Local city information for Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Atlantic Highlands is a Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey in the Bayshore Region. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 4,705.

Atlantic Highlands was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1887, from portions of Middletown Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. The borough was reincorporated on September 1, 1891.

Atlantic Highlands is part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural beauty of the Raritan Bayshore coastline.

The town overlooks where the Atlantic Ocean and Raritan Bay meet at Sandy Hook, and its hills mark one of the highest points on the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

For thousands of years, the original inhabitants lived along its cliffs and creeks, where there is still evidence of them. Here the Lenape first encountered Europeans, and soon were trading with them. Fifty-six years after Henry Hudson's 1609 visit, English settlers bought the whole peninsula from the Lenape and called it Portland Poynt.

Colonists convened the first Assembly of New Jersey in 1667 in what is now Atlantic Highlands. During Revolutionary War years, loyalists to the English crown and patriots of the new America clashed in repeated raids and counterattacks across these lands. And here passed retreating English troops after their 1778 defeat by Washington at the Battle of Monmouth.

During the late 1800s, a handful of farms met an onrush of resort developers, church groups and town builders. They created the Victorian core of the town, attracting thousands of visitors and year-round residents.

In 1879, a surveyor was engaged to lay roads and lots for a permanent community. The Atlantic Highlands Association was formed by prominent members of the Methodist Church. This organization developed the community of Atlantic Highlands.

Individuals and groups came from New York City and the surrounding vicinity to camp along the water in tent colonies. An outdoor amphitheater was created with a large seating capacity and outstanding acoustics. An indoor auditorium was built, which was utilized for entertaining visitors at the camp meetings. In 1887, Atlantic Highlands was incorporated as a borough, containing of prime real estate bordering on the Raritan Bay.

The major construction occurred from the 1880s trough 1900. It included hotels, cottages, rooming houses, and private homes. A pier was built extending well into the bay to accommodate steamboats from New York City. The next twenty years saw rapid development within the community. A water and sewer system was constructed, cottages were erected, and the road system was completed. During this period of development a fire department was organized.

A number of churches saw their beginning in the 1880s: the Central Baptist, First Presbyterian, Saint Agnes Roman Catholic, First Methodist, and Saint Paul Baptist Church.

Steamer service was a major source of transportation during the formation of the borough, through the 1940s. The Central Railroad of New Jersey built a major pier at the end of First Avenue. Several trains at a time could continue to the end of the pier to off load steamboat passengers. From the 1910s through the 1940s, the steamers “Sandy Hook” and the “Monmouth” navigated the waters bringing businessmen and vacationers to Atlantic Highlands.

In the 1890s, rail service came to Atlantic Highlands. This opened up Highlands and points south to vacationers. The 1920s saw 26 passenger trains daily passing through the Borough.

Today, from its ridges and bayside, the Manhattan skyline can be seen. From its harbor sail pleasure, fishing and commuter boats. The creation of the municipal harbor took place from 1938 through 1940. This harbor was built with municipal, state, and federal funds. It is the largest on the East Coast, home to 715 craft including high-speed ferry service to New York City which was introduced in 1992. In 1962, the existing Central Railroad of New Jersey pier was destroyed by fire.

Names that appear in the directories of the 1890s are the same names that populate the borough and run businesses in the community today. The bungalows on the East Side of the borough, which in the 1920s were summer bungalows, are now year-round homes. Portland Pointe, a five-story senior citizen building, provides housing for the elderly.

In 2004, the first Boutique Hotel on the Jersey Shore opened in Atlantic Highlands. It is called the Blue Bay Inn.
List your home on the MLS in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

Copyright © Owners.com 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy • Terms & Conditions • Site Map

Equal Housing Opportunity