Blogfinger

Ocean Grove vicinity 1873. Blogfinger photo.  Click once on map to study it closer. And check out the historic North End of OG—just a blank slate with tents.

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor  Blogfinger.net. Ocean Grove, NJ, USA.

When this 1873 map was published, Ocean Grove  was 4 years old.  It had been made part of Ocean Township, and the map was titled “Portions of Shrewsbury and Ocean Townships.”

Asbury Park  is shown because it was incorporated in 1871.  Neptune Township did not exist until 1879, and then OG was excised from Ocean Township and, unfortunately, moved to the new Neptune.  Why did that happen? Probably politics.

Of great interest is Wesley Lake, which has no name on this map, but you can see that it was fed by a large stream coming from Whitesville and it opens directly into the Atlantic Ocean.   it is a natural resource,  governed by tidal flows.   Its eventual original name was “Long Pond.”

At Blogfinger we have written about the “death”  of Wesley Lake.

Over the years the streams that brought beautiful clear water to the Lake became covered over due to development, and other old maps showed such streams.

History books tell of the vibrant ecology of the Lake, with wild life including shore birds, fish and other creatures.

Ferries and boats plied the lake, and during Illumination Night hundreds of boats were part of a wonderful nautical celebration with thousands of participants along the shores. Over the years the late historian Ted Bell took an interest in Wesley Lake and also the late Jack Bredin, an activist member of our Blogfinger staff.

In previous posts, we reported about the Public Trust Doctrine where we find that tidal waterways are to be protected and also include “filled lands formerly flowed by the tide.”    Wesley Lake qualifies.

These resources are owned by the people of New Jersey under the watch of the State of New Jersey.

CHARLES TRENET:   “La Mer.”