Revitalized Huddy Park To Host Toms River's 250th Anniversary Bash

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River will mark the 250th anniversary of its founding with a full day of festivities, food and fun as it rededicates Huddy Park, the township's first park.

The celebration on Saturday, June 24, will mark 250 years to the day since Toms River — then known as the Town of Dover — became a separate entity apart from the Borough of Shrewsbury in Monmouth County.

Much has changed in those 250 years, of course, starting with the United States of America becoming its own nation. The Town of Dover, which once encompassed much of what we know as northern Ocean County, has been broken down into smaller pieces and is now the county seat of Ocean County, instead of being part of Monmouth County. The town also is no longer Dover Township but Toms River, thanks to a 2006 referendum.

The ties to Toms River's earliest history are still prevalent, from the names of various areas around town such as Indian Hill to Huddy Park, which is named in honor of Capt. Joshua Huddy, an American soldier who fought to defend the Toms River Blockhouse from the British and was captured and later secretly hung, according to J. Mark Mutter, the township clerk and its official historian.

Huddy Park, which has undergone a $1.6 million renovation, will be officially rededicated on Saturday, June 24, as part of the ceremonies marking the township's 250th anniversary.

The day also will include a food truck festival on Washington Street, along with children's activities and a beer garden to benefit Toms River's volunteer fire companies and the Toms River PBA.

The rededication ceremony at Huddy Park will begin at 11 a.m. and is scheduled to include local dignitaries, music from the Old Barracks Fife & Drum Corps, an opportunity to sign the Township Charter and members of the Joshua Huddy Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will be on hand as well. The ceremony is free.

The food truck festival begins at noon.

If you want to get into the spirit of all things Toms River before the celebration, stop by the Ocean County Historical Society at 26 Hadley Avenue and check out the Toms River 250th Anniversary exhibit on the first floor. See artifacts from its Lenni Lenape residents, items commemmorating the first graduating class at Toms River High School, and much more.

Museum tours are given on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.. Exhibit and office hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Main photo shows J. Mark Mutter, dressed in Colonial-era garb, watching as a Toms River resident signs a replica of the town charter during the Toms River Food Festival in May.