Coastal Counties:
First made a county by proprietary law in 1692, its borders were determined more closely in 1694. The act of 1710 made these essentially final.
First explored for the Dutch West India Company by Cornelius Jacobse Mey in 1621, when he sailed & explored from Cape Cod to the Delaware river. In 1629 the Dutch Company sent out 3 ships with agents who were instructed to buy land from the natives. The next year 16 square miles on the peninsula were purchased from 9 Indian chiefs.
It has about 30 miles of beaches ( about which more later ),along the Atlantic coast side, backed by 2-3 miles of marshes with salt lakes, fed by inlets from the ocean. There are two large marshes without salt lakes, one on the west of the county ( through which Dennis Creek runs ) and one on the north of the county ( the Great Cedar Swamp, with Cedar Swamp Creek ). There are also extensive salt marshes on the west side of the peninsula facing onto Delaware Bay. ( The county is sort of like the state of Florida in miniature! )
( Cold Spring Village ): Sort of the 'colonial Williamsburg'
of Cape May County. Although they specialize in ( American )
Civil War re-enactments, they have a full schedule of weekend
events throughout the warmer months of the year.
Historic Cold Spring Village
The bulk of the mainland ( onshore ) county is approximately the center of the Pinelands region ( which covers about 1/3 of New Jersey overall ). However, due to the two 'Horse Pikes' ( cf. elsewhere ) and latterly the casinos, Atlantic City Expressway, and mainland shopping malls in great profusion, Atlantic County is no longer the 'most thinly populated region' mentioned in the older history books. The old books mention the principal streams as being the Great Egg Harbor River, the Little Egg Harbor River ( now known as the Mullica River ), and the Tuckahoe River. However, they fail to mention the famous Head of the River Church, ( Tuckahoe River ) or the Sweetwater Casino ( on the Mullica River) !
Batsto village is Atlantic County's claim to historical fame.
The bog iron was a source of manufacture of cannonballs, etc.
during the Revolution. The bog iron is still there, but it's
no longer necessary or useful to produce it.
(This Web site looks like a Gopher server, but if you persist,
you can find some nice HTTP !)
Batsto: Home of Bog Iron
Ocean - Tom's River
Formed from the southern part of Monmouth County ( more research T.B.A.) Famous for the pinelands, yachtsmen from Princeton, mysterious cancer rates, and a Little League baseball team. Long Beach Island communities were formerly famous for their whaling activities.
Monmouth - Freehold
Originally settled about 1664 by Dutch, Scotch, and some eager
New Englanders ( apparently especially from New Haven ). First
established as a county in 1675, its boundaries were further firmed up in 1709-1710 and 1713-1714. By about 1684, it was the
wealthiest county in the province of New Jersey ( and was required to pay the most taxes.)
See the legal commentary on the Royal Charter for the origin of the term ( and name ) 'freehold' . The county executive boards, in every county of New Jersey, are called 'Freeholders' to this day!
During the Revolution, a favorite county for forage and plunder
by royalists ( from New York )! Famous for the Battle of Monmouth
including Molly Pitcher. Nowadays favored by the telephone companies because of its good location for originating undersea cables to Europe.
The Inland Waterway
Barnegat Bay
The Delaware & Raritan Canal
The Cape May Canal