HISTORY OF ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK

EARLY HISTORY

The earliest visitors to Island Beach were the Lenape people, who were also the original inhabitants of the area known today as New Jersey.  While permanent settlements could be found on the mainland, seasonal homes were built along the Jersey shore.  Every summer the Lenape would journey to the beach to hunt waterfowl and shorebirds, fish, crab, clam, collect and produce wampum, gather eggs, and trap turtles and muskrats.  By 1758 the Lenape had been removed from their land in New Jersey. 

Our most detailed account of early exploration comes from the log of the Half Moon, Henry Hudson’s ship that anchored off Barnegat Inlet in 1609.  Hudson’s first mate wrote of “many shoals” and a “great lake”.  The shoals were Barnegat Inlet and the great lake was Barnegat Bay.  He also noted that,

“This is a very good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see.”

In 1635, Charles 1 of England gave the first Earl of Stirling land grants in the New World including Island Beach.  Many years later, the Earl of Stirling, James Alexander, fled his native Scotland to seek refuge in America.  Alexander’s son William  was given the title and distinguished himself  in the Revolutionary War.   During this time period, Island Beach was known as Lord Stirling’s Isle.

1700s

During the Revolutionary War, Island Beach was an island.  Cranberry Inlet opened in 1750 in what is now northern Seaside Heights.  It was so named due to the cranberry bogs in the area.  Sailors would routinely collect the fruits to prevent scurvy during long ocean voyages.  This inlet played an important role in New Jersey’s Revolutionary War effort.  Local “pirates” were commissioned by the Continental Congress and the colony of New Jersey to prey upon British shipping.  Seventy-seven naval battles were fought off the Jersey coast.

Ships seized by pirates, or “privateers” as they preferred to be called, would be taken up Cranberry Inlet to Toms River or up Barnegat Inlet to Tuckerton.  By the late 1700’s, Toms River and Tuckerton were busy seaports supporting a number of small businesses and homes.  Colonists were willing to take the risk of buying contraband goods from England or the West Indies.  Tavern owners were eager to purchase molasses from the West Indies, which was used to produce rum.  Even more important were supplies of salt used to make salt peter, an ingredient in gunpowder.  Cranberry Inlet closed naturally in 1812.

1800s 

The area’s maritime tradition continued with fishing, trading, and passenger transport.  Increased shipping along the coast’s ever-changing shoals resulted in 200 ships being wrecked during the winter of 1826-27.

The Jersey coast soon earned the nickname, “The Graveyard of the Atlantic”.  Monmouth County resident William Newell had just graduated from medical school when he visited his uncle in Manahawkin.  While there he witnessed a shipwreck off the coast of Long Beach Island.  This event had a dramatic and lasting effect on Newell.  Years later as a congressman, he tried to convince his fellow representatives that something needed to be done to prevent further loss of life due to shipwrecks along the Jersey coast.  As a result of his efforts, the United State Life Saving Service was formed and three stations were built on Island Beach

By 1850 over 10,000 people lived in the newly formed Ocean County.  Stagecoaches would transport visitors to the shore for 87 1/2 cents.  During the warmer months, they also arrived by boat.  Hunting and fishing for sport was unheard of prior to this time.  The arrival of the railroad, however, made it a possibility for many sportsmen form New York and Philadelphia.   Resort hotels began to spring up along the coast from Bay Head to Tuckers Island.

Two such hotels were the Reed and Haring Hotels on Island Beach.  Local men acted as guides to these visitors.  Gun clubs were also built on the marshes in the bay.  In addition to sport hunting, “market gunning” supplied fancy city restaurants with fresh wild goose and duck.  It was at this time that the culture of the “Baymen” began to emerge.  Early settlers found they could supplement their diet and their income with fish, clams and waterfowl.  It wasn’t long before these baymen were able to support themselves entirely from the waters of Barnegat Bay.

1900’s 

In 1926, Henry Phipps, Andrew Carnegie’s partner in Pittsburgh Steel, purchased Island Beach.  He envisioned Island Beach as an exclusive summer resort.  Three homes were built:  the Ocean House, the Bay House, and the Freeman House.  The 1929 stock market crash and the Depression that followed brought an end to his dream.  Island Beach was under the watchful eye of  caretaker Francis Freeman.  

In 1933, Francis Freeman, his wife Augusta Hueill Seaman and retired Coast Guard captain Joseph Tilton formed the Borough of Island Beach.   Each assumed multiple roles.  Freeman was  Fire Chief, Head of the Board of Education, and  Mayor while his wife was Borough Clerk,  Tax Collector and Borough Registrar.  The three of them managed Phipps Barnegat Bay and Beach Company which issued passes to visitors and administered to the nearly 100 leases. 

During World War 11, Island Beach was evacuated with the exception of the Freemans.  A Coast Guard detail was assigned here to patrol the beach.  In 1945, scientists from Johns Hopkins University came to Island Beach to test the world’s first supersonic, anti-aircraft missile.  “Operation Bumblebee” was a success, traveling over nine miles at one and a half times the speed of sound. 

In 1953, the State of New Jersey purchased Island Beach for 2.7 million dollars.  When Governor Driscoll accepted the deed from the Phipps heirs, he stated, “Island Beach is unique.  It is a jewel.  There is nothing like it anywhere else on earth.”  The park opened in 1959 under the Department of Conservation and Economic Development.  It is presently operated and preserved by the Division of Parks and Forestry under the Department of Environmental Protection.  Island Beach State Park is one of the most popular state Parks In New Jersey, with approximately one million visitors annually. 

This is only a brief history of the park.  Its future, which has yet to be written, is in your hands.