The Shore Blog

The history of Sea Isle City is interesting. For over 2000 years the Leni-Lenape Indians lived in the area that would later become New Jersey. They came to the coast to fish and gather quahog shells from the beach. They made beads from the shells called “wampum” which was used as currency.

In the 17th century, the Dutch and Swedes established the first European settlements on  the east coast, which ultimately fell under English rule. King Charles II granted the land between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony to his brother, the Duke of York. Through a series of grants and purchases, the land was divided and came under ownership of a group of Quakers called the West Jersey Proprietors – one of whom was William Penn, considered the founder of Pennsylvania.

Joseph Ludlam bought the land from the Quaker group in 1692 and named the island after himself. He then divided it into three sections and sold the southern section to John Townsend who named it Townsend’s Inlet.

Ludlam used the island to stock cattle and sheep. Mainlanders would visit the island to hunt, fish and engage in other recreational activities, but no permanent settlements would be established on the island for nearly two centuries. It is believed that pirates would stop at the island while sailing up the Jersey coast during this time, as evidenced by the type of pistols found during those early years.

Charles Kline Landis purchased Ludlam Island in 1880 with the intention of creating a beautiful seaside resort. Inspired by a trip to Venice, Landis sought to recreate a similar community. He renamed the Island “Sea Isle City” and had waterways and canals dug to create Venice-like waterways that still exist today on the Intercoastal Waterway. Ludlam effectively marketed the island as both a place to come for a visit and a place in which to live.

A bustling fishing industry developed and shacks were built to house fishermen overnight. Before long, they began bringing their families and staying more permanently on the island. Other full-time residents joined them and soon churches, restaurants and stores were established. In 1882, Sea Isle City was incorporated as a borough and in 1907 officially became a City. By the late 1880s, hundreds of people resided in Sea Isle full time.

By 1882, the first rail lines had been constructed to connect the island to the mainland. The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad entered Sea Isle  and in 1884 was extended to Corson’s Inlet and Ocean City. In 1893, the Reading Railroad ran into Corson’s Inlet where Twistie’s now exists, but this line was abandoned in 1925. The two railroads merged all their South Jersey operations in 1933, after which the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad closed its operations into Sea Isle. Visitors to Ludlam Island thereafter took the Reading line from Ocean City into Strathmere until all train operations to Sea Isle and Strathmere ceased in 1942.

Many families flocked to the beach in the summertime, especially on Sundays. They would often bring their lunches in shoe boxes, which gave rise to the term “Shoobies”. It originated as a derogatory term for two reasons: first, the shoe box-toting visitors brought their lunches so that they wouldn’t have to buy food, thereby depriving local establishment owners of revenue. Second, these inland visitors were not always accustomed to the environment, including the dangers of the ocean, beach etiquette and other local customs so they were looked down upon by residents. Today, the term “Shoobie” is still used to describe someone who visits (but doesn’t live in) the coastal towns of South Jersey.

To provide a central place for activities for both visitors and residents, the Excursion House was built in 1882. It housed a restaurant, stores, a skating rink and a public second floor terrace. It remained the main hub of activity for the newly forming town until it was destroyed in the storm of 1962.

In 1887, a trolley system referred to as “horse cars” began operating along Pleasure Railroad and ran from Sea Isle to Townsends Inlet. As the name suggests, these cars were led by horses that would transport people between the train station and the island’s hotels. This route was later extended to Corson’s Inlet, allowing riders to go from the northern end of Ludlam Island to the south end.

A second trolley service, this one led by mules, was added along the route that is now Landis Avenue. While neither of these transport systems were traditional trolleys as we know them today, in 1904 an electric trolley replaced the animal-operated system along Landis Avenue.

In 1917 the trolley system was decommissioned, due to the growing popularity of motor cars and the decline in popularity and upkeep of the trolley system, thus ending an era. In 2010, during repaving of Landis Avenue, workers unearthed part of the trolley tracks that once existed. Today, a new Jitney service operates along Landis Avenue, providing riders with a safe way to visit bars and restaurants in Sea Isle, Townsends Inlet and Strathmere.

The oldest building in Sea Isle City that remains from this era is The Colonnade Inn, a Victorian building with a huge wrap-around porch located on the corner of 46th Street and Landis Avenue. Built in 1883 and restored in 2004, the Colonnade still operates as a hotel with privately owned rooms and apartments available for rent on a daily or weekly basis.

Also remaining is the Braca Building. Built in the early 1900s and serving as a theatre back then, the building now houses James Candy, a popular place to purchase sweet seashore souvenirs after a trip to Sea Isle.

By the end of the century, electricity lit the streets and buildings and there were over 30 hotels, railways, a school and two churches. Sea Isle had grown to both a place to live and a vacation destination.

In the mid-1930s, when automobiles became more prolific, rail service to the island went by the wayside. Having a car meant that visitors could travel to more remote areas of the island, and they were not geographically limited to the area around the train station. As a result, hotels once popular because of their proximity to the trains became less popular in favor of smaller, more remote cottages and boarding houses that were being built throughout the island.

Due to a steel shortage during the Second World War, Sea Isle City tore up the railroad that remained in the area so that it could be used as scrap metal. As a result, the path where the railroad used to run through town became a popular path for people to take walks and ride their bikes. This pathway would later become Pleasure Ave.

Sea Isle was once home to a wooden boardwalk that was built and destroyed by storms several times. In 1962 a nor’easter storm ravaged the town, destroying buildings and bringing the old wooden boardwalk to a final end. Once lined on both sides with shops, restaurants, arcades, hotels, a dance hall, a bath house and a theater, Sea Isle’s boardwalk was a bustling recreational and social meeting place. After it was destroyed, a paved pathway was built in its place. The Promenade, as it is now called, runs 1.5 miles from 29th Street to 57th Street. Construction of buildings was limited to the west side of the Promenade to allow for the creation of a dune line on the eastern side, in hopes that the town would be spared from future storms coming ashore.

The Promenade once featured a block-wide amusement park at 32nd Street called Fun City. It offered rides and carnival games until it closed in 2000 when the land was sold for the development of homes. A movement to expand the Promenade to the entire length of the island to reduce pedestrian and cyclist traffic on the streets was defeated in 2016 by the concern of residents and the environmental impact it would have on the dunes.

In the 20th century, Sea Isle City continued to flourish as a residential and resort town. However, between 2000 and 2010, the population of Sea Isle’s full time year-round residents dropped, as it did in other coastal towns in South Jersey. Economics and the climate are two reasons cited for this decline in the permanent population.

The sharp rise in property values along the shore in recent years now prohibits many families from buying property here because they simply can’t afford it. Instead, people who can afford to buy second homes are purchasing properties but not living here full-time themselves. It is not uncommon for second home-owners to purchase an older home in Sea Isle and have it demolished so that it can be replaced with a larger, taller more contemporary home. This also then creates a decline in school-aged populations, and as a result many small school districts such as Sea Isle’s have closed. School children are now bussed to Ocean City’s schools or attend private schools elsewhere. Climate change has given rise to super storms such as Sandy and Jonas, which both destroyed many homes and businesses along the Jersey coast. Rising insurance rates also cause an economic impact to people who wish to live or open a business here.
Sea Isle, like other coastal South Jersey towns, will continue to change, grow and develop in one way or another, as it has throughout history. Despite the many changes this little town has seen, including the impact of several devastating storms, Sea Isle City continues to thrive as the city that won’t quit.

Do you, or does your family or business, have a history in Sea Isle City? We’re interested in hearing from people whose families were original or early settlers, or who own or owned a business, or who have other historical information to share such as living or working here in past summers, meeting your significant others, getting engaged or married here or any other human interest story. If so, and if you would like to share your story, please contact us by clicking here. The information you provide us is  through this link is confidential and we will contact you to gain more information, as well as your full permission, before we disclose any information you provide.  Thank you, and please don’t hesitate to contact us!  (Note: for your privacy, do not include your information in the Leave A Reply box below unless you wish others to see your information).

Note: The information contained within this historical account has been gleaned from various resources. If you notice any inaccuracies, please do not hesitate to reach out to us so that we may correct the information.

For more information about Sea Isle City, please follow the links below:

“Smile! You’re in Sea Isle!” – All About Sea Isle City
Sea Isle City Beach Information
Where to Stay in Sea Isle City
Where to Eat in Sea Isle City
Things to Do in Sea Isle City

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