Long Branch, NJ – Entertaining A Nation + Bonus Books

Description

Entertaining A Nation
The Career of Long Branch
By Works Projects Administration, 1940
211
Pages illustrated, indexed, searchable
– Bonus –
Long Branch, NJ
The Garden Spot of the Garden State
By Geo. W. Richardson & Co.
1909
58
Pages illustrated, searchable
– Bonus #2 –
Glimpses Of
New Jersey Coast Resorts
By M. W. & C. Pennypacker.
1894
106
Pages illustrated, searchable
–
– Bonus #3 –
Summer Resorts and Watering Places
Between New York, Long Branch and Sea Girt
By J. Disturnell
1877
91
Pages illustrated, searchable
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CD
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Long Branch was a beach resort town in the late 1700s. In the 1800s it was a “Hollywood” of the
east, where some of the greatest theatrical and other performers of the day gathered and performed.
It was visited by presidents Chester A. Arthur, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin
Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson. Seven Presidents Park, a
park near the beach, is named in honor of their visits. The Church of the Presidents, where all seven
worshiped, is the only structure left in Long Branch associated with them.
The famous Long Branch Saloon of the American Old West, located in Dodge City, Kansas, was
originally named that by its first owner, William Harris, who had moved west from Long Branch,
New Jersey, his hometown.
Originally a resort town with a few hotels and large estates and many farms in the early 20th
century, Long Branch grew in population. Italian, Irish and Jewish immigrants settled in during
this period. By the 1950s, Long Branch like many other towns had developed new residential spots
and housing to make room for the growing population. Many of the former farms of Long Branch
were transformed into residential “suburbs”. Many of the estates and a few old historic resorts (with the
addition of many new ones) still remain.
With the ascendancy of Hollywood in California as a film capital, Long Branch lost much of its
activity as a theater spot. Parts of traditional living areas with old houses were altered to support
private projects by eminent domain legislation.
Long Branch still continues however to be a popular resort area. Many people from New York City
travel or settle in to the area to escape the crowded city and enjoy the benefits of Long Branch’s
beaches. The area also attracts some tourists from the Philadelphia area as well.