Sea Isle City

History

Sea Isle City was founded in 1882 by Charles K. Landis, who was also the founder of Vineland, New Jersey. The main street in town, Landis Avenue, is named for its founder. The oldest building in Sea Isle City is The Colonnade Inn, a Victorian building dating back to the 1800s. From 1885 until 1924, Sea Isle City was the location of Ludlam's Beach Lighthouse. The structure was moved to the corner of Landis Avenue and 35th Street (3414 Landis Avenue), and was a private residence (offered for rental) for many years. A non-profit group, The Friends of the Ludlam Beach Lighthouse, was unsuccessful in its efforts to raise enough money to save the building from demolition by moving it to a new location and restoring it. It was demolished on September 21, 2010, to make way for new town homes. The oil tanker MV Sea Isle City was renamed for this city when it was reflagged and registered in the United States in 1987 during Operation Earnest Will. It was struck by a Silkworm missile off Kuwait on October 16, 1987, wounding 18 crew members and seriously damaging the ship. There have been many hurricanes and huge storms that have hit the small island of Sea Isle City, New Jersey. The storms of the 1890s, 1920s, and the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane have been some of the worst natural disasters to hit the coast of New Jersey. The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, a major Nor'easter that hit on March 6, 1962, tops all other storms that have hit the area in the recent past, with three days of continuous rain. Many people evacuated in time to save their lives, but came back to find their homes and assets destroyed. Eventually, the only way out of town was the causeway, and when that flooded, rescuers had to use helicopters to evacuate the rest of the town. It was categorized as a…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.75 square miles (7.13 km2), including 2.20 square miles (5.71 km2) of land and 0.55 square miles (1.42 km2) of water (19.93%). The city contains a small Italian-American enclave and community known as Fish Alley, formed by poor Italian immigrant fishermen and their families. The enclave, originally consisting of shanties, contains various docks, ports, and Venetian-style canals, and it still serves as a port and home for multigenerational Italian-American fishermen. Fish Alley is also home to various dockside Italian seafood restaurants that are largely supplied by, owned by, and sustained by the Sea Isle City Italian-American fisherman community. Sea Isle City borders Avalon Borough, Dennis Township, Middle Township, and Upper Township, along with the Atlantic Ocean.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,301
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  23,636
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  17,781
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,573
• Osprey

  Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,304
• Great Black-backed Gull

  Larus marinus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,216
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,084
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,703

Largest nearby schools

• Middle Township High School
  High · CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE · 790 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Middle Township Elementary #1
  Elementary · CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE · 657 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Middle Township Elementary #4
  Middle · CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE · 594 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Cape May County Technical High School
  High · CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE · 553 students · 8.5:1 ratio
• Middle Township Elementary #2
  Elementary · CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE · 536 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Upper Township Primary School
  Elementary · MARMORA · 493 students · 13:1 ratio
• Upper Township Middle School
  Middle · PETERSBURG · 469 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• Upper Township Elementary School
  Elementary · MARMORA · 437 students · 11.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2017-11-30
  3 km NNE of Little Creek, Delaware
• M 2.78 — 2009-07-01
  3 km ESE of Pennsville, New Jersey