Point Pleasant, NJ is a borough in Ocean County, with history dating back to 1665 when the first Anglo settlers came to live in the greater Point Pleasant area. We service the area as plumbers in Point Pleasant NJ, so we’ll share some history of the area. If you need Point Pleasant NJ Plumbers, get in touch with us!
Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach were once a part of Brick Township but then Point Pleasant beach became a separate borough in 1886, followed by Point Pleasant in 1920.
As time went on, Point Pleasant would soon be turned into a resort community, and a man called Captain John Arnold was the main person behind the first real expansion and development of Point Pleasant into a resort community. Arnold spent his childhood in Point Pleasant and then 20 years as a sea captain, after that he returned to Point Pleasant to become a farmer. It was back in the year 1868, and the Arnold House was built and opened as a first-rate boarding house. Arnold wanted to provide his guests with an easy access route to and from the house, so he decided to construct a roadway.
Today that road is called Arnold Avenue, and it leads right to the ocean. Not only that but Arnold was also the person to secure the first wagon bridge over the Manasquan river, established White Lawn Cemetery. He convinced the Central Rail Road of New Jersey to extend its rail line south from Manasquan to Point Pleasant.
After many years, the rail road finally came to Point Pleasant in 1880, and the first passenger train arriving on July 3. There are many pictures that show the original station dated 1888, which served the community of Point Pleasant for 22 years before it was replaced. It was located west of the tracks of Arnold Avenue, today it is where Route 35 is.
The Point Pleasant Beach Post Office was also a huge part of the community from 1881 to 1906, located in the Bay Avenue side of the Eureka Building at Bay and Arnold Avenues, this was a popular place for people to gather and it brought you straight out of Point Pleasant.
Sadly, in March 1906, the Eureka Building and the post office burned to the ground. Only one good memory from that day was that Postmaster Thomas Graham was able to remove the mail and equipment during the fire and this allowed him to carry on his business the following day in Pearce’s Bakery, just across the street.
Then you have Point Pleasant’s largest hotel – The Leighton Hotel, which was built in 1893 on the dunes between Trenton and Forman avenues. It originally contained 77 rooms then grew to 91 rooms including a huge kitchen and a ballroom. The famous Leighton tennis courts were located beside the hotel and this is where many tournaments took place, making it a well-known landmark. Unfortunately, the east side of the hotel was destroyed in a storm in 1929, and then in 1943 the Leighton Hotel was dismantled.
Point Pleasant opened its first library in 1994 built on land give by William Curtis and with a donation from Emily Wood for $500. The library is now a part of the Ocean County Library System, and luckily still has much of its early charm.
For more things to do in Point Pleasant, check out this page with a round up of interesting things to do in the area!
