Island Beach, New Jersey

Island Beach was a borough that existed in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, from 1933 to 1965.

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."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 201.] Most of the land that made up the new borough — 2,694-acres 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. [cite web|url=http://www.islandbeachnj.org/History/History.html|title=Island Beach State Park History]

The population reached a peak of 31 in the 1940 Census, and following a government-ordered evacuation during World War II 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. [ [http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd6.htm New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990] , accessed February 20, 2007]

The borough lasted until July 6, 1965, when it was absorbed into Berkeley Township. The land that once made up the borough is now a state park, Island Beach State Park. [ [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0012-9658(195404)35%3A2%3C289%3ACKAIBN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C "Carex Kobomugi at Island Beach, New Jersey"] , John A. Small, "Ecology", Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1954), pp. 289-291]

Notable residents

Notable residents of Island Beach included:
*Augusta Huiell Seaman (1879-1950), author of children's literature. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00E17F83D591A7B93C7A9178DD85F448585F9&scp=1&sq=%22Augusta+Huiell+Seaman%22+%22island+beach%22&st=p "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.]

References