It is one of the great seashore playgrounds for tourists and locals alike, but there may be a few things you don't know about the history of the beautiful town we call Point Pleasant Beach.

Do you know where the first tourists in Point Pleasant Beach stayed? If you said the Antrim Elementary School, you would oddly be correct. Except it wasn't the Antrim School at the time. It was the land the Antrim Elementary School now stands on, but back then (in the early 1800's) a man named Thomas Cook was the owner of the farm on that land, and decided to allow guests, and there is no proof that the group was a family from North Jersey or Brooklyn, although neither would surprise any current locals.

What was the first room rate in Point Pleasant Beach? We know how much Point Pleasant Beach relies on a robust tourist season, so it may come as a shock to you that the first room rate at the Cook Farm was somewhere between $8.00 and $12.00 a week and included meals and a shuttle (wagon ride) to the beach. A basic room at the White Sands in the summer is a little over $200 a night, and as far as we can tell, no wagon ride is included.

How did Arnold Ave. become a thing? Captain John Arnold retired from a life at sea, and bought some land in Point Pleasant Beach, and then got to work on the tourist industry for the town. Now that's a guy who had a plan! One of the first things he did, according to the Point Pleasant Beach website was make a road that led to the ocean, which would go on to be named Arnold Ave.

Which explorer first set eyes upon the beauty of Point Pleasant Beach? We all know the story of the ship called the Half Moon, and it was Henry Hudson who first claimed the area was a 'pleasant land to see' back in 1609.

The first amusement area was  not on the ocean, it was on the river. Can you guess where the first amusement are was in town? If you said the beach, you'd be wrong. It was actually at Clark's Landing right on the river in the early 1890's.

As all of our minds turn to the places we love the most in spring and summer, we remind you to be good to all of our local businesses...in Point Pleasant Beach, and all over the Jersey Shore.

Read more about Point Pleasant Beach history at the town's website.
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