The Monmouth County Courthouse, an imposing Classical Revival building rebuilt in 1955 on the historic original site, remains the seat of county government and the focal point of downtown Freehold. The surrounding stretch of Court Street is the oldest part of the town, and several 18th- and 19th-century buildings survive nearby, giving the block a coherent historic character that much of suburban New Jersey has long since lost.
The courthouse steps and the small park in front of the building are a natural gathering point in town. This is the kind of civic centre that American towns built when they believed in public architecture — substantial, serious, worth a look from the pavement even if you have no business inside. Combined with a walk along Main Street, the courthouse area gives a good sense of what colonial-era Freehold looked like at its core.