Gretchen F Coyle

Beach Haven Gretchen F Coyle

Beach Haven, founded in 1874, was designed as one of the first summer seashore resorts in New Jersey for wealthy Philadelphians. Beach Haven's boardwalk extended from Seventh Street to Holyoke Avenue, one and a quarter miles long. Wool bathing costumes were the rage: women "fanny dunked" while men and children swam in the Atlantic. An 1883 Philadelphia Inquirer advertisement stated that the hotel opened for the season "with thorough sanitary arrangements." A steamboat, connected with the Tuckerton Railroad, carried many visitors to the island. Robert Barclay Engle, with financial help from his cousin Samuel Engle, built the Engleside Hotel with materials barged across Little Egg Harbor Bay from the mainland by wide catboats, and the majestic hotel opened in 1876. It had room to accommodate 350 guests and offered numerous amenities, such as running fresh and salt water, tennis courts, and fresh milk.