By Emily Schopfer
MIDDLETOWN – June 4 marked the grand unveiling of three groupings of life-size sculptures at Swimming River Park that honor Monmouth250. County officials, a fife and drum band, Sons of the American Revolution and more came out to enjoy the sunny morning and celebrate not just America’s, but Monmouth County’s, 250th birthday.
“It is wonderful to see so many people out here ready to celebrate America’s 250th birthday here in Swimming River Park,” said Middletown Mayor Tony Perry. “We have nothing but optimism, pride and appreciation for everything that has happened in the past and for the next 250 years. So as one of America’s oldest municipalities, founded in 1664, catch up, America!”
In addition to the park’s waterfront views, passersby can visit the three bronze statue groupings, consisting of seven life-size statues in a 1,300-square-foot bluestone plaza within the park. The 18-acre, county-owned park sits at the base of Senator Kyrillos Bridge on West Front Street, bordering Middletown and Red Bank.
“As I say over and over again, Monmouth County is a word. It’s a word that everybody’s proud of. It’s a word that everybody recognizes. Without 53 municipalities being as successful as they are, Monmouth County wouldn’t be as successful as it is,” said Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone.
The project was awarded to Brennan Brothers Contracting, Old Bridge, in October 2025 for $275,758. Construction began in December. The funding for the project came from the county, according to Laura McCall, project manager and chief landscape architect for the Monmouth County Park System; there was no grant funding. The statue project was awarded to Hanlon Sculpture Studio, Toms River, in June 2025 for $919,500. Brian Hanlon was the artist on the project.
“I created something that says patriotism, the fight, and the family. And together it is, I think, a wonderful story of Monmouth County and the Revolutionary War,” Hanlon said at the unveiling.
Hanlon, a Holmdel native, is also the creator of the William “Count” Basie sculpture outside the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. This sculpture depicts the theater’s namesake sitting at his piano.
The Swimming River statues don’t depict real-life people, but rather are “generic figures depicting life during the Revolutionary War,” McCall said.
The work depicts three soldiers going into battle to represent “the fight,” a drummer and fifer representing “patriotism,” and a soldier alongside a woman holding an infant representing “the family.”
Hanlon credited Count Basie president and CEO Adam Philipson for his studio winning the contract, noting that it was Philipson who told him to inquire about participating in the project. Hanlon said he now sees the Swimming River statues as “the pinnacle of my career.”
