Ship Bottom Water Depart

Ship Bottom Water Depart Municipal Water Report Info

Ship Bottom is frequently referred to as the "Gateway to Long Beach Island" because of the Causeway that connects the Borough to the mainland. The name Ship Bottom ranks among the oldest place names on Long Beach Island. According to local historian John Bailey Lloyd, author of "Six Miles at Sea," the name originated from an unusual shipwreck in March 1817.

The captain of a schooner traveling southward was navigating through dense fog when he heard cries from the shoreline direction. Encountering a northbound schooner, he alerted Captain Stephen Willets of Tuckerton about a possible vessel in distress near shore. Despite being unable to see through the fog or hear anything beyond their own ship's bell, Willets and his crew rowed along the outer bar for hours searching for the endangered ship.

Eventually, they spotted a dark shape – a ship's hull overturned in the reefs. Bodies hung from the rigging and bobbed in the freezing sea. As one of Willets' men climbed aboard the stranded vessel, he heard tapping beneath his feet – someone trapped inside the barnacle-covered hull. Willets chopped a hole in the ship's bottom and, after much effort, freed a young woman trapped inside. Though she spoke no English, after being brought ashore, she drew a cross in the sand as thanks. Her name and the ship's identity were never recorded, but the location became known as "Ship Bottom."

Ship Bottom became Life Saving Station #20 in 1872, with the first permanent residence established in 1898 by Captain Wesley Truex, the station's keeper. A community quickly developed around the unit. On January 18, 1910, the Italian vessel Fortuna ran aground on the 16th Street beach during thick fog. The captain and crew were rescued, but the ship overturned in soft sand. The wrecked Fortuna remained on its side at Beach Arlington throughout most of 1910 until being dismantled for salvage. Dedicated volunteers recovered the abandoned anchor, which now stands before Ship Bottom Borough Hall honoring the island's maritime history, maintained by Mike of Mayetta Painting and Staining.

Eventually the towns of Bonnie Beach, Bonnet Beach, Edgewater Beach, Beach Arlington and Ship Bottom merged to form the borough on May 25, 1925. The town was known as Ship Bottom-Beach Arlington until 1947 when it was simplified to Ship Bottom.