Long Branch is a beachside city in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 31,667, an increase of 948 (+3.1%) from the 2010 census count of 30,719, which in turn reflected a decline of 621 (−2.0%) from the 31,340 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023. As of the 2020 census, it was the 6th-most-populous municipality in Monmouth County and had the 74th-highest population of any municipality in New Jersey.
Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township. Long Branch was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1903, based on the results of a referendum, replacing the Long Branch Commission.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 181. Accessed May 29, 2024.
History
Long Branch emerged as a beach resort town in the late 18th century, named for its location along a branch of the South Shrewsbury River.Encyclopædia Britannica In the 19th century, theatrical performers of the day often gathered and performed there. It was visited by many Presidents during the Gilded Age, including Chester A. Arthur, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson, along with President Donald Trump in the modern era.Calderón, Jenna. :Trump coming to Jersey Shore fundraiser for NY gubernatorial candidate",' Asbury Park Press, September 1, 2022. Accessed September 6, 2022. "Former President Donald Trump is expected to be at the Chera family home in Long Branch this weekend, supporting a fundraiser for New York congressman Lee Zeldin as he runs for governor. The event, scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4, will not be Trump's first appearance at the home. He's held two fundraisers of his own there in the past: one in 2016 during his first presidential campaign, and another in 2020."(2006) The Year in Review, The Long Branch Historical Museum Association, Page 1. Seven Presidents Park, a park near the beach, is named in honor of the visits of the first seven of these presidents. The Church of the Presidents, where these same seven presidents worshiped, is the only structure left in Long Branch associated with them.Staff. "'Church of the Presidents' To Reopen in Long Branch", The New York Times, May 1, 1950. Accessed July 3, 2012. "'The Church of the Presidents', where Harrison, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, McKinley and Wilson are said to have been worshipers while on seashore vacations, will be reopened June 15 as a house of meditation and as a museum, the Rev. Christopher H. Snyder, vicar, announced today."
President Grant and his family summered at their beachfront cottage in Long Branch the first year of his presidency in 1869 and for most of the rest of Grant's life.Carino, Jerry. "In Long Branch, a President Slept Here – A Lot", Asbury Park Press, August 29, 2016. Accessed September 6, 2022. During this time, Long Branch came to be called the "summer capital". President James A. Garfield was brought to Long Branch in the hope that the fresh air and quiet might aid his recovery after being shot on July 2, 1881, an incident that left the assassin's bullet lodged in his spine. He died here on September 19, 1881, at age 49. The Garfield Tea House, constructed from railroad ties that had been laid to carry Garfield's train, is in Elberon.Williams, Carol Gorga. , Asbury Park Press, September 24, 2004. Accessed July 3, 2012. "One is the Garfield Tea House, a small structure that was built from the railroad ties used to lay the emergency track that transported a mortally wounded President Garfield from the Elberon train station to the oceanfront Franklyn Cottage, owned by railroad magnate Charles Franklyn, where the president died 12 days later."
The famous Long Branch Saloon of the American Old West, located in Dodge City, Kansas, was given its name by its first owner, William Harris, who had moved west from Long Branch, New Jersey, his hometown.Kansas Fun Facts and Trivia, Legends of America. Accessed January 8, 2018. "The Long Branch Saloon really did exist in Dodge City, Kansas. One of the owners, William Harris, was a former resident of Long Branch, New Jersey and named the saloon after his hometown in the 1880s."
Originally a resort town with a few hotels and large estates and many farms in the early 20th century, Long Branch grew in population. Italian, Irish and Jewish immigrants settled in during this period. During the 1930s, the city used government policies to enforce racial segregation against Blacks at local beaches, assigning all black applicants for beach passes to a single, segregated beach.Kahrl, Andrew W. "The North's Jim Crow", The New York Times, May 27, 2018. Accessed September 9, 2018. "In the 1930s, Long Branch, N.J., passed an ordinance requiring all residents to apply for a pass that would allow access to only one of the town's four public beaches. Town officials claimed the rule was meant to prevent overcrowding. Without exception, though, black applicants were assigned to the same beach and were denied entry to the others."Kahrl, Andrew W. "Free the Beach", Boston Review, May 21, 2018. Accessed September 9, 2018. "In the town of Long Branch, New Jersey, officials instituted a policy requiring beachgoers to first purchase a ticket that allowed them to access one of the town's four beaches. Which beach they could enjoy was at the seller's discretion. Without exception, African Americans received tickets for Beach 3 only."
By the 1950s, Long Branch like many other towns had developed new residential spots and housing to make room for the growing population. Many of the former farms of Long Branch were transformed into residential suburbs. Many of the estates and a few old historic resorts (with the addition of many new ones) still remain.
In the early 20th century, Long Branch lost much of its activity as a theater spot. In addition, the opening of the Garden State Parkway in the mid-1950s allowed shore visitors to access points further south, which added to Long Branch's decline. The civil unrest of the 1960s caused riots in neighboring Asbury Park, and many fled the shore cities for the suburban towns west of the beach. Decades later, the older, more dilapidated parts of the resort town were condemned and redeveloped, in part by using eminent domain legislation.
Long Branch continues to be a popular resort area. Many people from New York City travel or settle into the area to escape the crowded city and enjoy Long Branch's beaches.Lynn, Kathleen. "LIVING IN Long Branch, N.J.: A Shore City With a Mix of Styles and a Comeback Spirit" The New York Times, November 18, 2021. Accessed June 14, 2022.
Hurricane Sandy On October 29, 2012, Long Branch was one of many shore communities that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Although Sandy's winds were powerful, Long Branch's position between Long Beach Island and Sea Bright gave Long Branch a much larger wall of security because it could not be engulfed by surrounding waters. Despite this mainland advantage, there were still several instances of flooding in Long Branch during the storm. Many residents went without electricity for as long as two weeks. The boardwalk was destroyed; the city began rebuilding it in 2015, and it reopened in April 2016, making it the last boardwalk damaged by Sandy to be rebuilt.Spahr, Rob. "Last of N.J.'s Sandy-damaged boardwalks finally reopens", NJ Advance media for NJ.com, April 12, 2016. Accessed September 9, 2018. "Long Branch - The day after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Jersey Shore, city officials went out to check on the beachfront and found a destroyed boardwalk and the bluffs upon which it sat severely eroded.... On Monday afternoon - flanked by city, county and state officials and wearing shorts and sandals - Schneider cut through a ceremonial ribbon to finally mark the reopening of the boardwalk, which was the last in New Jersey to reopen after Hurricane Sandy."
Geography Long Branch takes its name from the "long branch" or south branch of the Shrewsbury River.Martin, George Castor. History of Asbury Park and Long Branch: Together with the Traditions of the Indians & Settlers of Monmouth & Ocean Counties, N.J., p. 2. Privately published, 1903. Accessed August 20, 2014. "Long Branch takes its name from a brook, a branch of the South Shrewsbury River which runs in a direct line northward along the coast.", Emporis. Accessed August 20, 2014.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 1, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 138. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed September 1, 2015.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 6.29 square miles (16.28 km2), including 5.12 square miles (13.27 km2) of land and 1.16 square miles (3.01 km2) of water (18.49%).
The city borders the Monmouth County communities of Deal, Monmouth Beach, Ocean Township, Oceanport and West Long Branch.Areas touching Long Branch, MapIt. Accessed February 26, 2020.Regional Location Map, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Accessed February 26, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
Neighborhoods
There are several distinct neighborhoods and areas in the City of Long Branch, each with its own character. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Branchport, East Long Branch, Elberon (served as ZIP Code 07740), Hollywood, Kensington Park, North Long Branch, Pleasure Bay and West End.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed May 15, 2015. Other areas include North End (once known as "Atlanticville"), Beachfront North and South (including Pier Village, adjacent to the site of the former Long Branch Pier at the foot of Laird Street), Downtown and Uptown. As the city's redevelopment initiatives continue to expand, the lower Broadway area (a portion of the city's Downtown) will become an Arts District.
In years past, Long Branch was a major destination for beachgoers, along with Asbury Park, and enjoyed an upscale connotation with tourists. Long Branch is home to Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, named for the United States presidents who visited the fashionable resort town, including Ulysses S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, Rutherford Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson and James Garfield.Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, Monmouth County Park System. Accessed January 8, 2018. "Long Branch was placed "on the map" in 1869 when President Grant made the city the nation's "Summer Capital," a tradition followed by Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley, and Wilson."
Long Branch's fame as the Nation's First Seaside Resort waned in the years following World War II."Refuges of the famous saw economic, political change", Asbury Park Press, October 19, 2006. Accessed July 10, 2007. "But the moderate climate and ocean bathing soon helped Long Branch develop a reputation as the nation's 'first seaside resort.'" The defining moment marking the end of this era occurred on June 8, 1987, when the largest fire in the history of the city destroyed the landmark amusement pier and adjoining Haunted Mansion, "Kid's World" Amusement Park and other businesses.Williams, Carol Gorga. , Asbury Park Press, June 8, 2007. Access January 17, 2011.
Climate