Library exhibit focuses on changes at Jersey Shore
When historians consider the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, they tend to think first about the 1870s and 1880s.

That's when the Jersey Shore, along with Newport, R.I., and Saratoga, N.Y., became one of the most popular vacation destinations on the Eastern seaboard, due in part to the hoopla surrounding Ulysses S. Grant's summer home in Long Branch.

Big summer "cottages" built by the elite and fashionable hotels catering to a wider range of clientele were built near the ocean. The new railroad and ferries brought thousands daily to enjoy the Atlantic Ocean breezes, beaches and other recreation such as Monmouth Park racetrack.

While tourists still enjoy Monmouth County's beaches, much has changed since Grant's heyday. Some of those changes have been chronicled in an exhibit assembled by the Monmouth County Division of Archives, and includes photographs of the original Highlands bridge as well as the Monmouth Hotel in Spring Lake and the Stockton House in Sea Girt.

The exhibit, assembled by the Monmouth County Archives staff from documents in the Archives and items contributed by local historians, is now on view in the lobby of the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan. The exhibit will run through Oct. 31.

The history of the shore encompasses both the romanticized Victorian period as well as its more recent development, according to a press release.

Shore towns are proud of their past and seek to use their history to promote community identity and cultural tourism. They recognize that their histories encompass social and economic changes, as well as the stories of the U.S. presidents and other famous visitors. Accordingly, this exhibit includes data on a diversity of personalities, from Commodore Robert F. Stockton in 1853 to a Chinese laundryman in the early 20th century.

This exhibit provides some aspects of Jersey Shore history often not on view to the public. It combines images and ephemera with selected documents from the Monmouth County Archives that relate to people and architecture (some photographs from the Archives' visual collections are also included).

"The exhibit is meant to encourage visitors to think about what constitutes local history and give them a better appreciation of the resources in the county archives," said Gary D. Saretzky, archivist for the Monmouth County Clerk's Office.