United States President James A. Garfield was brought to Long Branch in the hope that the fresh air and quiet in Elberon might aid his recovery after being shot on July 2, 1881, an incident that left the assassin's bullet encysted behind the pancreas. He died here on September 19, 1881, exactly two months before his 50th birthday. The Garfield Tea House, built from railroad ties that carried Garfield's train, is in Elberon.