Editing Atlantic County, New Jersey (section)

===History===
Since the [[6th millennium BC]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] people have inhabited [[New Jersey]]. By the 17th century, the Absegami tribe of the [[Unalachtigo Lenape]] tribe – "people near the ocean" – stayed along the streams and back bays of what is now Atlantic County. The group referred to the broader area as ''Scheyichbi'' – "land bordering the ocean".<ref name="Story"/><ref name="mp2000"/> European settlement by the [[New Amsterdam|Dutch]], [[New Sweden|Sweden]], and England contributed to the demise of the indigenous people. In 1674, [[West Jersey]] was established, and its provincial government designated the court of [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington County]] in 1681, splitting off [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County]] five years later from the southern portion. This county was bounded by the [[Mullica River]] to the north, the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east, and the [[Great Egg Harbor River]] and [[Tuckahoe River (New Jersey)|Tuckahoe River]] to the south.<ref name="Story"/> [[Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Great Egg Harbour Township]], also called ''New Weymouth'' and later just ''Egg Harbor'', was designated in 1693 from the eastern portions of Gloucester County.<ref name="Story"/>

The region's early European settlers, many of them [[Quakers]], lived along the area's waterways. In 1695, John Somers purchased {{convert|300|acre|ha}} of land on the northern shore of the [[Great Egg Harbor Bay]] in 1695, the same year he began ferry service across the bay to [[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May County]]. His son, Richard, built [[Somers Mansion]] between 1720 and 1726, which is the oldest home in existence in the county.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somerspointhistory.org/uploads/3/1/7/4/31743223/trailofrichardsomers2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219005652/http://www.somerspointhistory.org/uploads/3/1/7/4/31743223/trailofrichardsomers2014.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2015 |url-status=live|title=A Short History of Somers Point|publisher=Somers Point Historical Society|access-date=July 15, 2018|year=2014}}</ref> Daniel Leeds first surveyed the coastal waters of Egg Harbor in 1698, eventually finding [[Leeds Point, New Jersey|Leeds Point]].<ref name="achis">{{cite web|publisher=Government of Atlantic County|access-date=July 15, 2018|title=History of Atlantic County|url=http://www.atlantic-county.org/history/}}</ref> In 1735, according to folklore, Mother Leeds gave birth to her 13th child in the area during a strange thunderstorm; this child would become the [[Jersey Devil]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jersey Devil - Fact or Fiction?|publisher=Atlantic County Library|url=http://www.atlantic-county.org/history/jersey-devil-pg1.asp|author= Carol Johnson|author2=David Munn|access-date=July 15, 2018}}</ref> In the early 18th century, George May founded [[Mays Landing, New Jersey|Mays Landing]].<ref name="achis"/>

In 1774, the northern portion of Egg Harbor Township became [[Galloway Township, New Jersey|Galloway Township]].<ref name="Story"/> In 1785, residents in what is now Atlantic County requested to split from Gloucester County to the New Jersey legislature, wanting a local court. Mays Landing – the region's largest community at the time, had more saloons than churches. Criminals could escape custody before reaching [[Gloucester City, New Jersey|Gloucester City]] on a four-day wagon ride.<ref name="jail">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of The Atlantic County Sheriff's Office|publisher=Atlantic County Sheriff|access-date=July 15, 2018|url=http://www.acsheriff.org/about/history.asp}}</ref> In 1798, the western portion split off to become [[Weymouth Township, New Jersey|Weymouth Township]], and in 1813, the northwestern portion partitioned to become [[Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey|Hamilton Township]]. On February&nbsp;7, 1837, the New Jersey legislature designated ''Atlantic County'' from Galloway, Hamilton, Weymouth, and Egg Harbor townships,<ref name="Story">{{cite book|author=John P. Snyder|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605161833/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf |archive-date=June 5, 2012 |url-status=live|title=The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968|publisher=Bureau of Geology and Topography|year=1969|location=Trenton, New Jersey}}</ref> choosing Mays Landing as the [[county seat]]. In the same year, the Board of Freeholders was established as the county government.<ref name="achis"/> As of the [[1830 United States census|1830 census]], the townships making up Atlantic County only had a population of 8,164, making it the least populated [[List of counties in New Jersey|New Jersey county]]. By that time, a continuous line of houses extended from [[Somers Point, New Jersey|Somers Point]] to [[Absecon, New Jersey|Absecon]].<ref name="hist">{{cite book |title= Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey: Containing a General Collection of the Most Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, Etc., Relating to Its History and Antiquities, with Geographical Descriptions of Every Township in the State |publisher= B. Olds |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec00barb_4/page/63 63]–64 |author=John Warner Barber |year=1844 |url= https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec00barb_4|quote= atlantic county sparse population 1850s. }}</ref>

[[Mullica Township, New Jersey|Mullica Township]] was established from Galloway Township in 1837.<ref name="Story"/> In 1852, Dr. [[Jonathan Pitney]] recommended [[Absecon Island]] as a health resort, and formed the [[Camden and Atlantic Railroad]] to construct the line from [[Camden, New Jersey|Camden]] to the coast. The company purchased land from Atlantic and Galloway Townships in 1853, then promoted and sold the lots. [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]] formed on May&nbsp;1, 1854, in advance of the rail line opening on July&nbsp;4 of that year.<ref name="beac">{{cite journal|journal=The Beacon|publisher=The Margate Public Library|volume=10|issue=3|date=July 2010|title=How the Railroads came to Margate|pages=1, 6|url=https://www.margatelibrary.org/images/stories/community/history/beacon/beacon-july-2010.pdf|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827070401/http://www.margatelibrary.org/images/stories/community/history/beacon/beacon-july-2010.pdf|archive-date=August 27, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1858, [[Egg Harbor City, New Jersey|Egg Harbor City]] was formed from portions of Galloway and Mullica townships. In 1866, [[Hammonton, New Jersey|Hammonton]] was founded from Hamilton and Mullica townships. A year later, portions of Hamilton Township split off to become [[Buena Vista Township, New Jersey|Buena Vista Township]]. In 1872, Absecon was split from portions of Egg Harbor and Galloway townships.<ref name="Story"/> By 1885, more than half of the county's population lived in Atlantic City, and by 1910 this more than two-thirds of the county lived there.<ref name="mp2000"/>

With more people moving to the area in the late 1800s into the early 1900s, several municipalities were created in short succession – [[Margate City, New Jersey|Margate City]] (then called ''South Atlantic City'') in 1885, Somers Point in 1886, [[Pleasantville, New Jersey|Pleasantville]] and [[Linwood, New Jersey|Linwood]] in 1889, [[Brigantine, New Jersey|Brigantine]] in 1890, [[Longport, New Jersey|Longport]] in 1898, [[Ventnor, New Jersey|Ventnor]] in 1903, [[Northfield, New Jersey|Northfield]] and [[Port Republic, New Jersey|Port Republic]] in 1905, and [[Folsom, New Jersey|Folsom]] in 1906. On May&nbsp;17, 1906, the eastern coastal boundary of Atlantic County was established. The final municipalities in the county to be created were [[Corbin City, New Jersey|Corbin City]] from Weymouth Township in 1922, [[Estell Manor, New Jersey|Estell Manor]] from Weymouth Township in 1925, and [[Buena, New Jersey|Buena]] from Buena Township in 1948. In 1938, the county's western border was clarified with Camden and Burlington counties using geographic coordinates.<ref name="Story"/> After a peak in prominence in the 1920s during the [[Prohibition#18th Amendment to the Constitution|prohibition era]], Atlantic City began declining in population in the 1950s as tourism declined. The county's growth shifted to the mainland.<ref name="mp2000"/><ref name="survey"/>

In 1973, the New Jersey Coastal Area Facilities Review Act required additional state permitting for construction in the eastern half of the county.<ref name="mp2000"/> In the same ballot as the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 1976|1976 presidential election]], 56.8% of New Jersey voters approved an initiative to allow [[Gambling in New Jersey#Expansion of gambling|legalized gambling]] in Atlantic City. Two years later, [[Resorts Atlantic City]] opened as the first casino in the city, and there were 15 by 1990. Since then, five have closed, including four in 2014, while two casinos – the [[Borgata]] and [[Ocean Resort Casino]] – have opened. [[Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City]] opened in 2018, refurbishing the former Trump Taj Mahal.<ref name="lib">{{cite web|title=History of Casino Gambling in Atlantic City|url=http://www.acfpl.org/ac-history-menu/atlantic-city-heritage-collections/15-heston-archives/68-history-of-casino-gambling-in-atlantic-city|publisher=Atlantic County Library|access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name="mp2000"/> In 1978, Congress created the [[Pinelands National Reserve]], which created the Pinelands Commission and a management policy for the seven counties in the [[Pine Barrens (New Jersey)|Pine Barrens]], including Atlantic County.<ref name="mp2000"/><ref name="cmp">{{cite web|title=CMP Summary|access-date=January 1, 2018|publisher=State of New Jersey Pinelands Commission|url=http://www.nj.gov/pinelands/cmp/summary/}}</ref> Concurrent with the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 Presidential election]], Atlantic County residents voted in favor to create a new state of [[South Jersey]], along with five other counties in a nonbinding referendum.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Asbury Park Press|author=Erik Larson|title=South Jersey voted to secede from NJ|date=March 5, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2018|url=https://www.app.com/story/news/history/erik-larsen/2016/03/05/south-jersey-votes-secede-nj/81323914/}}</ref>