The Lenape people were the original inhabitants of Long Beach Island, utilizing the island primarily as a summer retreat for fishing and clamming due to its abundant natural resources in the early 1600s. It wasn't until the 1690s, when the island became continuously settled on, initially by hunters and Europeans.
Barnegat Inlet, to the north of the island, was an important path for freight shipments and whaling from the 17th century through the 20th century. Due to the inlet's importance and its turbulent waters, a lighthouse tower was constructed in 1835 to guide shippers through the area. Still, it was inadequate to ships, constantly being mistaken for another passing ship because the light was fixed. Erosion problems destroyed the tower in 1857, two years before the current Barnegat Lighthouse was completed in 1859, flashing at each compass point every 10 seconds. It was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the supervision of
George Gordon Meade, famous for leading the Union forces to victory four years later during the Civil War at the
Battle of Gettysburg. The
United States Life-Saving Service built Station #17 in Barnegat Light (then known as Brownsville) around 1872, which continues today as a
United States Coast Guard station. until it was destroyed in
Hurricane Sandy in 2012. A developing tourism sector prompted the
Tuckerton Railroad (a short line running from Tuckerton to Whiting) to build a bridge across Barnegat bay that ran from Barnegat city to Beach Haven; the tracks were completed in 1886 and were leased to the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The
Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 included a fatal attack in Beach Haven, killing University of Pennsylvania student Charles Vansant in July 1916, which partly inspired the book
Jaws. A severe winter storm in 1920 destroyed most of the beaches along the island, several hotels, and reopening the new inlet in Holgate. A storm in 1923 further diminished the tourism sector, resulting in the discontinuation of train service to Barnegat City between 1923 and 1926. In 1935, the railroad bridge to the mainland washed out, leaving the entire island without rail service. Several storms throughout the island's history have resulted in the island being split in two, with the division occurring at the island's narrowest point in Harvey Cedars. The most famous of such storms was the
Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, which split Long Beach Island into numerous pieces and nearly destroyed the island in its entirety. The storm caused the
destroyer USS Monssen to run aground in Beach Haven Inlet, Long Beach Township. The existing Route 72 Causeway was erected in the late 1950s, which replaced a low-level two-lane automobile bridge which in itself had replaced the previously destroyed railroad bridge.
Hurricane Sandy vehicles navigating floodwaters along Route 72 in
Ship Bottom during Hurricane Sandy after Hurricane Sandy In late October 2012, portions of Long Beach Island were significantly damaged by
Hurricane Sandy. Residents were evacuated, and portions of the island were severely flooded, with the ocean meeting the bay in isolated spots. Streets were left covered with up to four feet of sand in some spots. The nine-foot storm surge and 18-foot seas that pounded the barrier island damaged several homes along the ocean and bayfront communities. The
Manahawkin Bay Bridge remained closed to residents for a full 13 days following the storm. Locals were prohibited from returning to the island except for brief visits to retrieve belongings. Bulldozers and front-end loaders moved hundreds of tons of sand, along with power lines and boats, in an attempt to make the roadways passable. Long Beach Island was finally re-opened to residents and building owners on November 10, with the exception of the Holgate section of
Long Beach Township, where infrastructure and road damage was still too dangerous. However, island officials warned that some areas were still without sewerage, water and electric service at that time. Damage was distributed unevenly throughout the island. Areas with a protective dune system had limited damage, while areas without dunes or where dunes were breached received significantly more damage. In those neighborhoods — in sections like
Holgate, on the island's southern tip — destruction was severe. The protective dunes, an ambitious project developed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have been a source of controversy in recent years and have led to conflict between local officials arguing for the need of dunes and property owners who felt that the dunes devalued their property. As such, the work is incomplete and there are significant breaks in the dune system. Other hard-hit areas included
Loveladies and
North Beach. Areas where the dune system was in place fared much better, such as
Harvey Cedars,
Ship Bottom,
Surf City and
Barnegat Light. Electricity was restored to 70% of the Island by November 4, 2012. By November 20, 2012, natural gas service was restored to nearly the entire Island. By mid-November, many businesses were re-opened on Long Beach Island with life resuming as normal for much of the Island by mid-December. ==Demographics==