| Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey |
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Little Egg Harbor Township is a Township in Ocean County , New Jersey , United States . As of the United States 2000 Census , the township population was 15,945. Little Egg Harbor Township was formed on February 13 , 1740 , as Egg Harbour Township from portions of Northampton Township (now Mount Holly Township ), while the area was still part of Burlington County . It was incorporated as one of New Jersey's original 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21 , 1798 . While in Burlington County, portions of the township were taken to form Washington Township ( November 19 , 1802 ) and Bass River Township ( March 30 , 1864 ). Little Egg Harbor Township became part of Ocean County on March 30 , 1891 , after which further portions of the township were annexed to create Long Beach Township ( March 23 , 1899 ) and Tuckerton ( February 18 , 1901 )."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 203. Mystic Island (2000 Census population of 8,694) is a Census-designated Place and Unincorporated Area in the southern part of the township. The borough of Tuckerton is within the township but is politically independent. Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton share the same ZIP code. HISTORY Originally part of Burlington County , Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg Harbor by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first known account of the town was made by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen May in 1614. The first man to settle the township was Hanry Jacobs Falkinburg Sr. He arrived a little before 1698 and would trade with the local Native Americans, giving him farmland and plots of land known now as Wills Island and Osborn Island. Later, as Falkinburg could speak fluent Lenni Lenape , he acted as an interpreter between the Indians and settlers. In October 1778, the Little Egg Harbor Massacre took place as Patrick Ferguson was wreaking havoc on Colonial shipping in the Mullica River , Kazimierz Pułaski and his newly raised forces were ordered to oppose his actions. Pulaski's Legion, along with three companies of light infantry, three troops of light horse, and one artillery detachment, came too late to be of great use against Ferguson's operations. But their arrival did stop Ferguson from raiding the iron works at Batsto , and stemmed their attacks on privateers at The Forks of the Mullica River. They then set up camp on a farm. A deserter, Lt. Gustav Juliet, found Ferguson and told him of Pulaski's encampment; he mentioned that morale was fairly low, and security almost nonexistent, so that a surprise attack would be devastating. Ferguson promptly loaded 250 of his best men onto boats and rowed them, in the dark, some ten miles (16 km) to Osborne Island. He then marched them a further two miles (3 km) to the site of the infantry outpost, which comprised fifty men a short distance from the main encampment. At first light, Ferguson ordered the attack; only five of his quarry were taken alive. Pulaski eventually led his mounted troops up, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats minus a few men that had fallen into the colonists' hands. A memorial on Radio Road commemorates the attack. One of the first recorded ships of the township was a sloop belonging to Thomas Ridgway Sr. John Mathis Sr. also had a ship which his son, Daniel, sailed the West Indian routes. They made a profit from selling clams and oysters. The Tuckerton Wireless Tower () was built in 1912 by the German "Hochfrequenzmaschin Aktiengesellschaft Fuer Drachtlose Telegraphie" company (The High Frequency Machine Corporation for Wireless Telegraphy, often referred to as HOMAG) when the present-day are still visible in the lagoons. Remains of the large tower can be seen in scraps at the Giffordtown Museum . LITTLE EGG HARBOR TODAY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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