A Brief History of the Settlement & Development of
Avalon

The first local owner of Seven Mile Island was Aaron Leaming who purchased it from the West Jersey Society December 26, 1722 for 106 lb Old currency
 The Property was specified as
The Seven Mile Beach, bounded on the east by the “main ocean or sea,” the north by Townsends
Inlet, the south by Little
Hereford Inlet, and on the west
“by the creeks and sounds that are flowed with water from three quarters flood to one quarter ebb.”

 The earliest use of Seven Mile
Island was salt production, whaling cooperatives, and free range cattle. The island was used in this way throughout the entirety of the 18 th and half of the 19 th century.
 Photograph: This photo taken in 1889 by Dr. Henry Watson, suggest that efforts by Mr. Will
Barnett to corral and remove cattle from Seven Mile Beach were not as successful as once thought.

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An Island on a See-saw:
Seven Mile Beach saw five separate owners over 115 years
Island Transactions and
Deed changes
December 26, 1772 West Jersey
Society to Aaron Leaming for 102
LB’s old currency.
June 16, 1854-J Leaming to J Silver for $12,000.
January 16, 1855-J. Silver to Henry
Tatham for $5,500.
February 1, 1856-Henry Tatham to
George Tatham for $15,000.
April 1, 1887-George Tatham to
Joseph Wells & Frank Siddall of the Seven Mile Beach Company for $125,000
“Old Limerick” the Leaming family Homestead

 Huge changes awaited Seven
Mile Island after the Tatham sale to the Seven Mile Beach
Company, first of which required George Tatham to remove an extensive collection of livestock, farming, and boating equipment. Tatham advertised the auction in the
Cape May Wave. RIGHT: The ad for the Tatham auction in the
Cape May Wave May 21, 1887.

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Above: This early view of 22 nd street east of 2 nd with its hidden grove of trees is a reminder of the towns wild beginnings.
The town was named by the Reverend Charles H. Bond, secretary of the Seven Mile Beach Company, and brother of
Margaret Wells. Mr. Bond was a devoted fan of King Arthur
& the knights of the Round Table, and named the island after the place of legend where king Arthur was said to be buried.

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The late 19 th & early 20 th century were a time of immense change in Avalon.
A beach front hotel, a beach drive, construction of a seawall, a boardwalk, & the production of homes (by
Cape May contractor Enos
Williams) turned Avalon into a respectable beachfront resort.
Right-George Rummel’s
Hotel Peermont during construction in 1888. A two story pavilion with bath houses would be constructed of camera.

Right: The Hotel Avalon after its move in 1893. The first location proved unserviceable due to erosion and the weather.
While much of the building survived the move
400 feet back to the northwest side of First
Avenue , the impressive tower would be removed sometime after the first move.

By July of 1888 the
West Jersey Railroad was bringing excursionist to
Avalon. For the first time Avalon was easily accessible via the train across
Towsends Inlet bridge. Thousands were introduced to
Avalon’s beauty .

 Like any growing community Avalon found itself in the need of a school. While school district 35 was under construction classes were held in the
Lambert cottage.
Minnie Tucker was the first teacher and was paid $175 for the 1892/93 school year.

 Like any resort community the beachgoers safety was becoming more and more evident. Life saving service had been created in 1848, and by the time Avalon came to prominence the service was professionally run.

The main draw of Avalon’s past, present, and future is the charm of the beach…..Photo’s from the 1920’s.

While many of the island’s early homes were compact & affordable there also existed wonderful pieces of architecture listed as cottages.
These giants were Victorian in nature and harkened back to early 19 th century gilded age splendor.