Ocean County , NJ History

from the Asbury Park Press 2 Oct 1977

May 1930 saw a huge forest fire in the pines of Ocean County. This is how it was reported in the New Jersey Courier of 9 May 1930: Tuckerton Lost One House in Four Days Tuckerton, May 8--For a period of three days this town experienced the worst series of forest fires ever recorded here. Beginning with Saturday afternoon and still raging on Wednesday night. Every able bodied man and even school boys were fighting fires. There were companies here from Atlantic City, Ocean City, Pomona, Beach Haven, West Creek, Manahawkin, Beach- Arlington and other places. During the time a thousand or more men have been at work. The first fire started on Saturday afternoon at Tuckerton Manors, a new development on North Green street road, and quickly spread through the Wood street area, but above the houses, burned out to the New York road, endangering the Marine Radio Station, the home of James Cullen, his son's and Joseph Petzak's. These places were saved only after a hard fight. On Sun

in May of 1936, a tremendous forest fire swept through the Pine Barrens of Ocean County. This is how it was reported in the pages of the New Jersey Mirror on the 27th of May Five Killed, Many Injured in Greatest Forest Fires in the History of Two Counties / More Than 20,000 Acres Involved in Four-Day Conflagration in the Area from Chatsworth to Tuckerton and Manahawkin--2,000 Men Fought Fire / Men Were Trapped While Fighting In one of the worst forest fires in the history of Burlington and Ocean counties, the past four days, burning over more than 20,000 acres, five men lost their lives and many others were injured. The area involved includes the section from Chatsworth to Tuckerton. There also were fires east of Brown's Mills. Colonel Leonidas J. Coyle, state fire warden, reported last night that the fire was under control and practically extinguished, when a change of wind turned the flames back over the area already burned over. The dead are: Edward F. Sullivan, 19, of