The Jersey Shore

The Past, Present & Future of a National Treasure

By Dominick Mazzagetti

Rutgers University Press

In The Jersey Shore, Dominick Mazzagetti provides a modern re-telling of the history, culture, and landscapes of this famous region, from the 1600s to the present. The Shore, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, became a national resort in the late 1800s and contributes enormously to New Jersey’s economy today. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 underscored the area’s central place in the state’s identity and the rebuilding efforts after the storm restored its economic health.

Divided into chronological and thematic sections, this book will attract general readers interested in the history of the Shore: how it appeared to early European explorers; how the earliest settlers came to the beaches for the whaling trade; the first attractions for tourists in the nineteenth century; and how the coming of railroads, and ultimately automobiles, transformed the Shore into a major vacation destination over a century later. Mazzagetti also explores how the impact of changing national mores on development, race relations, and the environment, impacted the Shore in recent decades and will into the future. Ultimately, this book is an enthusiastic and comprehensive portrait by a native son, whose passion for the region is shared by millions of beachgoers throughout the Northeast.

This engaging and impressively documented work captures the distinctive cultures of shore areas that make the Jersey shore important to U.S. history and to families who live and play there. Karen M. O’Neill, coeditor of Taking Chances: The Coast After Hurricane Sandy

It's about time that someone wrote this book! Mazzagetti makes the Shore come alive to anyone who wants to explore these places. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in a readable but detailed overview of the history of the Shore. Diane Bates, author of Superstorm Sandy: The Inevitable Destruction and Reconstruction of the Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore by Dominick Mazzagetti event listing Gloucester City News

Shifting Sands' by Tom Wilk New Jersey Monthly

Don’t Miss Out on These 2018 Summer Must-Haves' by Heather DiNuzzo Girl Gone Mom

An enlightening history of a popular vacation spot and a revealing probe into how it came to be seen as a national treasure. Both regional collections and those interested in American development will find The Jersey Shore well-detailed and nicely integrated with broader American issues and developments. Donovan's Literary Services

Mazzagetti has taken a sprawling, complicated topic and presented it in an intelligent, eminently readable book. Highly recommended. Choice

Excerpt of The Jersey Shore by Dominick Mazzagetti The History Girl

With its statewide appeal and treatment of current-day issues facing New Jersey beaches and coastal settlements, those researching the development of the shore will find the book to be a useful reference and guidebook. The book is certainly a welcome addition to New Jersey collections at public and academic libraries, as well as for those readers interested in the history of and problems facing their favorite Jersey Shore community. New Jersey Studies

Author Pens History of the Jersey Shore,' by Kara Sibilia Elegant Lifestyles Magazine

DOMINICK MAZZAGETTI is the author of Charles Lee: Self Before Country (Rutgers University Press), which received an Honorable Mention for the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond’s 2014 Book Award. Mazzagetti is a lawyer and banker with a fervent interest in American history. He has served as law secretary to the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and was Acting Commissioner of Banking in the administration of New Jersey Governor Tom Kean.

Maps
Photographs & Illustrations
Introduction
1   The Ever-Changing Shore
2   1664-1774: A Few Desolate Beaches
Native Americans at the Shore
The English Replace the Dutch
Whaling
Pirates
Smugglers, Privateers, and the United States Navy
3    1765-1850: The Rise of Resorts
Sandy Hook, “Squan,” Deal, and Toms River
“Sea Bathing” at the Jersey Shore
Tucker’s Island and Long Beach
Cape May
Long Branch
4   1850-1900: Railroads, Atlantic City, and Long Branch
The Coming of Railroads and the Concept of “Vacation”
Atlantic City
Long Branch as the Nation’s Premier Resort
Cape May, Tucker’s Island, and Beach Haven
5   Religion at the Jersey Shore
Traveling Preachers and Camp Meetings
Ocean Grove
Asbury Park
Ocean City
“Sea Grove,” Dry Towns, Retreats, and Ethnics
6   The Rise of Resorts, Monmouth County
Railroads and New Resorts
Monmouth County
7   Shipwrecks, Life-Saving, and Lighthouses
Early Wrecks
A Mysterious Death Leads to an Iconic Grounding
Collisions on a Vast Sea
Shipwrecks as Fact and Fiction
US Life-Saving Service
Lighthouses
8   The Rise of Resorts, Ocean County
Point Pleasant to Island Beach State Park
Long Beach Island
9   Fires, Storms, and War
Fires
Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, and Nor’easters
World War
10    The Rise of Resorts, Atlantic County
Atlantic County
Atlantic City, Politics, and Prohibition
11   Fish, Fish, and Boats
Commercial Fishing and New Jersey’s Major Ports
The Lady Mary and the Dangers of Commercial Fishing
Sport Fishing, Gunning, and Recreational Boating
The Intracoastal Waterway
“Jaws”
12   The Rise of Resorts, Cape May County and the Lore of the Shore
The Personalities of Jersey Shore Communities
The Look, Lure, and Lore of the Shore
Cape May County
13   The 20th Century: Transformation
Transportation Again Transforms the Shore
Economic Development and the Great Depression
The Garden State Parkway
Building Booms
Gambling at the Jersey Shore
Race Relations
14   The 21st Century Shore
The “Public Trust” Doctrine and Eminent Domain
State Action, Federal Funding, and University Support
Revival: Cape May, Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Atlantic City
Superstorm Sandy
The Future of the Jersey Shore
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

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