1898 Map of Barnegat

About this map

Barnegat Bay dominates this coastal landscape, separated from the Atlantic by a narrow barrier island that at the turn of the century was dotted with Life-Saving Stations. These maritime outposts, such as L.S. Station Toms River and L.S. Station Island Beach, served a shoreline defined by shifting inlets and treacherous shallows before modern development. At the southern tip of the peninsula, the Barnegat Light stands as a sentinel over the Barnegat Inlet. Inland, the economy of the Jersey Shore's pine forests and marshes is visible through the reach of the Toms River and Waretown Branch of New Jersey Southern Railroad and the Philadelphia and Long Branch Railroad (Penn. R.R.). Small settlements like Island Heights, Forked River, and the curiously named Double Trouble are connected by these rail lines and early wagon roads, following the drainage of Cedar Creek and Toms River.