Island Beach was a borough that existed in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, from 1933 to 1965.
Island Beach, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Incorporated | June 23, 1933 |
| Dissolution | July 6, 1965 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough |
| Population (1940) | |
• Total | 31 (peak) |
Island Beach was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 23, 1933, from portions of Berkeley Township, Lacey Township and Ocean Township. The referendum that approved the borough's formation was passed on August 18, 1933.[1] Most of the land that made up the new borough — 2,694 acres (10.90 km2) worth — had been purchased by Henry Phipps, a partner of Andrew Carnegie, in 1926. Phipps had hired Francis Parkman Freeman to act as foreman of the Island Beach estate, and Freeman and his wife Augusta Huiell Seaman shared the various local government positions between them.[2]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 31 | — | |
| 1950 | 13 | −58.1% | |
| 1960 | 11 | −15.4% | |
| Population sources: 1940-1960[3] | |||
The population reached a peak of 31 in the 1940 Census, and following a government-ordered evacuation during World War II for work on Operation Bumblebee,[4] the population had dropped off to 13 by 1950 and was down to 11 in the 1960 tally, the last before the borough was disincorporated.[3]
The borough lasted until July 6, 1965, when it was absorbed into Berkeley Township.[1] The territory now comprises Island Beach State Park.[5][6]
Notable residents
edit- Augusta Huiell Seaman (1879-1950), author of children's literature.[7]
Notes
edit
- ^ a b Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 201. Accessed September 23, 2013.
- ^ "Island Beach State Park History".
- ^ a b New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990 Archived 2015-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed February 18, 2015.
- ^ "The Story of Island Beach New Jersey" (PDF).
- ^ "Carex Kobomugi at Island Beach, New Jersey", John A. Small, Ecology, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1954), pp. 289-291
- ^ Strunsky, Steve (July 7, 2019). "This former Shore town disappeared from the map, and no one really misses it". NJ.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019.
- ^ "Augusta Seaman, Author since '07; Writer of Many Children's Books Dies at 71--Serials Appeared in St. Nicholas", The New York Times, June 5, 1950. Accessed January 23, 2008.