Plumber in Rumson, Monmouth County, NJ

Legend has it that the borough’s name is derived from early European settlers who bought the land from the local Lenape Native Americans in exchange for some rum. But as far back as 1663, long before the area was officially named Rumson, Native Americans called it “Navarumsunk”. Over the years it has been shortened to “Rumson”, though sources also talk of a Chief Alumson as a source of the name. Other names Rumson has been known by include Black Point, Port Washington and Oceanic.

Rumson was purchased by English settlers in pieces. The first purchase was dated January 25, 1665, and it included parts of Middletown. The rest of the area was purchased later that year.

Rumson is known for its many sprawling 19th-century estates located alongside the shores of the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers and also dotted along the historic Rumson Road (serving as one of Rumson’s main thoroughfares). Now an upscale commuter suburb, Rumson was once a prominent summer colony for wealthy New York bankers and industrialists during the turn of the century. The oldest of Rumson’s homes was the Tredwell House, named after a family that summered there for almost 100 years. The oldest part of the house was from 1670, and the estate once occupied 700 acres (2.8 km²). It was the second-oldest building in Monmouth County when it was destroyed by fire in June 2006.