Upper Freehold Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 7,273,
History
thumb|left|The Mill at [[Walnford, New Jersey|Historic Walnford]]
Upper Freehold Township dates back to 1731, when it was formed from portions of Freehold Township. It was formally incorporated as a township by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Over the years, portions of the township have been taken to form Millstone Township (February 28, 1844), Jackson Township (March 6, 1844) and Allentown (January 20, 1889). The name of the township derives from Freehold Township, which in turn is derived from the word freehold, an English legal term describing fee simple property ownership.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 47.37 square miles (122.68 km<sup>2</sup>), including 46.48 square miles (120.37 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.89 square miles (2.31 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (1.88%).
The township borders Allentown, Millstone Township and Roosevelt in Monmouth County; North Hanover Township in Burlington County; East Windsor Township, Hamilton Township and Robbinsville Township in Mercer County; and Jackson Township and Plumsted Township in Ocean County.
Farming and other agricultural uses have been primary uses of land in the area since the time that the township was first formed. The township has of land protected from development as part of a Farmland Preservation Program. Voters were the first in the county to approve a dedicated portion of property taxes to fund farmland preservation, which was increased by a 2001 referendum to four cents per $100 of assessed value, split between farmland preservation and the costs associated with purchasing and developing land for recreational uses.