By the Beautiful Sea
By the early 19th century New Jersey already had famous resorts, such as Cape May, Long Beach, and Tucker’s Beach, that offered makeshift accommodations, but were relatively difficult to reach. Railroads revolutionized the tourist business and also helped to democratize what were formerly the haunts of the genteel. A growing middle class provided the basis for this market. From New York City, steamboats owned by railroad companies brought travelers to landings where they could board trains to destinations such as Long Branch, a fashionable resort that could boast that seven U.S. presidents had vacationed there. “Excursion Houses” that catered to large groups at discounted rates were popular at both Atlantic City and Cape May. In some instances, trains discharged passengers virtually at water’s edge. Sleepy, economically backward shore towns were transformed as they provided for the needs of their seasonal guests. Larger resorts could offer a choice of grand hotels, boarding houses, or cottages for rent. Perhaps the greatest metamorphosis occurred after 1854 when the Camden and Atlantic Railroad blazed a route across the pines and created Atlantic City. It was destined to become “the queen of American watering places”: from Philadelphia, railroads advertised “only 54 miles from river to ocean” on “seventy minute flyers.” Development, both at the shore and along the route, went hand-in-hand with tourism. Gradually, waterways were bridged, making shore points such as Beach Haven even more accessible. Illustrated guidebooks described “jaunts by rail” to mountain resorts and the Delaware Water Gap in the northwestern part of the state. Overall, the success of New Jersey’s modern billion-dollar tourism industry owes a debt to patterns established by railroads in the 19th century.
Title page of Summer excursion routes / Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Summer Excursion Routes. Pennsylvania Railroad Co. 1892. From the 1870s onward, the company issued an annual excursion route guide.
Cover of Summer excursion routes / Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Summer Excursion Routes. Pennsylvania Railroad Co. 1892. From the 1870s onward, the company issued an annual excursion route guide.
Tuckerton Railroad Company stock certificate for five shares to Eliza A. Pharo.
Tuckerton Railroad Company. Stock certificate for five shares to Eliza A. Pharo, whose family was prominent in founding the company. The railroad ran from Whiting to Tuckerton.
Cover of Sea-side views of the city by the sea : Atlantic City.
Sea-Side Views of the City by the Sea. Atlantic City (Philadelphia, 1875). One of numerous guidebooks to “the queen of American watering places.”
The Colorado House in Ocean Beach, Monmouth County.
The Colorado House in Ocean Beach, Monmouth County. The 110-room house was formerly an exhibit building at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. From: The Sea-Side Resorts of New Jersey (Philadelphia, 1877), p. 92.
West Jersey Railroad Depot, Cape May.
West Jersey Railroad depot, Cape May, circa 1877. From: The Sea-Side Resorts of New Jersey (Philadelphia, 1877), p. 24.
All the year round-old road, Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad for Long Branch, Tom's River, Manchester ... by the favorite steamers Jesse Hoyt and Neversink ...
Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad. 1868 advertisement regarding the steamers Jesse Hoyt and Neversink, which carried passengers on the popular “Sandy Hook Route” to trains that went to Long Branch and points south. Railroad companies owned the steamship lines. From: J. H. Schenck, A Complete Descriptive Guide to Long Branch, N.J. (New York, 1868).
Cover of Central Railroad of New Jersey, and branches travelers and tourists guide.
Central Railroad Company of New Jersey. Central Railroad of New Jersey, and Branches. Travelers and Tourists Guide, 1881.
Cover of A jaunt by rail through the meadows and mountains of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania : presented by the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad Co. / Frank H. Taylor.
Frank H. Taylor. A Jaunt by Rail through the Meadows and Mountains of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Presented by the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad Co. (New York, 1888). One of many guidebooks published by railroad companies.
Photograph of Wildwood beach scene, 1917, with excursion advertisement and timetable.
Reading Railroad Company excursion timetable and advertisement to seashore points and other destinations, 1917.
New Jersey ocean resorts and the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1884.
The New Jersey Ocean Resorts and the Pennsylvania Railroad.1884. Foldout map that originally accompanied the 1884 edition of the company’s Summer Excursion Routes.
Special notice to passengers.
Special Notice to Passengers, 1854. A broadside regarding a change in schedule for the steamer John Potter. The vessel was built at Hoboken in 1847 for the Camden and Amboy Railroad; it burned in 1864. The notice was issued by the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad, which was affiliated with the Camden and Amboy.