The area of Barnegat Light was once referred to as "Barnegat Beach", a neighbor of Barnegat Township. Most of that land was purchased by Bornt Slaght who was an American Revolutionary War veteran. He built a small house, and in 1821, a hotel. In the late 1820s, he sold the hotel to Jacob Herring. In 1834, the first Barnegat Lighthouse was built, which stood 40 feet tall and was painted white. In 1854, John Maxon Brown purchased most of the land that makes up today's Barnegat Light which included the former Slaght/Herring Hotel. That hotel was renamed the "Ashley House". In 1857, the former lighthouse collapsed in the Inlet. A replacement one was built from 1857-1859.
In 1874, the Brown family sold the "Ashley House" to Charlie Martin, who was a former manager and cook. In 1881, the Barnegat City Improvement Company was formed by Benjamin Franklin Archer, William F. Bailey, and a group of investors from Camden, New Jersey. The area would then be named "Barnegat City". Back then, Barnegat City was once part of Barnegat Township. In 1899, Barnegat City became part of Long Beach Township after it was formed. In 1904, Barnegat City became independent. In 1948, Barnegat City was renamed as "Barnegat Light" after a referendum to honor the Barnegat Lighthouse and to distinguish itself from Barnegat Township. It is still present as a town on Long Beach Island.
Barnegat Park was established in 1887 by the "Barnegat Park Company", which was a group of ex-Army and Navy officers. Lt. Edward Samuel Farrow was behind the entire planning. The size of Barnegat Park was approximately 300 acres with an additional 4,000 acres of land set aside for hunting. Barnegat Park was developed for veterans of the U.S. Civil War and their families as a retirement community. A bank, post office, store, and railroad depot were built in 1888. A massive hotel called "The Pines" was built in 1890.
Notices were sent out to barracks out West encouraging people to purchase plots, most were sized around 25x100 feet, at Barnegat Park. Howeverm only 13 homes were ever built. In 1892, the community went into receivership for charges of fraud and malfesance. Lt. Farrow himself would be court martialed due to a fraudulent deed. On October 21st, 1893, a majority of the buildings were destroyed in a fire, which was considered suspicious. The Pines, which there are no known images of, only engravings, was destroyed on July 5th, 1895 by a fire as well.
Barnegat Pines was developed by the Barnegat Pines Realty Co., Inc. Thomas T. Graham was the President behind Barnegat Pines. His vision was to make it the "...greatest resort in the Country, where thousands of people will enjoy the many advantages which nature has so abundtly bestowed in that section...". Norman A. Graham was the Vice-President and General Manager. It is still present as a neighborhood today.
The name "Barnegat" in Marblehead, Massachusetts refers to the area where the town of Marblehead was founded. The early settlers landed in "Barnegat" and it is believed that is where Marblehead's independence came about. While their early records don't mention anything about their use of the name "Barnegat", it is believed that it either could of been from a "Barnegat" in England, a Jacob Barney of Salem who owned some land nearby, or quite possibly from Barnegat Township, New Jersey.
While information about the Barnegat Ranch is scattered, it is believed that this ranch was located on Spenceville Road in Grass Valley, California. They sold pasteruized pastry cream and other dairy related products. It was previously owned by Harry B. Cox, and John B. Pharo. In 1953, John H. Oakie, and Barbara M. Bennett purchased the property, and were known throughout California for their innovative approach to animal husbandry.
This book was written by Delia Goetz and is about the journey of an elderly couple and their grandchildren purchasing a Mexican burro and having it shipped to their home in Connecticut.
There were two ships named the "U.S.S. Barnegat". The first one (SP-1232) was built in 1891 for the Luckenbach Steamship Co. as "Luckenbach Tug No. 1". On October 12th, 1917, the United States Navy acquired the ship and it was assigned the number 1232. On October 30th, 1917, it was renamed "Barnegat". It was in service during World War I and was sent to Brest, France for towing services. On November 28th, 1919, the boat arrived at Norfolk and was most likely decommissioned. No records of its decommissioning have been found as of yet. She was operated in the Delaware River by the Army Corps of Engineers from 1920 until around 1923. It is unclear what happened to the ship afterwards.
The second U.S.S. Barnegat (AVP-10) was built on October 27th, 1939 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington. It was launched on May 23rd, 1941 and was in service during World War II. She received one battle star for her service during the War. On May 17th, 1946, it was decommissioned and no longer saw active service. The Maritime Administration later sold the U.S.S. Barnegat to "Kavounides Shipping Co., Ltd" in Greece. The ship was renamed "MV Kentavros" and was a cruise ship. In 1986, the Kentavros was scrapped at Eleusis, Greece.