Rumson is a seven square mile New York City bedroom community. Two of those seven square miles are made up of water.

Home to just over 7,000, long before Rumson was Rumson, Rumson was Navarumsunk.

Rumson was Navarumsunk when English settlers purchased Navarumsunk from Lenape Indians.

Negotiations for the sale of Navarumsunk began in 1663. Two years later, Governor Richard Nicholls confirmed the purchase through of Monmouth Patent.

The Lenape name of Navarumsunk was then shortened to Ramson’s Neck.

Navarumsunk consisted of a tract of land between the Navesink River and the Shrewsbury River.

The Ramson’s Neck purchase was made possible by a conveyance of land from King Charles II to his brother James, the Duke of York.

The King gave his brother a region which extended from what today would be Connecticut, due south, to today what would be Delaware.

The Duke of York then authorized Governor Richard Nicholls to commence settlements.

The first settlements took hold in Shrewsbury village. The settlers were Patentees.

Through the Revolutionary War, Ramson’s Neck included today’s Rumson, Fair Haven, Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury.

Rumson was part of Shrewsbury until 1907.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author Lyman Frank Baum shares with us his beliefs about how a monetary system based upon the gold standard is the wrong way to go.

According to Baum, the gold standard would subject Americans to the greed of East Coast and West Coast banks.

The Wicked Witch of the East is the East Coast banker. The Wicked Witch of the West is the West Coast banker. Bankers on the coats manipulating monetary policy, felt by Dorothy in the Midwest.

In the book Dorothy would only be safe on the Yellow Brick Road if Dorothy were to wear her Silver Slippers.

The Yellow Brick Road is representative of the gold standard. Gold, not safe.

Dorothy’s Silver Slippers were representative of the Free Silver Movement. Silver, safe.

Silver was good. Gold was bad. According to Baum.

Baum’s book was inspired by the Free Silver Movement. The Free Silver Movement gained populist traction in the latter part of the 19th Century. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in 1900.

Behind the Free Silver Movement was a hope that by increasing the amount of silver in circulation - I.e.: by increasing the money supply - indebted farmers could get off of the restrictive gold standard.

Furthermore, with the circulation of silver expanded, subsequent inflation brought on by increasing the money supply would ease farmers’ debt burden.

In Baum’s story, The Emerald City is Washington D.C.

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion are off to Emerald City. Off to Washington D.C. Off to find The Wizard.

The Scarecrow? The Scarecrow represented the Midwest farmer. A Midwest farmer struggling under his heavy debt burden.

The Tin Man? In Baum’s book The Tin Man was the Midwest factory worker.

The Wizard? The Wizard is the Washington D.C. politician. Hiding behind a grand illusion; a facade.

The Lion? The Lion would be populist Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan supported the Free Silver Movement. William Jennings Bryan ran for President three times as a staunch critic of the gold standard.

Dorothy, The Tin Man, The Scarecrow and The Lion are off to Washington D.C. Hoping D.C. can solve their problems.

When they arrive in D.C., The Wizard is short and not grand at all. Not nearly as powerful as he leads others on to believe he is.

A monetary policy based upon silver – not gold – was the author’s preference.

Monetary policy, as taught to us by Dorothy, according to author, Lyman Frank Baum

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author Lyman Frank Baum’s shares with us his beliefs about how a monetary system based upon the gold standard is the wrong way to go.

According to Braum the gold standard subjects Americans to the greed of East Coast and West Coast banks. To the bad Wicked Witch of the East (East Coast banks) and to the bad Wicked Witch of the West (West Coast banks). At the expense of, and to the detriment of, the common man.

In Baum’s book Dorothy would only be safe on the Yellow Brick Road if Dorothy were to wear her silver slippers.

The yellow brick road was representative of the gold standard. Gold, not safe.

Dorothy’s silver slippers were representative of the Free Silver Movement. Silver, safe.

Silver was good. Gold was bad. According to Baum.

Baum’s book was inspired by the Free Silver Movement which gained populist traction in the latter part of the 19th Century. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in 1900.

Behind the Free Silver Movement was a hope that by increasing the amount of silver in circulation - I.e.: by increasing the money supply - indebted farmers could get off of the restrictive gold standard.

Furthermore, with the circulation of silver expanded, subsequent inflation brought on by an increase in the money supply would ease farmers’ debt burden.

In Baum’s story, The Emerald City is Washington D.C.

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion are off to Emerald City. Off to Washington D.C. Off to find The Wizard.

The Scarecrow? The Scarecrow represented the Midwest farmer. A Midwest farmer struggling under his heavy debt burden.

The Tin Man? In Baum’s book The Tin Man was the Midwest factory worker).

The Wizard? The Wizard represented Washington D.C. politicians. The Wizard hides behind a grand illusion; a facade.

The Lion? Baum made his Lion out to be a caricature of populist Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan supported the Free Silver Movement. William Jennings Bryan ran for President three times as a staunch critic of the gold standard.

The Wizard is the politician, believed to be a strong problem solver. Yet in reality, The Wizard short was not grand at all. And not nearly as powerful as he leads others to believe he is.

A monetary policy based upon silver – not gold, solely – was the author’s preference.

Monetary policy, as taught to us by Dorothy, according to author, Lyman Frank Baum.

Question: Why should we focus on reducing the number of vacant homes in cities?

One answer: Vacant homes become a financial drain on that city’s resources.

For example, the cost to demolish one vacant home could reach up to $20,000. Sometimes more.

There are social costs as well…

Neighborhoods with high concentrations of vacant homes become breeding grounds for crime: social costs.

Yet social costs are not always correlated to dollars and cents. Social costs are sometimes deemed to be someone else’s problem.

But are social costs really someone else’s problem?

Social costs attributed to vacant homes lead to financial costs incurred by a city, by that city’s stakeholders and by that city’s taxpayers.

Social costs do affect those who may (at first) believe one vacant home in another part of town is not their problem.

For example…

A New Yorker living in Tribeca or on the Upper East Side is part of the New York City family. As such, they pay New York City taxes.

So, while there may be no vacant homes in Tribeca or the Upper East Side, Tribeca and the Upper East Side are still linked to the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. To the Morrisania neighborhood or the Crotona neighborhood in the Bronx, where just about 4-out-of-10 live below the poverty line.

Be it Morrisania or be it Tribeca. Be it Crotona or be it the Upper East Side. Each neighborhood - all four of them - is still part of the New York City family.

Let’s say there is a foreclosure in Crotona. And let’s say that foreclosure in Crotona becomes a vacant home.

Increased police patrolling in Crotona might be enacted. So as to avert utilization of that vacant home for illegal purposes.

More police cars driving through Crotona becomes a financial cost which addresses the social cost. That financial cost is a New York City cost: a cost bourne by Crotona, a cost bourne by the Upper East Side, a cost bourne by Tribeca.

The cost of the vacant home to Crotona is obvious: Lower home values. An overgrown yard. Broken windows. Possible break-ins. More police cars driving by.

The cost of that vacant home to the Upper East Side or to Tribeca? Less obvious. Yet real, nonetheless.

Homeowners on the Upper East Side and Tribeca contribute to New York City police officer salaries too.

In 1844 a steamboat captain by the name of John Borden made a new home for himself in Little Silver, relocating to Little Silver from Red Bank. Upon arriving in Little Silver, it turned out to be John Borden’s career choice which contributed to the development of Little Silver Point.

Little Silver Point is a peninsula found on Little Silver’s northeast corner. When John Borden first stepped ashore, what he found was not much more than soggy saltwater marshes.

So John Borden enacted a makeover for his new marshland home. A wetland makeover would come to be. A makeover touched off with fancy hotels.

John Borden’s lot in life was steamboats. John Borden incorporated this maritime tool into his plan: bring New Yorkers to Little Silver Point atop steamboat decks.

Little Silver Point became a resort.

John Borden passed his steamboat acumen on to his son, Richard Borden.

The younger Borden went on to establish Silver Bay House. In Little Silver.

Silver Bay House would go on to become the place to go for Manhattanites.

In Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore a segment of the city’s homes located near Deal Lake speak to the Victorian Age - Asbury Park’s Queen Anne homes.

Three floors were the standard in a 19th Century Queen Anne home. Distinct brickwork. Corner towers. Wide porches. Asymmetrical fronts. With red-brick walls, offset by pale stone.

White-painted woodwork. And bay windows.

Each, a characteristic of this British-inspired architecture. Architecture one can still observe and admire, to this day, in Asbury Park.

In 1872 “old” Kansas City, Kansas was incorporated.

Fourteen years later Kansas City added the independent settlements of Wyandotte City, Armstrong, Riverview and Armordale to the city’s footprint. Combining these settlements to create a “new” Kansas City.

Twenty-four years later, Kansas City annexed Argentine.

Quindaro – originally a free state port and an Underground Railroad station alongside the Missouri River – was annexed by Kansas City in 1923.

One of the coolest neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas is Strawberry Hill.

Located at the confluence of the Kansas River and the Missouri River, Strawberry Hill’s history is intertwined with the West Bottoms.

Established in the late-1800’s, at the height of Kansas City’s cattle industry early in the 20th Century, most of Strawberry Hill’s residents were employed by the meat-packing industry.

Kansas City’s meat packers were located in the nearby West Bottoms.

In 1872 “old” Kansas City, Kansas was incorporated.

Fourteen years later Kansas City added the independent settlements of Wyandotte City, Armstrong, Riverview and Armordale to the city’s footprint. Combining these settlements to create a “new” Kansas City.

Twenty-four years later, Kansas City annexed Argentine.

Quindaro – originally a free state port and an Underground Railroad station alongside the Missouri River – was annexed by Kansas City in 1923.

One of the coolest neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas is Strawberry Hill.

Located at the confluence of the Kansas River and the Missouri River, Strawberry Hill’s history is intertwined with the West Bottoms.

Established in the late-1800’s, at the height of Kansas City’s cattle industry early in the 20th Century, most of Strawberry Hill’s residents were employed by the meat-packing industry.

Kansas City’s meat packers were located in the nearby West Bottoms.

In German, Rott means a settlement located on a steep bank; a clearing. In knowing the meaning of Rott, Rottweil, Germany - nestled between the Alps and the Black Forest, containing our prefix of Rott – is aptly named.

This prefix is derived from Old High German.

Old High German was the earliest stage in the German language, used between 500 AD and 750 AD.

Rottweil is part of Baden-Württemberg, its history, going back to Roman times. In the Roman Empire Rottweil was a territory known by the Romans as Arae Flaviae.

Rottweil’s beginning dates back to 75 AD. To long before twenty-six Prussian states joined to form Germany. To long before there was a Kingdom of Germany.

Rottweil, Germany…

In 1871, Rottweil became part of the German Empire; Rottweil is one of Germany’s original towns.

Up through 1871, Rottweil was part of the Prussian state of Wurttemberg, one of the twenty-six states which united, leading to the formation of Germany.

Eighty one years after Wurttemberg joined the German Empire – bringing Rottweil along with it – Rottweil became a Baden-Wurtemberg town; a status Rottweil holds to this day.

Rottweil is a German town. Rottweil is a German district. Rottweil too is home to one of the world’s favorite dogs: the Rottweiler.

In Germany, the Rottweiler was originally known as Rottweiler Metzgerhund. In German, Rottweiler Metzgerhund means Rottweil butcher’s dog.

During the 19th Century, Rottweilers were used by German butchers to transport meat.

Aside from being a butcher’s helper, the Rottweiler’s job during Roman times - this, a job the Rottweiler held long after the Roman Empire was no more - was to herd and to protect livestock.

Cattle-herding extraordinaire. Pulling butchers’ carts to market - the Rottweiler.

Accompanying a butcher to market, on their way back home, a butcher would tie a belt with his money in the belt around the neck of his Rottweiler. For safe keeping. Rottweil’s most famous cultural contribution has a long and storied history.

In the days of the Roman Empire, Rottweilers traveled side-by-side with Roman soldiers. Rottweilers herded and drove cattle for Roman legions.

Roman armies were mobile, traveling from region to region. Meat was the primary food source for Roman soldiers. Protecting Roman cattle was the job of the Rottweiler.

Rottweilers protected cattle from predators; a thinned-out herd of cattle would be a death knell for a Roman legion: no food.

The Rottweiler. Roman ally. Butcher’s helper. Protector. Herder. Companion.

Rottweilers protected cattle in the Roman Empire. Rottweilers protected cattle in the Kingdom of Germany. Rottweilers protected cattle in the German Empire. Rottweilers protect cattle in Germany.

Rottweiler, “the Butcher’s Dog,” and once, a Roman soldier’s companion.

In 1872 “old” Kansas City, Kansas was incorporated.

Fourteen years later Kansas City added the independent settlements of Wyandotte City, Armstrong, Riverview and Armordale to the city’s footprint. Combining these settlements to create a “new” Kansas City.

Twenty-four years later, Kansas City annexed Argentine.

Quindaro - originally a free state port and an Underground Railroad station alongside the Missouri River - was annexed by Kansas City in 1923.

In April of 1665 Great Britain’s deputy-governor for New Amsterdam granted “patents” for a triangular parcel of land located in today’s Monmouth County - the Monmouth Patent.

The first families to acquire land through the Monmouth Patent in what today we recognize as Holmdel Township had been the Bowne family, the Cotterell family, the Stout family and the Holmes family.

The Holmes family’s tract of land stretched north of Ramanessin Brook to Hop Brook Farm – the Holmes Tract.

Before becoming Kansas City’s 47th mayor, while he was living in Wyoming, Harold Roe Bartle was inducted into an Arapaho Indian tribe.

The Arapaho Indians bestowed upon Harold Roe Bartle the nickname of Lone Bear. That nickname was later changed to Chief Lone Bear. And here we have the origin for Harold Roe Bartle becoming Chief.

The cattle business was Kansas City’s first million dollar business. In fact, at one time, Kansas City’s stockyards were a multi-million dollar a day business. At their peak, Kansas City’s stockyards were the second busiest stockyards in the United States. Surpassed only by the stockyards in Chicago.

In 1923, 3,500,000 hogs, 350,000 calves, 1,000,000 sheep, plus 40,000 horses were shipped through Kansas City’s stockyards.

The world record for one day’s receipt of cattle was set in Kansas City: 60,206 head of cattle.

During the late 1800’s, trolleys running through the Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City were propelled by underground cables. Those early Brookside trolleys gripped underground cables beneath the tracks.

As the 19th became the 20th Century, the means by which trolleys were propelled changed.

Underground cables were no more. That cable system used by trolleys in Kansas City was replaced by electricity.

In 1825 the Santa Fe Trail was extended to the Grove in the new Kansas Territory. The Grove…named for a picturesque grove of trees.

This grove of trees would go on to become Council Grove, Kansas.

The Santa Fe Trail was routed along the main street pioneers found in the Grove.

This main street that wagon trails visited on their Santa Fe Trail travels as they headed west through the Grove became Main Street in Council Grove, Kansas.

Several all-time great New York Yankees played in Kansas City.

To Yankees fans, the names of Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto are well-known for their heroics in the Bronx. Each player once called Kansas City “home.”

Elston Howard played in Kansas City for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negroes’ League from 1948 through 1950, batting over .300 for the Monarchs his final year in Kansas City.

Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle played in Kansas City for the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate Kansas City Blues.

Whitey Ford had a 6 - 3 record in Kansas City for the Blues in 1950 before being called up to the majors by the Yankees.

At 17 years old, Yogi Berra began his minor league career with the Kansas City Blues in 1943.

Mickey Mantle batted .361 and hit 11 home runs for the Kansas City Blues in 1952 before being called up to the major leagues by the Yankees.

Phil Rizzuto played in Kansas City for the Kansas City Blues in 1939 and 1940. Phil Rizzuto had over 200 hits in Kansas City in 1940, becoming The Sporting News Player of the Year that year.

After seven years in the Bronx Billy Martin played in Kansas City for the Kansas City Athletics in 1957.

Signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964, Catfish Hunter began his career in Kansas City as a nineteen year old rookie. Catfish Hunter played in Kansas City through 1967.

The Kansas City Athletics drafted Reggie Jackson in 1966. In Reggie Jackson’s rookie year of 1967 - Reggie’s one year in Kansas City - Reggie played right field for the Kansas City Athletics.

Today’s Old Bridge Township was established in the year 1869. Yet the beginning for Old Bridge involved an Old Bridge which was not, at its very beginning, Old Bridge.

Old Bridge Township was originally Madison Township. Named after President James Madison.

This name of Madison Township was later changed. From Madison Township to Old Bridge Township. This township name change took place in 1975.

The township name change was enacted so as to avoid confusing this Madison Township – the one located in Middlesex County – with the Madison located in northern New Jersey. In Morris County.

Yet long, long before there ever was an Old Bridge Township – and before that, long, long before there ever was a Madison Township – before the Garden State Parkway, Route 9, Route 18 and Route 34 winded through this town, Old Bridge Township started out as a 17th Century trading post.

The Old Bridge Township we know today traces its history back to 1683.

In 1683 the King of England granted 1,000 acres of land to John and Suzannah Brown. This settlement became, Brownsville.

One year later, this settlement, granted to the Browns by the king, became South Amboy.

There would be no Old Bridge without there first being, South Amboy.

Today’s Old Bridge started out as a trading post. A trading post which emerged in Brownsville after the English gained control over today’s Old Bridge from the Dutch. Leading to the Brown’s land grant from the king.

During the 17th Century, English settlers recognized how today’s Old Bridge Township – as a trading post – would enhance commercial interests through its location alongside Raritan Bay and South River.

The English recognized an opportunity through maritime commerce. And it was this opportunity to transport goods by ship which had been identified to be a perfect trade route junction.

In the 17th Century, goods made their way to today’s Old Bridge by stagecoach. Upon arrival in Old Bridge, goods could then be shipped further along by waterway – South River or Raritan Bay.

During the 17th Century, maritime commerce originating in today’s Old Bridge involved the use of flat-bottomed river boats. Horses pulled these vessels. Slow though these vessels were, maritime commerce for English merchants in what today is Old Bridge established the settlement’s foundation.

Found on these 17th Century horse-drawn barges would have been, primarily, flour. And later, oysters.

Oysters…

In times before harvesting oysters from Chesapeake Creek was decimated by polluted waters and overharvesting, during the 17th and 18th Centuries, getting oysters out of Chesapeake Creek represented a core commercial activity.

While the English were developing their trading post, Old Bridge represented the center of an unincorporated collection of plantations located to the east and to the west of the Raritan River. At that time, Old Bridge was not a town. Old Bridge was a settlement. A maritime head…among a collection of plantations.

Throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, flour was arriving in today’s Old Bridge after having been packed into stagecoach boots. Flour arriving in Old Bridge was then loaded onto slow moving riverboats. On South River. Or Raritan Bay.

In the latter days of the 18th Century, the steamboat was invented…

For this settlement, the invention of the steamboat quickened how stagecoach-delivered flour could be transported along the river. Furthermore, the use of steamboats quickened the pace for the transport of flour across the Raritan Bay. To New York City markets.

Old Bridge is located just under 40 miles across Raritan Bay from Manhattan. There is no direct waterway route from Old Bridge to Manhattan. But there is a direct waterway route to Manhattan fromSouth Amboy. The Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge sits right next to South Amboy.

Through the advent of steamboats, Old Bridge’s economy grew. This old English settlement – where once one found gristmills, sawmills and shops – added banks, taverns and small homes to the landscape. Resting among a sleepy collection of plantations along South River and Raritan Bay, this bayside settlement was undergoing a transformation. This settlement was becoming a bustling bayside-riverside locale.

The beginning for what would go on to become New Jersey’s Old Bridge came in 1869. Through the formation of a town which once had been that 17th Century trading post. From which flour was had been shipped off to New York City. On steamboats.

In February of 1798, South Amboy, was incorporated.

When South Amboy was established, South Amboy included what later would become the independent townships of Monroe, Sayreville and a stand-alone South Amboy. As well as, Old Bridge.

Through an act of the New Jersey legislature in 1869, Madison Township was spun off from the consortium.

One hundred and six years later – in 1975 – Madison Township would become, Old Bridge Township.

Port Monmouth, Shoal Harbor and Raritan Bay…

Resting on Sandy Hook Bay, along the New Jersey coastline next to the Raritan Bayshore we find Port Monmouth. And Shoal Harbor.

Port Monmouth looks directly out across Raritan Bayshore. Raritan Bayshore is an extension of Raritan Bay.

With its coastal position on Raritan Bay, one may surmise that evolution for Port Monmouth would have been shaped by Port Monmouth’s location. Located forty miles or so across the Raritan Bay from New York City. And that summation would be accurate.

Today’s Port Monmouth is the end result of yesterday’s improvements made in methods of transportation. Primarily, methods of transportation established to facilitate maritime traffic going from Monmouth County to New York City.

With its position on the coast of Raritan Bay, in order to benefit from improved maritime transport, Port Monmouth would first need a pier.

That first Port Monmouth pier was constructed in 1853. That first Port Monmouth pier was constructed at the end of, what today, would be Church Street. And that first Port Monmouth pier constructed off Church Street over one-hundred fifty years ago needed to extend far enough out into Raritan Bay to enable boats to dock at Port Monmouth. And not run aground.

The company which built that first Port Monmouth pier was Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company.

A budding commercial enterprise, Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company curried freight – as well as passengers – from Port Monmouth into New York. The company first identified, then built out, their maritime niche.

With their pier built, Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company proceed to develop this area located the end of Church Street to accommodate passengers.

The company built a hotel at the end of their Church Street pier. The company also built a pavilion.

Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company created a resort-of-sorts at the end of Church Street. Maritime passengers could now enjoy their wait on the bay, prior to boarding a steamboat heading into Manhattan.

One year after that first pier in Port Monmouth was built at the end of Church Street, opportunities emanating from newfound transportation and commerce possibilities – as Port Monmouth was now connected to New York City – would come to be enhanced.

In 1854 Port Monmouth and Middletown Plank Road Company made their contribution to Port Monmouth commerce.

In 1854 Port Monmouth and Middletown Plank Road Company built an important timber plank road in Port Monmouth.

“The Farmer’s Railway.”

A timber plank road is a roadway built by laying wooden planks, side-by-side. For timber plank roads, those wooden planks are laid across beams. Those beams used to construct a timber plank road were called stringers. Once laid, stringers were stable. Held in place, not by nails. Rather, stringers were held in place by the weight of the stringers. Stringers were heavy.

The addition of a timber plank road to Port Monmouth enabled local farmers to bring their goods to market.

During the Nineteenth Century timber plank roads were known as farmers’ railroads. Whereas, in the Nineteenth Century, farmers were faced with the daunting task of transporting their goods to market over terrain which was rugged, difficult and rough, a smooth timber plank road changed that problem. A timber plank road made a farmer’s path to the market much, much easier.

That timber plank road built by Port Monmouth and Middletown Plank Road Company in Port Monmouth created the opportunity farmers needed in order to get their produce over to the pier.

That timber plank road built in Port Monmouth also enabled farmers to bring their produce to the local market in Middletown.

In Middletown, farmers sold their produce. That timber plank road built in Port Monmouth connected Port Monmouth to Leonardville Road. Landing a farmer in Middletown.

Going back to the role Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company played in Port Monmouth’s development, the northernmost point of that timber plank road was the pier built by Port Monmouth Steamboat and Sloop Transportation Company. At the end of Church Street.

Farmers had a new and improved pathway to the market. Thanks to that timber plank road built in Port Monmouth, farmers could reach Middletown.

While also accessing a much larger market too. In New York City. By ship.

Buyers of produce in New York were now accessible to farmers because, first, a pier was built. Then, second, a road was built.

The early days for Port Monmouth’s economy…

We have the pier.

We have “The Farmer’s Railway.”

So what came next in the chronology of Port Monmouth’s development?

What came next for Port Monmouth was the railroad.

In 1854 Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company was organized. The mandate for Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company was to build a railroad which would connect the Raritan Bay to the Delaware Bay.

Construction of that railroad – linking the Raritan Bay to the Delaware Bay – began in 1856. Four years later, trains were en route, from bay to bay.

By late in the Nineteenth Century, in Port Monmouth, steamboats were transporting farmers’ produce, freight and passengers into New York City.

By late in the Nineteenth Century, in Port Monmouth, farmers benefitted from the “farmer’s railway.” Making a farmer’s trip to the Church Street pier and to Middletown easier.

By late in the Nineteenth Century, rail connected Port Monmouth’s bay – the Raritan Bay – to the Delaware Bay.

Steamboats, roads and rail. The table had been nicely set for this settlement along Raritan Bayshore to mature, to evolve and to grow.

The beginning days for Port Monmouth.

Kansas City employs 25,000-plus workers in the automotive and transportation sectors. Kansas City is a major automotive manufacturing hub. The history of Kansas City as an automotive manufacturing center goes back to the early part of the 20th Century. And to Henry Ford.

Henry Ford – just as he did in Detroit – was the entrepreneur who lit the match for Kansas City’s emergence as a global leader in automotive manufacturing.

Under the direction of Henry Ford, the first automotive assembly plant built by Ford Motor Company outside of Detroit was built in Kansas City. Henry Ford built Ford’s first non-Detroit automotive manufacturing plant in 1913. Ford’s Kansas City plant was located at 10th and Winchester in Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1951, Ford relocated manufacturing to what once had been a military production facility. Ford relocated manufacturing outside of Kansas City proper to Claycomo, Missouri (Claycomo is part of the Kansas City Metro Area). That old military plant eyed by Ford fit perfectly into his expansion plans.

Henry Ford acquired, then reconfigured that old military plant. Transforming his Claycomo acquisition into a mass-production automobile assembly plant by 1956.

Today, Ford’s Claycomo plant – KCAP (Kansas City Assembly Plant) – employs nearly 10,000 auto workers. The plant sprawls over 1,200 acres. In Claycomo.

F-Series pickup trucks are built in Claycomo. Since 1948, Ford built over 40 million F-Series pickups in Kansas City.

Ford, the company, and Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant Ford, the plant, were not the only automotive manufacturer and automotive assembly plant in Kansas City.

Between 1910 – 1910 being 3 years prior to the Ford’s first Kansas City plant – and 1914, Smith Automobile Company manufactured over 300 cars in Kansas City.

There were other car companies in Kansas City too.

Stanford Motor Car Company, Midwest Motor Company, Beggs Motor Company and Severin Motor Company built cars in Kansas City.

Beginning in 1905 – again, pre-Ford – and running through 1909, the Kansas City Motor Car Company built cars in the old Northeast neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri.

And we have General Motors in Kansas City as well.

General Motors adopted Kansas City a few decades after Henry Ford adopted Kansas City. And General Motors – as did Ford, decades prior – adopted Kansas City in a big way.

Today, General Motors’ Kansas City manufacturing plant sits on nearly 600 acres in Kansas City, Kansas. Employing 2,000-plus auto workers. The General Motors – Kansas City marriage goes back to right after World War II.

Just after World War II ended, General Motors added Kansas City to the company’s manufacturing footprint.

GM’s Kansas City history began with acquisition of what had been an aircraft production facility.

General Motors car production in Kansas City put into motion by the company’s purchase of that old aircraft facility. That was the Bomber Production Plant. The Bomber Production Plant was located in Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas.

Kansas City and Fairfax…

Fairfax is the industrial section of Kansas City, Kansas. The Fairfax Industrial District is located on the Missouri River’s Goose Island river bend. It’s the manufacturing hub in KCK.

The Bomber Production Plant produced a military plane – the B-25 Mitchell. General Motors purchased the Bomber Production Plant, then converted the facility into an automotive plant.

General Motors’ original Fairfax plant built cars from the end of World War II through 1987.

In 1987, General Motors doubled-down on Kansas City by building the company’s current – and larger – plant next to their original Fairfax plant.

GM’s new Fairfax plant – Fairfax II – was constructed on the site of the old Fairfax airport. Fairfax II constituted a $1 billion investment made by General Motors in Kansas City.

In terms of Kansas City and the United Auto Workers, Kansas City is a strong UAW base.

The UAW in Pleasant Valley, Missouri – Pleasant Valley is part of the KC Metro – has over 7,900 members.

UAW Council in Kansas City, Missouri has 7,500 members.

UAW Local 710 in Kansas City, Missouri has nearly 3,000 members.

And in Kansas City, Kansas, UAW Local 51 has over 1,000 members.

The conversion of that old military plant by Henry Ford, the $1 billion GM investment in Fairfax… The future of the automotive industry in Kansas City is stable. As the automotive sector will remain an important sector within Kansas City’s economy for decades to come.

Going back to Fairfax, General Motors invested $650 million in the plant in 2013. GM invested an additional $265 million in Fairfax 5 years later. Recently, GM announced an additional $300 million investment in Fairfax.

Ford invested over $1 billion in Kansas City Assembly Plant in 2011. Followed by an additional $400 million in 2019. Followed by an additional $100 million in 2021.

Starting off early in the 20th Century, Kansas City established itself as having a workforce, and an environment, which are conducive to car manufacturing.

Observing investments made by Ford and GM into their Kansas City facilities, respectively, all signs point to this successful marriage between city and car manufacturer to go forward as a happy and productive union.

Interest is paid out on 10-year Treasuries at six-month intervals. The 10-year Treasury has a ten-year maturity.

When an investor purchases a 10-year Treasury, in exchange for receiving interest, that investor is making a de-facto “loan” to the United States government. The government then uses those funds to finance itself.

In essence, when you purchase your home, when you obtain your 30-year mortgage, you are financing not only your home. You are also financing the United States government. Through mortgage payments you make. Each and every month.