PointPleasantBeach.org
Title
Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
Description
On September 2, 1609, Henry Hudson and the crew of his ship, Half Moon, noticed Point Pleasant Beach on their way north to explore the Hudson River. Crewmember, Robert Juet, noted in his journal, “This is a very good Land to fall with and a pleasant Land to see.” The Borough of Point Pleasant Beach was established 277 years later on June 2, 1886.
Originally a seashore playground for the Leni Lanape Indians, settlers arrived during the 1700’s. Fishermen and farmers by trade, many owned hundreds of acres of land. Summer tourism began in the early 1800’s, when Thomas Cook, Jr. opened his farmhouse on the site of the current Antrim Elementary School to boarders. Soon, the four or five other farm families who owned most of the local property were also taking in guests. The fee of $8-12 a week for room and board would often include meals and a wagon ride through the cornfields to the beach. Visitors enjoyed the seclusion, cool sea breezes, picnicking in cedar groves along the Manasquan River, fishing and hunting. They probably did not drink or party, as Cook and other early landowners were devout Quakers.
Captain John Arnold did the most to establish Point Pleasant Beach as a destination for visitors in the 1870’s, when he retired from a career at sea and bought land. In 1870, he built a roadway to the ocean, now known as Arnold Avenue. In 1875, he was instrumental in building the first bridge over the Manasquan River to Brielle. Later, he convinced the Central Jersey Railroad to extend its service to Point Pleasant Beach by giving it right-of-way, land for a depot, and about $6,000 cash. On July 3, 1880, the first passenger train rolled into Point Pleasant Beach.
Languages
English
Contact
- NJ MetroNET Domain Leasing
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- Point Pleasant Beach NJ
- United States 08859
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- +1.7323161095
