Ocean County , NJ History

From the New Jersey Courier, 3 Jun 1866: Barnegat is a pretty neat and thrifty village, handsomely laid out, streets running very regularly and nice pretty white cottages. Barnegat is somewhat noted as the residence of web footed individuals, who delight in following the water, and who possess a very creditable amount of public spirit. There is a Quaker Meetinghouse, also a Methodist one, in which nightly meetings are now held. There are two fine stores, kept by Gulick and Robbins and Bodine and Predmore. Gulick is one of your wide awake men, and always on the alert so much so, that the Freeholders made him County Collector. The business of the place is principally called on by these two stores, three hotels, billiard saloon, millinery shop, and a fancy goods and confectionery store and a post office. Blacksmiths and wheelwrights abound as well as a barber, and Sam the Sadler.

According to the Trenton Times of Feb 22, 1906: Asay Springs may not refer to an area, but to actual springs that are located in the White Horse area of present day Hamilton, across the Crosswicks Creek from Bordentown. That approximate area is the former location of a house once known as the Asay-Cubberly house. It was the home of Isaac Asay (son of Joseph, I believe), from 1849-1858 and maybe longer. A good account of the area can be found in Louis Berger & Associates, Historic Sites, Trenton Complex Archaeology: Report 12, The Cultural Resource Group, Louis Berger and Associates, Inc., East Orange NJ, Prepared for the Federal Highway Administration and the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Bureau of Environmental Analysis, Trenton, 1998. (That's a long way of saying they had to study the area before they could build a new highway. If you have a recent map of NJ, you'll see the area is now pretty well covered by the intersection of I-295 and I-195.) The springs...

from the New Jersey Courier, 15 Nov 1918: Miss Jennie May of Jersey City returned home Sunday evening after spending a few days with Mrs. Ivins Clayton and family. Miss Lida Brower of Bayville spent the week end with Miss Rita Clayton. Rev. J.W. Stokes, wife and and Mrs. Wm. Bryant and wife of Cedar Grove spent Wednesday evening with Mr. and Mrs. Ivins Clayton and family