Rug mill property entering
new phase in town’s history

The saga of the A&M Karagheusian rug mill property on Jackson and Center streets in Freehold Bor-ough is the perfect "then and now" story.

A special exhibit at the Mon-mouth County Historical Assoc-iation on Court Street, which will open Tuesday, features the illustrious past of the old mill, which influenced many lives in the Freehold area for more than half a century.

The timing of the exhibit is perfect because the rug mill property itself is entering a new stage. The building has been converted into apartments and municipal office space.

Of the 200 apartment units being constructed, 104 are in what is being called the Family Towers section and 96 are in the Senior Towers. Occupancy of the apartments in the Family Towers is just about set to begin.

The borough’s police department and municipal court operations are expected to move to the bottom floor of the five-story building by early spring.

The construction of an 11,500-square-foot commercial building on the portion of the property bordering the west side of Jackson and Center streets is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Just 75 years ago this week, there was an article in the Free-hold Transcript about the five-story structure nearing completion. It was described as one of the finest factory buildings of its kind in existence at that time. The article described the steel bridge crossing Center Street that would link the new structure to existing buildings on the west side of the street. That landmark bridge remained in place for decades, until it was removed as part of the current renovation project.

Almost 100 years ago, brothers Arshag and Miran Karagheu-sian bought a vacated shirt factory on the west side of Center Street and converted it into the rug mill, which would play a major role in the borough for more than 50 years.

Let us hope that the future of the rug mill property is as successful as its past.