Getting Around Somers Point - Somers Point NJ - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Due to its location on the water, this area has historically been a transportation hub. In 1717, John Somers, Supervisor of Roads for Cape May County, began work on the Nacote Trail. Now known as Shore Road, it connects Somers Point with Port Republic and Tuckerton. It also connects Somers Point with Mays Landing. This was the first of many area roads to have its terminus here and the ease of travel it allowed helped to grow this ship building port.

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the main forms of mass transportation in this part of New Jersey were travel by sea or by overland wagons and stagecoaches traveling on rutted dirt roads. Growth though was slow, as overland travel was still arduous. This began to change in the latter part of the 19th Century with the advent of the railroad. Train lines were not only instrumental in the development of seashore resorts but were responsible for the connection and expansion of mainland towns as well.

Beginning in 1880, trains that became known as the Shore Fast Line connected Atlantic City and Ocean City by way of Pleasantville and Somers Point. Near this spot, the southbound trains turned east and headed towards the bay. The remainder of the trip to the ocean was by way of ferry until 1907, when a train bridge was constructed. This rail service made its final run on January 18, 1948.

(Inscription under the Stage Coach placard) Facsimile of Stage coach placard (p62-300 Years at the Point: A History of Somers Point New Jersey, William E. Kelley. Somers Point: Magic Image Productions, Inc 1994)

Group that erected the marker: NJ Department of Environmental Protection*Division of Parks and Forestry. URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: intersection of Shore Road and George Street Somers Point , NJ USA 08244

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Date Logged Log   09/26/2021 Don.Morfe visited it