Are you looking for an ancestor's property deed? Or your relative's immigration papers? Monmouth County just celebrated its grand reopening of the archives collection going back to Colonial times.

To help honor October as American Archives Month, the Monmouth County Archives, located on the bottom floor of the Manalapan library branch, welcomed visitors on Tuesday to get an up-close look at history going back hundreds of years. From photographs to property deeds, the Monmouth County Archives contain more than 40 million records.

"We go back to the 1600s. One of our special records is one of the first deeds ever, a property transfer in Monmouth County. We have special records relating to slavery, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, immigration – it’s endless," said Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon.

Tours of the facility are available. If you're looking for a particular record, Hanlon says they have a full research staff on hand to help assist visitors during normal business hours at the archive's headquarters in Manalapan.