Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the central part of the state roughly forty miles south of New York City and about thirty miles northeast of Trenton. It sits along Matawan Creek, a tidal waterway that gave the community its identity and, briefly, a place in national history. Aberdeen Township borders the borough, which lies near the Raritan Bay and the northeastern edge of the county. Matawan is perhaps best known for the events of July 12, 1916, when a shark swam far up Matawan Creek and fatally attacked swimmers near Wyckoff Dock. The attacks, which followed earlier incidents at the Jersey Shore, became one of the most famous episodes in New Jersey history and later helped inspire popular fiction about sharks. The creek remains a central feature of the borough's geography and a quiet reminder of that summer. The borough grew as a rail and market town serving the surrounding farmland of Monmouth County, and its compact, walkable layout still reflects that nineteenth-century origin. Older homes, a traditional Main Street, and a dense street grid distinguish Matawan from the larger-lot subdivisions of neighboring townships. Today Matawan is home to roughly 9,600 residents. The borough is served by the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, which educates students from both Matawan and Aberdeen Township, and by a New Jersey Transit station on the North Jersey Coast Line that connects commuters to New York City and the Jersey Shore. Route 79 runs through the borough, and its compact downtown anchors local commerce. For homebuyers, Matawan offers an established, walkable small town with genuine rail access to Manhattan — a combination that has kept it a sought-after alternative to larger suburban townships in the region.