Old Bridge (NJ) (Images of America)

Old Bridge Township, located in Middlesex County, was originally part of South Amboy from the time of its first settlement in 1685 to its secession in 1869. It began its independence as Madison Township, a name it retained until the 1970s, when it was changed to Old Bridge. Its large size and geographic diversity have led to the formation of numerous villages, ranging from bayside fishing hamlets to interior farming communities. Some of these villages, including Laurence Harbor, Cliffwood Beach, and Browntown, are still widely known, but others exist only in the memories of the township's oldest residents. With hundreds of vintage photographs and postcards, Old Bridge illustrates the development of this township-from isolated farmlands dotted with villages to a modern suburbia of more than 50,000 people. It also traces the rise and fall of the vacation industry on the Raritan Bay and the discovery of Old Bridge by land developers after World War II.