As a result, New Jersey was the State most actively involved during those years when 

 attention was becoming increasingly directed toward coastal matters. Massachusetts and 

 North Carolina were also investigating the problem of erosion along their coasthnes at 

 around the same time, but did not assume comparative positions of leadership to the extent 



as did New Jersey.^ 



a. The Growth of Seashore Recreation. The New Jersey coast was early recognized as a 

 desirable place for seashore recreation. The first area to achieve prominence was Cape May 

 in the latter half of the 18th century. Most of its early day visitors came from Philadelphia, 

 travehng either by boat or across rough wagon roads. In later years, many of the leading 

 families of Virginia and Maryland followed their Phdadelphian counterparts to the beaches 

 of Cape May. "By Civil War time," writes John Cunningham, "no resort in the nation 

 matched the Jersey Cape— provided fashion and dignity and the fame of its guests were the 

 criteria."^ 



The second location along the coast of New Jersey to become a popular seaside resort 

 was Long Branch, some 10 miles south of Sandy Hook. Long Branch attracted its first 

 summer vacationers in 1788. Early visitors to this resort came largely from New York. 



A third and much later site was Atlantic City, a creation of the railroad, also with 

 Philadelphia as its hinterland. The rail connection to Camden, New Jersey, just across the 

 Delaware River from Philadelphia, was completed in 1854. Thenceforth, one of the Nation's 

 most unusually located cities grew at an impressive rate. By the turn of the century, "the 

 population of the island wasteland had soared from about 100 hardy beach squatters to 

 about 28,000 fuU-time residents. Its real estate value— it was close to worthless in 

 1854-zoomed to more than $50 million in 1900."* 



After the Civil War, the New Jersey shore lost many of its southern patrons, but 

 vacationers from other nearby areas replaced them. With the help of the extension of rail 

 Unes, especially from the north, the areas between Long Branch and Atlantic City and 

 between Atlantic City and Cape May gradually became dotted with such resort communities 

 as Beach Haven, Asbury Park, Sea Isle City, Wildwood, Bay Head, and many more. In 

 addition to the railroad, another factor in this expansion of coastal development was the 

 appearance of a new social group— the industrial millionaires of the post-Civil War era. Many 

 of these people built large, expensive homes along the prestigious New Jersey shore. But 

 some of the ocean-front communities estabhshed during this period had origins of quite a 

 different kind— that of reUgious camp meeting grounds. One such town was Ocean Grove, 

 some 6 miles south of Long Branch, which first attracted the attention of the Ocean Grove 

 Camp Meeting Association in 1869.^ 



Thus, up to about 1900, the people enjoying the beaches of New Jersey were, with some 

 exceptions, either: (a) Those who could afford it, both in terms of the financial expense and 

 the time involved, or (b) those associated with religious groups. At that time, shore 



