Long Beach Island, also known as LBI, is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey in the USA. The norther part of the island is slightly the higher end and it contains less population while the southern part of the island more population. The southern portion has a good commercial and economic development. The major industries of the island are fishing, tourism, and real estate. The primary access to the island is through a single bridge to the island or through water.

History of Long Beach Island

There were reports that Long Beach Island has been continuously settled from the year 1690. Earlier it has been a hunters’ destination. From the early 17th century, Barnegat Inlet, located to the north of the island, became a major path for shipments and whaling. Due to it’s importance and the abundant waters, in 1835, a lighthouse tower was constructed to help the shippers to guide through that area while shipping.

The current Barnegat Lighthouse was completed in the year 1859 and Erosion claimed the tower in the year 1857, which is two years earlier to it’s construction. The US life saving service constructed the Station #17 in Brownsville in the year 1872 and it is generally called as a United States Coast Guard station.

A railroad connection was started by a development tourism sector between the island and the mainland. The railroad was completed in 1886 to Barnegat Light. Most of the beaches and many hotels along the coast of the island were destroyed by a very severe storm in the year 1920. Another storm in the year caused further destruction resulting in the diminishing of tourism sector. This storm damaged the railroad and resulted in discontinuation of train service to Barnegat Light between the years 1923 and 1926.

In the year 1935, the railroad service was completely swept away by a storm which resulted in literally no rail service to the island. The island was attacked and is being attacked by many storms. Many storms throughout the history of the island split the island into two parts and this division occurred at the island’s narrow part in Harvey Cedars.

The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 is the largest storm which split the Long Beach Island into many pieces and almost destroyed the island. Route 72 Causeway which exists now was constructed in the late 1950’s and this replaces the low level automobile bridge.