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Sea Bright, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Sea Bright
Downtown Sea Bright
Downtown Sea Bright
Map of Sea Bright in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Map of Sea Bright in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Sea Bright, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Sea Bright, New Jersey
Country  United States
State  New Jersey
County Monmouth
Incorporated March 21, 1889
Government
 • Type Borough
 • Body Borough Council
Area
 • Total 1.29 sq mi (3.33 km2)
 • Land 0.72 sq mi (1.86 km2)
 • Water 0.57 sq mi (1.47 km2)  43.88%
Area rank 472nd of 565 in state
42nd of 53 in county
Elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 • Total 1,412
 • Estimate 
(2019)
1,338
 • Rank 517th of 566 in state
46th of 53 in county
 • Density 1,935.5/sq mi (747.3/km2)
 • Density rank 296th of 566 in state
34th of 53 in county
Time zone UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code
07760
Area code(s) 732
FIPS code 3402566240
GNIS feature ID 0885387

Sea Bright is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,412, reflecting a decline of 406 (-22.3%) from the 1,818 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 125 (+7.4%) from the 1,693 counted in the 1990 Census.

Sea Bright was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 21, 1889, from portions of Ocean Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. The borough was reincorporated on March 10, 1897. Additional portions of Ocean Township were annexed by the borough in March 1909.

Some sources attribute the name to a suggestion made by Martha Bayard Stevens, The borough and other sources say that the borough was named for Sea Bright, England, though there is no evidence such a place exists. Earlier sources often spell it as one word, "Seabright", as seen in the United States Coast Guard's Station Seabright and the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club.

History

Settlement in the area of Sea Bright began in the early 1840s, with a fishing community of simple shacks near the beach dunes that was called "Nauvoo". While many local historians had interpreted the name as a Native American word, the origin of "Nauvoo" is Sephardic Hebrew, from the same word that Mormon leader Joseph Smith gave to the Illinois town he founded in 1839. Meaning literally "beautiful or pleasant place," New Jersey's Nauvoo might well have been named by Smith, as he visited Monmouth County in 1840.

One of the earliest accounts of the barrier beach, published a dozen years before Sea Bright's existence, describes a steamboat journey from New York to the Ocean House, a low rambling wooden structure situated on the beach opposite the mouth of the Navesink River. Built in 1842, this first hotel on the sandy strip offered "excellent fishing, fine sea bathing and capital accommodations" for three hundred patrons. Around this time the Sea Bright Skiff was developed in the Northern Jersey Shore. At the Ocean House one "found a number of beach carriages", as they are called, awaiting the arrival of the boat from New York City to take passengers to Long Branch.

Geography

Seawall2 Sea Bright NJ
A seawall between the beach and Route 36 in Sea Bright

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.287 square miles (3.333 km2), including 0.730 square miles (1.890 km2) of land and 0.557 square miles (1.443 km2) of water (43.30%).

Sea Bright has seven members-only beach clubs, of which five are in the North Beach area: Ship Ahoy, Sands, Surfrider, Sea Bright Beach Club and Chapel Beach Club; and two are south of the center of town: Driftwood and Edgewater, all of which charge thousands of dollars for membership and have waiting lists of several years for prospective members. In addition, there is a large public, municipal beach in the center of town which charges a fee, but includes free parking and is protected by lifeguards, with entry limited to those who have purchased a beach badge. The traditional surfing beach area, called the Anchorage, is free and public, but unguarded. In addition, there are numerous public access stairs to other unguarded beaches for fishing, recreation and suntanning.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names within Sea Bright include Low Moor, Navesink Beach and Normandie.

The borough borders the Monmouth County municipalities of Highlands, Middletown Township, Monmouth Beach and Rumson. Sea Bright is located on the barrier peninsula that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1900 1,198
1910 1,220 1.8%
1920 856 −29.8%
1930 899 5.0%
1940 779 −13.3%
1950 999 28.2%
1960 1,138 13.9%
1970 1,339 17.7%
1980 1,812 35.3%
1990 1,693 −6.6%
2000 1,818 7.4%
2010 1,412 −22.3%
2019 (est.) 1,338 −5.2%
Population sources: 1900-1920
1900-1910 1910-1930
1930-1990 2000 2010

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,412 people, 792 households, and 325 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,935.5 per square mile (747.3/km2). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 1,659.9 per square mile (640.9/km2)*. The racial makeup of the borough was 94.55% (1,335) White, 0.78% (11) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 2.27% (32) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.49% (21) from other races, and 0.92% (13) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.52% (78) of the population.

There were 792 households out of which 12.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.0% were non-families. 48.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.78 and the average family size was 2.54.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 11.3% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 38.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.7 years. For every 100 females there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 107.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $74,236 (with a margin of error of +/- $8,921) and the median family income was $102,679 (+/- $37,943). Males had a median income of $84,412 (+/- $45,724) versus $72,898 (+/- $10,443) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $82,535 (+/- $20,263). About 3.5% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 1,818 people, 1,003 households, and 402 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,846.9 people per square mile (1,096.8/km2). There were 1,202 housing units at an average density of 1,882.3 per square mile (725.1/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.39% White, 1.76% African American, 2.26% Asian, 0.88% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.51% of the population.

There were 1,003 households, out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.9% were non-families. 45.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.81 and the average family size was 2.51.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 11.2% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 41.5% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $65,563, and the median income for a family was $72,031. Males had a median income of $60,417 versus $41,100 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $45,066. About 5.3% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Sea Bright beach am
The Sea Bright beach on an early summer morning

Parks and recreation

As of the summer of 2015, the borough added lifeguards and began charging visitors a daily admission at Anchorage Beach, an area that has been widely used by surfers, eliminating one of the limited number of free oceanfront beaches in the state.

Transportation

Roads and highways

2021-09-08 15 53 56 View south along New Jersey State Route 36 (Ocean Avenue) from the pedestrian overpass at the entrance to Sandy Hook in Sea Bright, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Route 36 southbound in Sea Bright

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 6.37 miles (10.25 km) of roadways, of which 2.71 miles (4.36 km) were maintained by the municipality, 0.08 miles (0.13 km) by Monmouth County and 3.58 miles (5.76 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

CR 520 drawbridge Sea Bright (1)
The Shrewsbury River Bridge carrying CR 520 into Sea Bright from Rumson

New Jersey Route 36 is the main highway through Sea Bright. To the south, it connects the borough to Monmouth Beach. Heading north, it crosses the Shrewsbury River to Highlands via the Highlands – Sea Bright Bridge, a fixed span which was built between 2008 and 2011 to replace a 1,240-foot (380 m) drawbridge built in 1932. Sea Bright can also be accessed from Rumson to the west via Rumson Road (County Route 520) over the Shrewsbury River Bridge.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides local bus service between Sea Bright and Red Bank on the 835 route.

Education

Public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade are educated as part of the Oceanport School District after the former Sea Bright Board of Education was eliminated by the New Jersey Department of Education in 2009 as a non-operating district. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 599 students and 61.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.8:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Wolf Hill Elementary School with 342 students in pre-Kindergarten through 4th grade and Maple Place Middle School with 253 students in grades 5 - 8.

For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Shore Regional High School, a regional high school that also serves students from the constituent districts of Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and West Long Branch. The high school is located in West Long Branch and is part of the Shore Regional High School District. As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 649 students and 57.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. Seats on the high school district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with one seat assigned to Sea Bright.

Sea Bright high school students in public school also have the opportunity to attend the schools of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, including the five career academies.

Notable people

See also (related category): People from Sea Bright, New Jersey

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Sea Bright include:

  • Fred Alexander (1880–1969), top-ranked tennis player in the early 20th century.
  • James Waddell Alexander II (1888–1971), mathematician and topologist who was one of the first members of the Institute for Advanced Study (1933–1951), and also a professor at Princeton University (1920–1951).
  • Linda Chorney (born 1960), singer-songwriter and award-winning filmmaker.
  • Tal Farlow (1921–1998), jazz guitarist.
  • Lindley Miller Garrison (1864–1932), United States Secretary of War from 1913 to 1916 during the Administration of President Woodrow Wilson.
  • Jerry Gaskill (born 1957), rock musician who is the drummer for the progressive metal band King's X.
  • John J. McCook (1845–1911), Civil War officer, prominent New York attorney and railroad executive.
  • Mildred Mottahedeh (1908–2000), collector of ceramics, businessperson, and philanthropist who cofounded Mottahedeh & Company, a designer and supplier of luxury porcelain.
  • Melissa Stark (born 1973), television personality and sportscaster who works as a reporter for the NFL Network.
  • Martha Bayard Stevens (1831-1899), philanthropist influential in advancing complementary educational pursuits, who has been credited with suggesting the borough's name.
  • Juan Trippe (1899–1981), airline entrepreneur and founder of Pan Am.
  • Charles L. Walters (c. 1862–1894), politician who served for two years as mayor of Sea Bright and in the New Jersey General Assembly.

See also

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