page_title: Seaside Park, New Jersey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Seaside Park, New Jersey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: First boardwalk in Seaside Park, New Jersey
context_page_description: Seaside Park is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,579, reflecting a decline of 684 from the 2,263 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 392 from the 1,871 counted in the 1990 Census. Seaside Park is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.
context_section_description: The first inhabitants of the barrier island were Lenape Native Americans who came in search of fish, crabs, clams, and scallops. They called this area "Seheyichbi," meaning land bordering the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean provided more than food; these people began using shells in place of wooden beads as their form of currency. These Native Americans, who stayed during the summer and went inland for winter, were part of the principal Algonquian tribe that lived mainly on and around the North American Seaboard. The Algonquians in New Jersey called themselves "Lenni Lenape", which means "original people."
  What is now Seaside Park was a section of Dover Township (now known as Toms River Township) until the creation of Berkeley Township in 1875. The area then became known as the Sea Side Park section of Berkeley Township. Over the next 25 years, lots were sold, houses and roads were built, and the population of Seaside Park began to grow.
  On March 3, 1898, New Jersey Senate President Foster M. Voorhees, the acting governor of New Jersey, signed a bill incorporating "Sea Side Park" as an independent borough, created from portions of Berkeley Township. Originally, the town ran from 14th Avenue to North Avenue, about half its present size. An area known as the Berkeley Tract, north of the original area of the borough, was annexed on or about May 12, 1900. The borough was named for its location on the Atlantic Ocean.
  As the community grew, the name of the borough lost a space. In 1914, a newly appointed municipal clerk wrote the name of the borough as "Seaside Park" in the council minutes, combining the first two words. This practice continues to this day.
  While Sea Side Park was going through the process of being incorporated, the Senate Amusement Company of Philadelphia was working on plans to build an oceanside attraction in Seaside Heights within feet of the border to Sea Side Park. Their plan was to build a covered pier to house a carousel. The structure was built in 1915 under the direction of Joseph Vanderslice of Senate Amusement Company. Budget issues caused the business to not open in 1916, and the amusement ride and building was subsequently sold to Frank Freeman. The combination of the completion of the Toms River Bridge on October 23, 1914, and the DuPont Avenue carousel and boardwalk are what likely led to the 219% population growth shown between the 1910 and 1920 censuses in Sea Side Park.
caption: First boardwalk in Seaside Park (early 1900s)
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