The Allen House operated as a Tavern during the Revolutionary War. This house is known as the Allen House because its original owner was named Judah Allen. Coincidently, in the early 1800's it was owned by another man named Allen who was most likely unrelated: Dr. Edmund Allen who used the house for his medical practice. From the mid-1700's to the early 1800's, the house was used as a tavern, operated at times by different people. Taverns at the time served multiple purposes. In addition to serving alcohol and food, they offered lodging to travelers. They also served as places for a wide range of public functions, including town meetings, legal courts, and elections. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the tavern was operated by Josiah Halstead, and his tavern served the same range of purposes for the community of Shrewsbury.

Christ Church of Shrewsbury was established in 1702. The church building which stands here today was constructed between 1769 and 1775. At some point during the Revolutionary War, Christ Church was occupied by American soldiers who used it as a barracks. The church, which is now Episcopalian, was then Anglican or "Church of England." As such, it was a symbol of the British Crown, and in protest, the American soldiers fired musket shots at the church's pulpit and the orb and crown on the steeple.

The early meetings for worship took place in the homes of members. The first meetinghouse was built in 1672 and was visited that same year by George Fox, the founder of Quakerism. It was a single room wood structure located about a mile east of the current meetinghouse in what is now Little Silver. Shrewsbury Meetinghouse remains essentially original except for the roof and the interior of the east room that was severely damaged by a 1968 fire. The room was remodeled to provide a fellowship hall, kitchen and restrooms.

​The Marx Toy founder’s estate is on Sycamore Ave. On August 7th, 1965, President Dwight Eisenhower visited Mr. Marx at his estate.

​Richard Lippincott (1615–1683) was an early settler of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Lippincott’s descendants include George W. Bush, descendant of his son Freedom Lippincott, Richard Nixon is a descendant of his son Restore Lippincott, and Kevin Bacon is a descendant of his son Restore Lippincott.

Shrewsbury was one of three townships in Monmouth County established by the Provincial Assembly in 1693. The township included the entire eastern potion of Monmouth County South from the Navesink River and included most of what is now Ocean County as far as the Mullica River & Little Egg Harbor.

During the mid 1800's, Shrewsbury was a stopover on the underground railroad w/tunnels connecting the Quaker Meeting House with near by churches and structures.

In the 1800's, Thornbrooke and Van Buren estates were landscaped by Fredrick Law Olmstead, who designed Central Park in New York City.

Shrewsbury was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1926, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 11, 1926. The borough's name comes from Shrewsbury, England.