Sea Breeze is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located within Fairfield Township in

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. It is located on the shores of the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inlan ...

History

In 1887, steamboat travel between Philadelphia and Sea Breeze began. After two aspiring businessmen from Gloucester restored an old Civil War boat (named the John A. Warner), a regular service was run throughout the summer to Sea Breeze's amusement pier. Later that year, The Warner House opened at Sea Breeze. The Warner house was a 40-room hotel, complete with a bar, and offered bathing as well as numerous recreational activities to visitors. Annual clambakes and boat races were also held. The Warner House burned down in 1890. By the early 20th century, Jesse Smith built Sea Breeze's second hotel, The Seabreeze Hotel. During this time a man named Harry Griffith would rent rowboats on the bay, and is alleged to have provided alcohol during Prohibition. The new hotel suffered a similar fate as the Warner House and was destroyed by a fire in the 1940s. Following the repeal of Prohibition, Griffith obtained a liquor license and opened the Sea Breeze tavern. Although it started out in a nearby barge, it later expanded to three rooms. By the 1940s, Griffith's daughter Mae had added food to the tavern. Although Harry Griffith died in the 1960s, the tavern was run by his family up until 1985, when it was destroyed by

Hurricane Gloria Hurricane Gloria was a powerful hurricane that caused significant damage along the east coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the n ...

. The hamlet is home to a small community of seasonal homes and does not have many year round residents. There is one road in Sea Breeze, Beach Avenue and it is unpaved. There are no marinas or businesses, but Sea Breeze is still used by salt water fisherman and bird watchers. In November 2008, six of the 19 homeowners in Sea Breeze asked the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff o ...

to buy their properties. A recently constructed seawall had been badly damaged by the waves, leaving the properties at great risk. On May 17, 2010,

NJN News NJN News was a half-hour daily broadcast television news program by the New Jersey Network which also aired in New York City on WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television ...

reported the remaining homeowners have agreed to sell their property to the state. In August 2010, two of the homes burned down. In July 2011 another home burned down. In early January 2012, the state and EPA tore down the houses.

References

External links

Fairfield Township
{{Cumberland County, New Jersey Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Cumberland County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey