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==History== [[File:Little Egg Friends NJ 2.JPG|thumb|300px|The [[Little Egg Harbor Friends Meeting House]], built in 1863]] The area that is now Tuckerton was settled in 1698.<ref>[http://theoceancountylibrary.org/branches/T/tcomprofile.htm Tuckerton Community Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030100503/http://theoceancountylibrary.org/branches/T/tcomprofile.htm |date=2011-10-30 }}, Ocean County Library. Accessed January 25, 2015.</ref> Some of the early settlers were Andrews, [[Hendrick Jacobs Falkenberg|Falkinburgs]], Shourds, [[Ong (surname)|Ongs]], Willets<ref>Willett, Albert James Jr. ''The Willet Families of North America''</ref> and Osborns. Edward Andrews, settled on the east side of Pohatcong Creek; his brother, Mordecai Andrews settled on the west side of the same creek. Edward, tired of going to [[Mount Holly, New Jersey|Mount Holly Township]] with his grain, constructed a cedar log grist mill on the site of a dam built by beavers at the mouth of what is known as Tuckerton Creek.<ref name=History /> He built the [[grist mill]] in 1704, and it still stands to this day. Tuckerton became a Port of Entry of the United States, but not the third port as is commonly believed.<ref name=THSPort>Stemmer, Peter H. [http://www.tuckertonhistoricalsociety.org/uploads/6/8/7/1/6871754/port_of_tuckerton.pdf "The Port of Tuckerton"], Tuckerton Historical Society. Accessed June 19, 2015. "It showed me that the notion that Tuckerton was the third port of entry into the United States is, like most traditions, only partially true. It was, in fact, a port of entry but only one of many in the country and one of five in the State of New Jersey."</ref> The community was named for founder [[Ebenezer Tucker]] (1758β1845),<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=31 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 26, 2015.</ref> who was appointed Collector, his commission bearing the date March 21, 1791, signed by [[George Washington]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref name=THSPort /> Six years later, Tuckerton became a post-town with Reuben Tucker as its first postmaster. Former names of the town included "Andrew Mills", "Middle-of-the-Shore", "Clamtown", "Quakertown", and "Fishtown". In March 1789, Ebenezer Tucker hosted a feast at the then-named Clamtown for the residents, at which time they officially changed the name to Tuckerton.<ref>DuPuis, E. R. Duke. [http://www.tuckertonlehhs.org/ebenezer-tucker.php "The Life and Times of Ebenezer Tucker"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130730032944/http://www.tuckertonlehhs.org/ebenezer-tucker.php |date=2013-07-30 }}, Tuckerton Historical Society. Accessed July 29, 2013.</ref> In 1816, Isaac Jenkins established the first stage line between Tuckerton and [[Philadelphia]], making one trip a week, each trip taking two days to travel each way. John D. Thompson bought the line in 1828 and ran the stages each way in a day and carried the mail. The stages and vessels were the only public conveyances to the cities until the [[Tuckerton Railroad]] was built in 1871.<ref>Treese, Lorett. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LkXXZfRFRM0C&pg=PA147 ''Railroads of New Jersey: Fragments of the Past in the Garden State Landscape''], p. 147. [[Stackpole Books]], 2006. {{ISBN|9780811732604}}. Accessed October 13, 2015.</ref> [[File:DETAIL OF FACADE LOOKING NORTHWEST - Tuckerton Emporium, West Main and Water Streets, Tuckerton, Ocean County, NJ HABS NJ,15-TUCK,2-2.tif|thumb|The Tuckerton Emporium on Main Street, originally opened as Gerber's department store.]] What was probably New Jersey's first summer resort was on Tucker's Island offshore from Little Egg Harbor. The island sported boarding houses, private cottages, and a school. In 1848 a Lighthouse was erected there, with Eben Rider as its first lightkeeper. In 1869 the Little Egg Harbor Lifesaving's Station was constructed there. Also known as Sea Haven, the island contained two hotels. The island was wiped away in a storm, including its lighthouse, which fell into the sea. At the Tuckerton Seaport Museum, a re-created lighthouse has been built as well as other re-created buildings that were on Tuckers Island. In the lighthouse, there are several wall-mounted pictures showing the instant that the original lighthouse fell into the sea. The original island remains underwater.<ref>[http://lbi.net/lbihistory/atlantis.asp Long Beach Island History Of Tide and Time - Atlantis], LBI.net. Accessed October 13, 2015.</ref> The area surrounding present-day Tuckerton was part of Burlington County until 1891 when it joined with Ocean County. Tuckerton was established in March 1901,<ref name=Story /> with its first mayor being Frank R. Austin. By the turn of the 1800s, Tuckerton was home to a robust downtown area of shops, [[boarding house]]s, and hotels. Around 1800, Ebenezer Tucker built the "Union House" on the corner of Main Street & Green Street, which served as a post office, stagecoach stop, and lodge.<ref name="Downshore">{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Downshore from Manahawkin to New Gretna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTzNKt0fOvYC |location=The Publications Committee of the Ocean County Historical Society |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |page=104 |date=September 1, 1994 |isbn=9780738564456}}</ref> The Union House was later known as the "Carlton House", which operated as an inn and tavern until it was destroyed by fire in 1964.<ref name="Downshore"/> The "Everett House" was built in the 1870s as a first-class [[coffee palace|temperance hotel]] to serve railroad passengers; the building, on Main Street between Green Street and Water Street, was demolished by the mid-20th Century.<ref name="Downshore"/> The Lakeside Hotel, situated on Main Street next to Lake Pohatcong, operated well into the 20th Century before its closure and demolition; a plaque commemorating [[World War I]] veterans on the side of the building was moved to its current site in Greenwood Cemetery.<ref name="Downshore"/> The Tuckerton [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] was originally established in 1797.<ref name="Downshore"/> In 1868, the congregation broke ground on an elaborate [[Colonial architecture|Colonial]]-style church building featuring a slate-covered steeple, forged stained glass windows, a town clock, bell, and [[pipe organ]]. The building was constructed by [[shipbuilding|shipwrights]], as the boro was a bustling shipping and fishing village at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145029984 |title=Fire Destroys Old Church But Optimism Runs High |author=Wirtz, Lynda L. |date=May 8, 1979 |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> In 1921, Reuben Gerber opened Gerber's Department Store on Main Street.<ref name="Emporium">{{cite web |url=https://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/tuckerton-emporium-celebrates-20-years-on-main-street/1026035 |title=Tuckerton Emporium Celebrates 20 Years on Main Street |author=Johnson, Pat |work=The Sandpaper |date=July 6, 2013 |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> The store's [[art deco architecture|art deco]] interior was modeled after the [[Macy's Herald Square]] flagship store in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj1300/nj1316/data/nj1316data.pdf |title=Historic American Buildings Survey - Town of Tuckerton |author=Historic American Buildings Survey |work=National Park Service |date=1991 |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> Gerber's served as Tuckerton's main general store and was an authorized dealership for early [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] vehicles.<ref name="Emporium"/> The building remains and is currently known as the "Tuckerton Emporium", which houses a consortium of local vendors.<ref name="Emporium"/> [[File:Hurricane Sandy overflight assesment DVIDS1123972.jpg|thumb|Flooding in Tuckerton Beach following [[Superstorm Sandy]] on October 30, 2012.]] On May 7, 1979, a large wind-driven fire destroyed the century-old Tuckerton United Methodist Church, two stores, and several homes on Main Street, leaving 23 people homeless.<ref name="Fire">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145029991/ |title=Worst Fire in Tuckerton's History Destroys Some History |work=Asbury Park Press |date=May 8, 1979 |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> The [[conflagration]] started in the Tuckerton Variety Store on 25 W. Main Street and spread to a vacant storefront and two second-floor apartments next door; 20-mph [[sea breeze]] winds carried embers 200 yards to the church, which quickly burned out of control.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/222928734 |title=Wind-whipped fire razes Tuckerton church, stores |agency=Associated Press |work=The Courier-News |date=May 8, 1979 |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> The embers also ignited fires in five homes on N. Green Street and several brush fires, all of which were quickly extinguished. Eighteen fire departments from Ocean and Burlington counties responded to the blaze.<ref name="Fire"/> Tuckerton received extensive damage after [[Superstorm Sandy]] struck the borough on October 28, 2012. Almost 300 homes suffered extensive damage, while 32 homes were completely destroyed. Floodwaters also ravaged businesses along South Green Street and flooded some buildings in the Tuckerton Seaport.<ref>Moore, Kirk. [http://archive.app.com/article/20121102/NJNEWS/311020106/Tuckerton-homes-ripped-pieces-by-waves-surge "Tuckerton homes ripped to pieces by waves, surge"], ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', November 3, 2012. Accessed October 28, 2014.</ref>
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