Keyport Historical Society

Keyport Historical Society Keyport Historical Society Museum open Sundays 1-3PM April through October

The Keyport Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Keyport New Jersey and the surrounding Bayshore community. Through its museum, archives, and programs, the Society works to document local heritage and make it accessible to the community and future generations. We invite you to visit our museum, attend an event, or become a member to help keep Keyport’s heritage alive!

08/30/2026

What a finish! The race between Aberdeen and Matawan came down to the final dash from the boat to the flag!

A huge thank you to everyone who rowed, volunteered, organized, cheered, and participated in making the Great Whaleboat Races of 2026 such a wonderful event.

Congratulations, Aberdeen—and well done to all three teams for bringing this piece of our Bayshore history back to life!

🚨 IT’S HERE - RACE DAY! 🚨Tonight at 5:00 PM, first responder crews from Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport take to Lake Leffe...
08/29/2026

🚨 IT’S HERE - RACE DAY! 🚨

Tonight at 5:00 PM, first responder crews from Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport take to Lake Lefferts to recreate Capt. William Marriner’s legendary 1778 whaleboat raid. Mayors Altomonte, Cannon and Araneo will be captured off the floating dock and raced back to shore — and only one town raises their flag first.

🗺️ CHECK THE RACE MAP (posted below with the flyer) - it shows the course, the floating dock, and where to set up for the best view. Give it a look before you head over.

⏰ TONIGHT’S LINEUP
🕔 5:00 - Music, food, colonial reenactors, inflatables and kids’ activities open
💦 Water Balloon Toss and Sponge Relay Race

🚤 5:30–6:15: RC Boat Races, ages 10–13 (register onsite)

🎨 Origami boat-making with the Matawan Aberdeen Arts Society

🏅 Top three recognized in the RC race and the ages 3–9 races

🚣 THE GREAT RACE: 6:30 - three towns, three whaleboats, one Golden Oar

📹 You won’t miss a second. A drone will fly the racecourse and feed live to a 20-foot LED screen on shore, so you’ll have a front-row view of the capture and the row back from anywhere on the banks.

Everything tonight is FREE.

📍 Lake Lefferts Park - Ravine Drive & Matawan Ave, Matawan NJ

🅿️ Parking at Matawan Ave, Main Street, and the Bank of America lot

🪑 Bring a lawn chair or blanket - come early, the banks fill fast

🧴 Bug spray isn’t a bad idea near the water at dusk

250 years ago, a whaleboat pushed off from Matawan on a mission nobody thought could work.

Tonight we do it again. 🇺🇸🚣

Who’s rowing for the win - Aberdeen, Keyport, or Matawan?

2 DAYS - HERE'S WHAT'S WAITING FOR YOU 🎵 Live music🍔 Food vendors🎈 Kids' games and inflatables🎭 Colonial reenactors in f...
08/27/2026

2 DAYS - HERE'S WHAT'S WAITING FOR YOU

🎵 Live music
🍔 Food vendors
🎈 Kids' games and inflatables
🎭 Colonial reenactors in full period dress
🚣 And THE GREAT RACE - first responder crews from three towns rowing to capture their mayors

Free to attend. Free to watch from the banks. Bring a chair, bring the kids, bring your neighbors.

This is genuinely unlike anything else happening for the 250th anywhere in the country: and it's happening in our backyard, on our lake, with our neighbors in the boats.

👉 Not registered yet? Free, 30 seconds, and it helps us plan for you: https://app.seemylegacy.com/community/2738/campaign/10053/overview

⚠️ Just so it's clear: registration is NOT a ticket and NOT a payment. The event is free. It's a headcount so we have enough food, chairs and activities ready.

📅 Saturday, August 29 | 5:00–7:30 PM
📍 Lake Lefferts Park, Matawan NJ

The officers and members of the Keyport Historical Society wish to express our deep condolences to the family of Angel J...
08/27/2026

The officers and members of the Keyport Historical Society wish to express our deep condolences to the family of Angel Jeandron, who passed away on August 23, 2026.

Angel’s lifetime dedication to preserving the rich and diverse history of Keyport, along with her late husband, Jack, led to the formation of the Keyport Historical Society in 1972. The Jeandrons were among the charter members of the Society who established The Steamboat Dock Museum, which served as the main repository of Keyport artifacts and historic records for 37 years and continues today in the new museum at 34 Main Street.

Angel served as a Board member for more than half a century with the Society; however, she always declined to be president. She and Noreen Schanck began the process of cataloging artifacts manually on file cards, a system the Society still uses today as we continue to upload those records digitally. Angel and Jack’s interest in Keyport’s history extended beyond preserving artifacts and records. They welcomed and educated museum visitors, encouraged new members to join the Society, and inspired generations of people to take an interest in Keyport’s past.

Angel and Jack’s preservation efforts were well known in town, and their contributions were well recognized at the Monmouth County Archives level. In 2014, Angel and Jack received the Jane G. Clayton Award. Created in 1997, the Jane G. Clayton Award honors individuals who, over a substantial number of years, have made exceptional contributions to the awareness, understanding, or preservation of Monmouth County history. The award is named after former County Clerk Jane G. Clayton, who was responsible for the creation of the Monmouth County Archives.

At the Society’s request, May 19, 2024, was proclaimed Angel Jeandron Day by Keyport officials. The Keyport Historical Society created a special display featuring original drawings of clothing designed by Angel, celebrating another dimension of her creativity and talent. For several years, one of our museum display rooms has also been named in honor of Angel and Jack.

Today, Angel and Jack are themselves a lasting part of the Keyport history they worked so tirelessly to preserve. Their names, their work, and their love for Keyport will continue to live on through the Historical Society and in the museum they helped make possible.

We are deeply grateful to Angel’s family for donating their parents’ files and artifacts to the Society, allowing future generations to learn from and appreciate the history they devoted their lives to preserving.

Angel will be greatly missed, but her legacy—and the legacy she and Jack created together—will never be forgotten.

08/26/2026

Are you ready for The Great Whaleboat Races of 2026? Watch as the mayors of Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport get into the spirit of the Great Whaleboat Races of 2026!

Come join us on Saturday, August 29 at Lake Lefferts and enjoy a day of history, community and some seriously fun competition.

ADAM HYLER: THE WHALEBOAT PRIVATEER OF RARITAN BAYThe story didn't end with the 1778 raid on Flatbush.A few years later,...
08/26/2026

ADAM HYLER: THE WHALEBOAT PRIVATEER OF RARITAN BAY

The story didn't end with the 1778 raid on Flatbush.

A few years later, another whaleboat commander would make the waters of Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook and New York Harbor a dangerous place for British and Loyalist vessels.

His name was Captain Adam Hyler.

Historian Michael Adelberg, who recently presented to the Keyport and Matawan Historical Societies, has brought together an extraordinary account of this little-known Revolutionary figure—and his deep connections to the Monmouth County Bayshore.

Hyler was born in Germany and was associated with New Brunswick during the Revolution. But his story is very much a Bayshore story.

And there's a connection to a man you've already met:

William Marriner.

Marriner was captured by the British in 1780. Hyler appears to have served in Marriner's privateering activities, and soon filled the void left by Marriner's capture. In fact, Hyler's first recorded action in April 1781 was initially credited to Marriner—who was still a British prisoner at the time.

By 1781, Hyler was making a name of his own.

His weapon of choice?

The whaleboat.

Fast. Shallow. Quiet.

It could be rowed or sailed, slip over sandbars that stopped larger vessels, and move quickly through creeks and shallow bays. Hyler's crews were particularly skilled at the oars—and at striking by surprise.

Then came Sandy Hook.

On October 7, 1781, Hyler went after five vessels near the Hook with one gunboat and two whaleboats—within a quarter mile of a British guard ship.

Two of the vessels were armed.

After a fifteen-minute fight, Hyler captured all five without losing a man.

And this is where our own community enters the story.

Hyler frequently used Middletown Point as a point of departure and return, and many of his men came from Monmouth County. Of nine men whose later accounts of serving under Hyler survive, four were from Monmouth County.

In one pursuit, Hyler chased the sloop Father's Desire across Raritan Bay until it grounded near Keyport.

And when Hyler captured the British cutter Alert in 1782, the prisoners were sent to Middletown Point.

Then came another remarkable encounter.

In May 1782, 25 British troops under Captain Schaack were sent into the Shrewsbury River to intercept Hyler.

Hyler spotted them first and landed 13 of his men. They charged...

Four British soldiers were killed or wounded—and Captain Schaack and eight of his men were captured.

The British were taking notice. Hyler's whaleboat operations had become enough of a problem that British commanders considered sending armed row galleys to pursue him and destroy his boats.

But Hyler's story was not without a darker side. His privateering included the capture and forced removal of civilians and sailors, and his treatment of captured Black sailors is part of the complicated history of Revolutionary-era privateering.

By the summer of 1782, Hyler's luck ran out.

On July 15, he attacked a British galley at Prince's Bay on Staten Island. During the action, Hyler was wounded. He died later that year.

His career had lasted only a short time.

But what a career it was.

Whaleboats.
Night raids.
Sandy Hook.
Raritan Bay.
The Narrows.
Middletown Point.

The Revolutionary War wasn't happening somewhere far away. It was happening on our water.

And at the time, Middletown Point served the area we know today as Keyport, Matawan and Aberdeen.

More than 240 years later, we're putting whaleboats back on the water.

Thankfully, this time the mission is much more peaceful:

Keyport vs. Matawan vs. Aberdeen
Three towns. Three boats. One Golden Oar.

THE GREAT WHALEBOAT RACES OF 2026
Saturday, August 29
Lake Lefferts

Come cheer for Team Keyport and celebrate the remarkable maritime history of our Bayshore!

⚓ GO KEYPORT!

A note about the image: The artwork is an illustrative interpretation created to help bring Adam Hyler's story to life. It is not a historically accurate reconstruction or a known depiction of Hyler or his crew. The historical events and details in this post are based on documented sources.

⏳ 4 DAYS - THE STORY BEHIND THE RACE In 1778, Capt. William Marriner launched a whaleboat from Matawan in the dead of ni...
08/25/2026

⏳ 4 DAYS - THE STORY BEHIND THE RACE

In 1778, Capt. William Marriner launched a whaleboat from Matawan in the dead of night and rowed toward New York to capture Loyalist Mayor David Mathews. It was audacious, it was dangerous, and it started right here on our water.

This Saturday, we bring that mission back, and the people rowing it are the same ones who show up when this community needs them.

🚒 Teams of FIRST RESPONDERS from Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport will man the three whaleboats. The firefighters, EMTs and officers who answer your calls at 2 in the morning are about to row across Lake Lefferts, capture their town's mayor off a floating dock, and race back to shore for the Golden Oar Trophy.

The first crew to return their mayor and hoist their town's flag on the banks wins — and the Golden Oar goes home to their town hall until somebody comes and takes it back.

Same water. Same nerve. Considerably less danger.

When you're on the banks Saturday, cheer loud for them. They've earned it twice over.

👉 Let us know you're coming — free, 30 seconds, and it helps us plan: https://app.seemylegacy.com/community/2738/campaign/10053/overview

📅 Saturday, August 29 | 5:00–7:30 PM
📍 Lake Lefferts Park, Matawan NJ

🚣 RACE WEEK IS HERE!!! Five days from now, three whaleboats hit the water at Lake Lefferts and three mayors get captured...
08/24/2026

🚣 RACE WEEK IS HERE!!!

Five days from now, three whaleboats hit the water at Lake Lefferts and three mayors get captured off a floating dock. We have been building toward this all summer.

Before Saturday, we need one small thing from you: let us know you're coming.

We've opened a free registration link so we can plan properly - how much food, how many chairs, how much parking, how many kids' activities to have ready on the banks. It takes about 30 seconds.

⚠️ To be clear: this is NOT a ticket and it is NOT a payment. The event is completely free. It is a headcount, nothing more.

👉 Register to attend: https://app.seemylegacy.com/community/2738/campaign/10053/overview

📅 Saturday, August 29 | 5:00–7:30 PM
📍 Lake Lefferts Park - Ravine Drive & Matawan Ave, Matawan NJ
🅿️ Parking at Matawan Ave, Main Street, and the Bank of America lot

Teams of first responders from Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport will row across the lake, capture their town's mayor, and race back to shore for the Golden Oar Trophy - recreating Capt. William Marriner's daring 1778 raid, nearly 250 years later, on the same water it started from.

Three towns. Three whaleboats. One legendary mission. Five days.

⏳ 8 DAYS TO GO 🚣🇺🇸 The Great Whaleboat Races of 2026 are 8 days away. Starting tomorrow we're counting down daily until ...
08/23/2026

⏳ 8 DAYS TO GO 🚣🇺🇸

The Great Whaleboat Races of 2026 are 8 days away. Starting tomorrow we're counting down daily until three towns hit the water.

Everything you need:
📅 Saturday, August 29 | 5:00–7:30 PM

📍 Lake Lefferts Park — Ravine Drive & Matawan Ave, Matawan NJ

🅿️ Parking at Matawan Ave, Main Street, and the Bank of America lot

🎉 Live music, food, kids' games, inflatables, colonial reenactors, and THE GREAT RACE

👉 Haven't registered yet? Please do — free, 30 seconds, and it helps us plan: https://app.seemylegacy.com/community/2738/campaign/10053/overview

👉 Businesses: sponsorships close August 24. Last chance to get your name on this: https://app.seemylegacy.com/community/2738/campaign/10179

Aberdeen. Keyport. Matawan. One legendary mission. Who's ready?

THE MEN BEHIND THE RAID: William Marriner & John Schenck⚓ The whaleboats were ready. The plan was daring. But who were t...
08/21/2026

THE MEN BEHIND THE RAID: William Marriner & John Schenck

⚓ The whaleboats were ready. The plan was daring. But who were the men behind the raid?

In June 1778, William Marriner and militia captain John Schenck led two whaleboats from Middletown Point toward British-held Brooklyn.

They rowed through the night.

They landed in Brooklyn.

They captured Loyalist prisoners.

And they made it back to Middletown Point without losing a man.

One contemporary observer called the expedition “perhaps the most extraordinary circumstance which ever took place.”

So who were these men?

William Marriner was a daring mariner who would become one of New Jersey's most successful privateers. He knew the waters between Sandy Hook and the Narrows, and his small boats allowed him to move quickly and quietly where larger vessels could not. British authorities eventually took notice, warning that Marriner was operating in the area.

John Schenck was different—but just as important. He was a militia captain, a local military leader willing to take the fight to the enemy. And this wasn't his only encounter with the British. Three years later, during the June 1781 British and Loyalist incursion into Middletown, Schenck was again serving with the militia. According to his later pension testimony, the British and Tories had offered a 25-guinea reward for his capture or death. They even attacked his house while he was away with the militia. Schenck was clearly a man the enemy knew—and feared.

But the raid of 1778 wasn't just about two men.

It depended on boats, local knowledge and a community connected to the water.
At the time, Middletown Point was the waterfront community serving the area we know today as Keyport, Matawan and Aberdeen.

From these shores, men could launch small boats into Raritan Bay and reach the waterways around New York Harbor.

And the whaleboat gave them an extraordinary advantage:

Speed.
Stealth.
Surprise.

Think about it.
Two boats.
A moonless night.
A crossing of the bay.
Enemy territory.
And a return trip before the British could stop them.

This wasn't a story happening somewhere far away. It began here.

And it wouldn't be the last time men from the Bayshore used whaleboats to take the fight to the enemy. A few years later, another name would become famous on these waters: Adam Hyler.

We'll meet him next.

More than 240 years later, we're putting whaleboats back on the water.

Thankfully, this time the mission is much more peaceful:

Keyport vs. Matawan vs. Aberdeen

Three towns. Three boats. One Golden Oar.

THE GREAT WHALEBOAT RACES OF 2026
Saturday, August 29
Lake Lefferts

Come cheer for your town!

AND one more question:
The Schenck name is still familiar throughout our community today. Do you know a Schenck family story that connects to the Bayshore's Revolutionary past?
We'd love to hear it.

Address

Keyport, NJ

Opening Hours

1pm - 3pm

Telephone

+17327397379

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Keyport Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Keyport Historical Society:

Shortcuts

Share

Category