery.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here