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Seen in an undated postcard, exclusive Ocean Avenue was the site of
President Grant’s summer White House. Courtesy of Edward Thomas.
Long Branch, which has been called America’s first
seaside resort, evolved from a small village early in the 19th century to
a high-powered destination with big hotels, gambling casinos, and horse
races during the Gilded Age. Since about World War II, Long Branch has
made its way as a more sedate and modest vacation spot on the Jersey
shore.
For a period, Long Branch was an exclusive and chic Mecca for the
well-to-do and celebrities, including Henry Ward Beecher, Diamond Jim
Brady, Horace Greeley, acting legends Edwin Booth, Lily Langtry, and
Lillian Russell, painter Winslow Homer, and writer Robert Louis Stevenson,
among many, many others. Grant was the first of a procession of presidents
who routinely visited Long Branch for decades: Rutherford Hayes, James
Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and
Woodrow Wilson.
Long Branch, N.J. today: Its beaches,
boardwalk, and neighborhoods have a rich history. Courtesy of the Greater
Long Branch Chamber of Commerce
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