Editing Interlaken, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The area that is now Interlaken was purchased in 1667 by Gavin Drummond from the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. It was later part of [[Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey|Ocean Township]], which had seceded from [[Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey|Shrewsbury Township]] in 1849 and included at the time present-day [[Eatontown, New Jersey|Eatontown]], [[Neptune Township, New Jersey|Neptune Township]], [[Neptune City, New Jersey|Neptune City]], [[Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey|Avon-by-the-Sea]], [[Bradley Beach, New Jersey|Bradley Beach]], [[Asbury Park, New Jersey|Asbury Park]], [[Allenhurst, New Jersey|Allenhurst]], [[Deal, New Jersey|Deal]], [[Long Branch, New Jersey|Long Branch]], [[West Long Branch, New Jersey|West Long Branch]], [[Loch Arbour, New Jersey|Loch Arbour]], [[Monmouth Beach, New Jersey|Monmouth Beach]], [[Sea Bright, New Jersey|Sea Bright]], and [[Oceanport, New Jersey|Oceanport]], along with Interlaken itself.<ref name=History>[https://www.interlakenboro.com/historical.html History of Interlaken], Borough of Interlaken. Accessed January 28, 2025. "The history of the Borough of Interlaken, starts in 1667 when Gavin Drummond purchased a tract of land from the Lenape Indians.  The land was originally included in Ocean Township which seceded from the vast Shrewsbury Township in 1849. Ocean Township, at that time, included what is today Eatontown, Neptune Township, Neptune City, Avon, Bradley Beach, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Allenhurst, Deal, Long Branch, West Long Branch, Loch Ar bor, Interlaken, Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, and Oceanport. In 1888, a Boston Physician, Dr. Francis Weld and his wife Fannie, fell in love with the area and purchased the 364-acre tract. They established Interlaken Farm, named after a similar peninsula in Switzerland (Interlochen – between the lakes) that they had just visited."</ref>

Dr. Francis Weld, a [[Boston]] physician, bought a {{convert|364|acre|km2|adj=on}} tract and named it Interlaken Farm, after [[Interlaken]], a peninsula in [[Switzerland]] situated between two lakes, that they had just visited, which was similar to the borough's location between two sections of [[Deal Lake]].<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=17 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 2, 2015.</ref> Weld established the Interlaken Land Company in 1890 to turn his farm into a residential community with avenues named after English lakes and cross streets named after the islands in the [[Hebrides]] in the [[Irish Sea]]. While the initial effort did not succeed, the Stormfelz-Lovely-Neville Company was hired in 1905 to continue the building project, and the community began its growth.<ref name=History/>

Interlaken was formed as a borough on March 11, 1922, based on the results of a referendum held on May 3, 1922.<ref name=Story/> The first mayor and council of Interlaken were seated on June 26, 1922.<ref name=History/>

Interlaken remains entirely residential, as was originally intended by its developers.<ref name=History/> The borough had been the only municipality in the state without any businesses, until a day-care center opened in 1992 under the terms of a state law that required approval of child care establishments serving five children or fewer.<ref>Liberman, Si. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/09/nyregion/interlaken-journal-gateway-to-a-camelot-has-no-welcome-mat-for.html "Interlaken Journal; Gateway to a 'Camelot' Has No Welcome Mat for Businesses"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 9, 1992. Accessed January 24, 2023. "In fact, Interlaken is the only one among New Jersey's 567 municipalities that is strictly residential.... Through the years, the Monmouth County borough has prided itself on this ban, but a measure signed into law last September by Gov. Jim Florio has punched a hole in the community's vigilant antibusiness stance. The law declared that municipalities may no longer bar child day-care centers with fewer than six youngsters from operating in residential areas."</ref>