New Jersey Is Home To America's Oldest Seaside Resort

We all know that New Jersey is home to America's first boardwalk, first baseball game and first drive-in theater, but did you know we are home to America's oldest seaside resort?

Can you imagine staying at a seaside resort that people were staying at in the early 1800's? It's true. This amazing place opened in 1816 as a boarding house and is now known as America's oldest seaside resort.

It's a bit of a trip down the Parkway. You'll have to go about 40 miles south of that historic Atlantic City boardwalk we were talking about earlier. We are talking about the huge and amazing Congress Hall.

As a matter of fact, the Hall was so big that when it opened, locals thought it was too big to be a success, and here we are 204 years later, still talking about it. And you can see some great photos of the original building at the Congress Hall website.

One name that came up from many locals is Spring Lake's Essex & Sussex, which is now condos. It actually had it's humble beginnings in 1882, over a half-century after Congress Hall.