Barnegat Bay History

Native Americans

Early inhabitants of the region surrounding Barnegat Bay included the Lenni Lenape tribe also known as the Delaware Indians.    The Lenni Lenape would leave their winter homes inland and venture to the shore where they would spend the summer gathering clams, and preparing them for use during the upcoming winter.   Leftover shells were used to make wampum (their form of money).  After gathering enough for the winter, they would travel back inland to their winter homes.   Piles of oyster, clam and mussel shells in Tuckerton and Brigantine dating from before European settlement suggest shellfish were important in Lenni Lenape's diet.   Learn more about the Lenni Lenape at http://www.anthro4n6.net/lenape/

Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was the English navigator who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1609 and became the first European to sail up what is now the Hudson River in New York.   Hudson sailed along the coast of New Jersey coming to an inlet which he named Barende-gat, a Dutch word meaning an inlet with breakers. This name was replaced by Barndegat by early mapmakers and later evolved into the present day spelling of Barnegat