Neptune and Shark River Hills

Neptune and Shark River Hills are neighboring New Jersey towns that grew from two different but distinctly American traditions. Neptune is the child of traditional agrarian roots, developing from a patchwork of early 1800s farmsteads into an urbanized shore hub intersected by major highways. Shark River Hills lay undeveloped until the 1920s, and it was American entrepreneurism that sparked its development as a planned community. "The Hills" was a buyers' package pitched to the dream of owning a summer place at the Jersey shore. Images from 1800 to 1980 document the evolution of these coastal towns from shore wilderness to modern communities, just a toll's throw from New Jersey's Garden State Parkway. Farmsteads and country values characterized early Neptune. Captured here are images of the area's schoolhouses, fire companies, merchants, and townspeople. Resurrected are fondly remembered landmarks like Storyland Village and the Neptune Music Circus. Celebrated are Neptune natives such as actor Jack Nicholson, explorer Ike Schlossbach, football star Bob Davis, and rock 'n roller Southside Johnny. Scenes of Shark River Hills from the early 1900s offer a window into a simpler time in an idyllic place, when locals worked and played on "Shack River." Images of summer sojourners beckon from riverbank clambakes, dockside competitions, and country club socials. A year-round bedroom community today, few recall "The Hills" Poor Farm, its daredevil aviator, or the treasure rumored to be buried in "Money Hill."