Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo speaks about the history of the Coast Guard on Absecon Island, Friday, July 14, 2023.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – The U.S. Coast Guard is a deep-rooted part of the borough’s history, and Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo, a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, wants to have the borough designated a national “Coast Guard Community.”
On Friday, July 21, Russo provided members of the community with a history of how the Coast Guard got started in Atlantic City and Longport. The talk was part of the Longport Public Library’s ongoing educational programming focusing on the history of Longport. The borough is celebrating its Quasquicentennial, or 125th anniversary this year.
Russo said Team Coast Guard includes all facets of the community, including active duty military, reserves, the auxiliary, of which he is an active member, civilian employees and those who are retired.
“The biggest part of the development of Atlantic City was the railroad coming from Camden,” Russo said.
Although there was no bridge connecting Philadelphia to New Jersey, 1853 vacationers heading to the newly founded Atlantic City, took a ferry to cross the Delaware River, and boarded the train in Camden.
Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo stands in front of a framed story he wrote about the history of the Coast Guard in Longport.
Russo said it took four hours to get to Atlantic City on open trains that had no windows. He said those coming to see the ocean would often carry shoe boxes containing their lunches, which is how the term “shoobies,” got started.
“The railroads were powerful then and were the driving force in getting hotels developed on Absecon Island,” he said. “The largest hotel in Atlantic City in those days was the United States Hotel.”
The hotels invested in boat tours as an amenity to offer their guests, and eventually the guests discovered the southern end of the island in Longport.
A swing bridge provided access for the railroad to get onto Absecon Island. A train accident in 1880s plunged the passenger rail cars vertically into the marsh and many people drowned.
“Longport was founded as a result of what was going on in Atlantic City,” Russo said.
The Coast Guard was established in 1915 after years of being called the U.S. Lifesaving Service to serve as small lifesaving stations along the coast. All were named after bodies of water. They would go out to rescue boats and ships at sea. Longport had stations at several locations over the years and the boats were all powered by “surfmen,” he said.
Because ocean transportation was important in delivering goods all along the East Coast, the Intracoastal Waterway provided an alternative means of transportation along the western portion of the barrier islands.
Longport Historical Society Museum was once a U.S. Coast Guard Station,
A station was built at 32nd Avenue but was eventually torn down after becoming infested by termites. The Coast Guard relocated to 23rd Avenue in 1938 where it served as a station for the next six years. The building, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, still stands and currently houses the Longport Historical Society Museum next door to Borough Hall, which was originally built as the Betty Bacharach Home for Afflicted Children. The boathouse at the rear of the property now houses the Longport Beach Patrol.
In the early days, the Coast Guard assisted the volunteers of the Police and Fire departments, Russo said. Historical documents indicate the Coast Guard assisted volunteers to extinguish a marine fire, considered to be “the greatest in the history of Longport,” according to Lt. James S. Turner of the Coast Guard Station Atlantic City.
Turner contributed greatly to the history of the Coast Guard and the borough. He was a member of the Coast Guard from 1920-1934 and later became the first chief of the Longport Beach Patrol. He was the sole survivor of the valiant rescue of the sloop, Anna, which claimed the lives of five Coast Guardsmen. Longport Beach Patrol honors Turner with the annual Capt. Turner Swim.
During World War II, the U.S. Army and Coast Guard patrolled the beaches for German submarines, and personnel were housed in the hotels. Resorts, the former Haddon Hall hotel, and its sister hotel, Chalfont, served as military hospitals during the war.
Russo says that the history of the Coast Guard on Absecon Island and the borough are so closely related, that he would like to see the borough named a national “Coast Guard Community.”
He has filed the initial paperwork for the Coast Guard to consider granting the designation. The application includes evidence of the close relationship, such as installation last November of a commemorative plaque and brick pavers in Thomas B. Reed Memorial Park dedicated to the five Coast Guardsmen who perished in the Anna rescue. The Longport Volunteer Fire Department also maintains a 25-foot former Coast Guard rescue boat, which has retrieved wayward sailors from the waters around Absecon Island.
“The residents and visitors of Longport are very proud of not only the historical relationship, but especially the current relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard,” he said. “Longport feels it is a Coast Guard Community.”
State and federal officials will be asked for letters of support to send to the Atlantic City Station Commander and Admiral of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard Community is designated by the Coast Guard and U.S. Congress. Only 25 communities across the country have obtained the coveted designation. Cape May City, where the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center is located, obtained the designation in 2015 and was recertified in 2021.
Russo said he will soon be putting together a committee charged with forming a foundation, one of the requirements for obtaining the designation.
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