Here is another remarkable panoramic scene showing Stone Harbor’s expansive beach and fine elevate wooden promenade. This image resides in the Stone Harbor Museum archives and is contained in a wonderful booklet issued by the South Jersey Realty Company titled “STONE HARBOR, N. J.: SUMMER HOMES FOR SALE AND RENT SEASON 1917”.
The caption associated with this photo reads as follows: “Stone Harbor’s matchless beach: the longest widest continuous stretch of hard-packed sand formation on the New Jersey coast; nearly 300 feet wide from high to low tide and seven miles long. Bathing on this beach is absolutely safe, life lines being entirely unnecessary. A splendid boardwalk, 24 feet wide, and a mile and a quarter long, has been constructed along the beautiful strand, at a cost of $33,000. The above etching shows the 96th street approach”.
It should be said that the beach and the boardwalk were almost one and the same. As you can readily see, bathers can be seen sitting or congregating in the shade under the boardwalk to get relief from the hot summer sun. In fact, a couple of women strolling on the boardwalk are holding an umbrella as was often customary at this time. It certainly appears that the persons depicted in this photograph were enjoying a leisurely and relaxing day down at the Jersey shore. Remember what the motto for the Borough of Stone Harbor so succinctly states: “The Seashore At Its Best”.