For Juneteenth, Monmouth County, State Offices Close Friday

FREEHOLD, N.J.— Juneteenth, the June 19 national holiday that celebrates emancipation after the Civil War, is being observed with certain governmental office closures.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved people of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and their freedom.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation designating the third Friday in June as a state and public holiday, known as "Juneteenth Day." So state offices are closed Friday, June 17.

In Monmouth County, the holiday is also celebrated on June 17, with county offices and other services, such as county libraries, closed, said Tricia Ring Wajda, director of public information for Monmouth County.

Locally most municipal offices are open, based on a review of town calendar, but some are closed. It varies among municipalities, and can depend upon contracted days off, said Lori Buckelew, deputy executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

In Freehold, borough offices are closed on Monday, June 20. The Freehold Public Library is also closed Monday, as it is not part of the county library system.

But, based on their website calendars, other towns in the area are keeping municipal offices open, including Colts Neck, Fair Haven, Farmingdale, Freehold Township, Hazlet, Holmdel, Howell, Manalapan, Marlboro, Red Bank, Rumson and Wall.

Federally, Juneteenth National Independence Day falls on Sunday, June 19, this year and is a federal holiday. The federal Office of Personnel Management says most federal employees will receive the following Monday as a day off of work. There is no mail delivery on June 20, the United States Post Office says.

Banks are not required to close on the holidays designated by the U.S. Federal Reserve System, but they usually do. Expect bank branches to be closed on Monday, June 20, when the Fed observes the Juneteenth holiday this year, according to aarp.org.

The newest federal holiday was signed into law on June 17, 2021, by President Joe Biden to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. following the conclusion of the Civil War.