Montrose is an unincorporated community located near the intersection of Dutch Lane Road (County Route 46) and Boundary Road along the border of Colts Neck and Marlboro townships in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed February 27, 2015. The town was located in "Atlantic Township" at one time prior to the name being changed to "Colts Neck".Red Bank Register, "7 Districts in Area Have Board Contests", February 13, 1961, Page 3 Prior to being called Montrose, the area was called "Barrentown".Judy Cromwell, The Independent, Historical Group Restores 18th century school house, May 5, 1975, Page 10
The community was electrified in 1928,Red Bank Register, "Electricity for Montrose", March 28, 1928, Page 1 the fire department was formed in 1926,Red Bank Register, "VANDERBURG NEWS", December 1, 1926, Page 24 and a rural mail route was established in 1905.Red Bank Register, "HAPPENINGS OF OLD IN AND AROUND OUR HOME TOWN", May 27, 1925, Page 9
Farming The farms in the area were known for many items, mostly dairy cows,Red Bank Register, "COLTS NECK NEWS", April 11, 1928, Page 5 horses, potatoes,Red Bank Register, "Colts Neck", May 14, 1936, Page 14 and peaches.Red Bank Register, "BIG LOSS OF CHICKENS", October 10, 1928, Page 28 In 1929, John Koster was noted to have a large greenhouse and sold flowers.Red Bank Register, "COLTS NECK NEWS", April 3, 1929, Page 3
Historic schoolhouse The area is known for the historic one-room Montrose Schoolhouse, built before 1786,Red Bank Register, "Save the Landmarks", April 20, 1960, page 1Judy Cromwell, The Independent, Historical Group, May 7, 1975, Page 10 which is located in the Colts Neck portion of the community.Jeffrey Moser, Living in Media, , March 28, 2005 It was used for many years as a meeting place, religious meeting house, and school house. It last held school classes in 1922, and the last known school bus driver was James Danser.Red Bank Register, "Years Ago in and Around Red Bank, February 7, 1934, Page 7Red Bank Register, "Colts Neck News", September 10, 1930, Page 12
The schoolhouse was donated to the Colts Neck Historical Society by George Illmensee prior to 1968.Lois Joice, "To Preserve The Heritage", Red Bank Register, March 25, 1968, Page 1, Col 2 It was moved to its present location in 1967 due to building a subdivision. Prior to moving it was located on Montrose Road and Cedar Drive.Red Bank Register, "School House Action Taken", July 20, 1965, Page 1Red Bank Register, "School Restoration Site Seen Available", July 21, 1964, Page 2 It was restored at a cost of $1006.57.Red Bank Register, "Seek to Restore Phalanx", March 31, 1965, Page 1
Hunt club For many years, Montrose was one of the starting locations for the Monmouth County Hunt. Sometimes numbering as many as 100 hunters, the community hunts would meet at the Montrose School house, prior to starting out.Red Bank Register, "Plan County Hunt Meets for January", December 28, 1939, Page 10 Fox and rabbits were the focus of the hunts.Red Bank Register, "Thrills, Spills, Other Excitement in this Fox Hunt", December 3, 1936, Page 1
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