Cliffwood Beach 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) located within Aberdeen Township in Monmouth County,

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 ...

.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, August 2012. Accessed December 14, 2012. As of the

2010 U.S. census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the CDP's population was 3,194.DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Cliffwood Beach CDP, New Jersey
,

. Accessed August 4, 2012.

History

Matawan Township was incorporated on February 23, 1857. This included a portion of Middletown Point (now Matawan Borough), a portion Mt. Pleasant (renamed Freneau in 1890) and Matawan (or "Matavan" or Matawan Point) beach. The beach area of Matawan Township would later be renamed Cliffwood Beach. A Cliffwood Beach directional sign is seen briefly in the 1939 documentary '' The City'' (with music by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

). An unending traffic jam getting to the beach is used in the film as an endemic problem of unplanned growth. Cliffwood Beach was purchased in 1860 by Henry Clark, who planned on creating a resort community. Although the concept initially failed, in 1923, the company of Morrisey and Walker, created the concept of a resort community in Cliffwood Beach, with summer bungalows complementing the emerging resorts of the Jersey shoreline of the 1920s. The real estate sales offices of Morrisey and Walker was a local attraction in of itself, being contracted in the appearance of a pirate ship, as an homage to the lore of Captain Kidd and his treasure and Treasure Lake in Cliffwood Beach. In 1924, a one-mile boardwalk was constructed along the shoreline of Cliffwood Beach. In 1926 the Country Club Casino was built along the cliff walk, overlooking Treasure Lake. Also in 1926, the Cat 'n Fiddle restaurant opened, along with a Merry-Go-Round and an arcade. In 1928, construction began for a salt water pool adjacent to the boardwalk and Treasure Lake. Completed in 1929, it was a state attraction, frequented by Olympic Medalists- George Kojak and Johnny Weissmullen. Weissmullen later became famous for his role as "Tarzan." Cliffwood Beach was a popular resort until the 1950s, with a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

, saltwater swimming pool, dining and dancing at The Cat 'n Fiddle, and other amusements. The beachfront facilities were destroyed by a series of hurricanes in 1954 . In 1955 Hurricane Diane destroyed all that had remained of Cliffwood Beach's amusements, with the exception of the saltwater pool. Cliffwood Beach was an early recipient of aid through 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 ...

's Green Acres Programbr>
which was established in 1961. The township received funds to build a park near the Cliffwood Beach waterfront. The tennis courts have since been converted to an enclosed in-line skating arena, and the original playground equipment and two basketball courts have been upgraded. It was featured in ''

Weird NJ ''Weird NJ'' (sometimes abbreviated ''WNJ'') is a semi-annual magazine that chronicles local legends, purported hauntings, ghost stories, folklore, unusual places or events, and other peculiarities in New Jersey. The magazine originated in 1989 as ...

'' magazine's Issue #28. The article, "Cliffwood Beach: A Forgotten Resort", recounted the abrupt manner in which the town was forgotten. Nothing remains of any of the boardwalk amusements except for the large swimming pool, which lies abandoned and filled with debris. On August 8, 2017, the township opened the beachfront Veterans Park, which includes a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

-ship themed spray park for all ages; two pirate themed playgrounds, one for kids 2-5 and the other 5–12; a picnic grove with shade, a multi-purpose field for

little league Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, and soccer; a kayak and small water craft launch; a

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

/band shell; a flagpole and War Veteran's Memorial Monument; and a restroom/equipment/storage building. On July 19, 2018, the township completed and opened the Aberdeen Sea Walk, a half-mile trail that primarily runs along the original damaged

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

, and it features 9 fishing outcrops, 15 outlooks, several benches, and a gazebo. There are 38 LED pathway lights as well as several security cameras to prevent vandalism. A five-foot

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

boardwalk outlet path was added by the gazebo to the beach. The project fully connected Beach Dr. and Lakeshore Dr., creating the first fully connected recreational infrastructure for the first time in decades.

Geography

According to the

, the CDP had a total area of 0.960 square miles (2.486 km²), including 0.908 square miles (2.353 km²) of land and 0.052 square miles (0.133 km²) of water (5.42%).US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990

. Accessed September 4, 2014. Cliffwood Beach is located north of Route 35 and is bounded by Keyport on the east and Laurence Harbor on the west. The community faces

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Per ...

, including a portion of Keyport Harbor, and Matawan Creek separates Cliffwood Beach from Keyport. To the west, a section of Cliffwood Beach is part of Old Bridge Township in neighboring Middlesex County. The counties are separated by Whale Creek, which is spanned near the bayfront by a concrete bridge. Cliffwood Beach is the home of Guadalcanal Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post Number 4745, which is used as a community hall, rental facility, and polling place for elections. Adjacent to the VFW Post is Veterans of Foreign Wars Park (VFW Park), which contains Alvin Ross Memorial Field. The field, which has two softball diamonds, backstops, team benches and bleachers, is used for local children's and adults' softball and soccer leagues scheduled by the Aberdeen Township Department of Parks and Recreation. The Aberdeen Township Public Service Facility on Lenox Road is the maintenance and recycling facility for the township.

Education

Cliffwood Beach, as a part of Aberdeen, is served by the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District. Cliffwood Beach is also home of the Yeshiva Gedolah of Cliffwood, an institution for advanced

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic studies. Headed by Rabbi Shimon Alster, who founded the Yeshiva in September 2004, this institution supplies guidance for young rabbinic scholars, in the areas of

ic exegesis, Jewish law and ethics, and intensive Bible study.

Demographics

Census 2010

Census 2000

As of the 2000 U.S. census, there were 3,538 people, 1,149 households, and 881 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,468.8/km² (3,809.2/mi²). There were 1,178 housing units at an average density of 489.1/km² (1,268.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.60%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 15.04%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.31% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 2.88% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.81% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 9.78% of the population.DP-1 - Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 from the Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Woodbridge CDP, New Jersey
,

. Accessed December 14, 2012. There were 1,149 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.37. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $57,098, and the median income for a family was $61,875. Males had a median income of $44,856 versus $32,714 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $22,874. About 5.0% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

provides local bus service on the

817 __NOTOC__ Year 817 ( DCCCXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Louis I issues an ''Ordinatio Imperii'', an imperial de ...

route.Monmouth County Bus / Rail connections

, backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

as of July 26, 2010. Accessed August 4, 2012.

New Jersey Route 35 Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey, primarily traveling through the easternmost parts of Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. It runs from the entrance to Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township, Ocean County ...

runs along the area, being the dividing line between Cliffwood Beach and Cliffwood.

References

External links

2006-07 Installation of Officers
{{Monmouth County, New Jersey Census-designated places in Monmouth County, New Jersey Raritan Bayshore Aberdeen Township, New Jersey