Plumber in Sea Bright,NJ, Monmouth County

In the early 1840s, the area of present-day Sea Bright was a fishing community of simple shacks near the beach dunes; Ocean House, the area’s first hotel, opened in 1842, featuring access to fishing and sea bathing. The area was called “Nauvoo”, a Native American word, meaning “bright sea”. An alternative explanation, which the borough credits as the source, is that the name is derived from the Hebrew language meaning “pleasant place,” which was the same name that Mormon leader Joseph Smith gave to Nauvoo, the Illinois town he founded in 1839. Smith is said to have visited Monmouth County during a missionary journey in 1840.

The first bridge across the Shrewsbury River connecting Sea Bright to Rumson was constructed in 1870. After several iterations of the bridge, Monmouth County has announced plans for a replacement of the existing span built in 1950 that connects to Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright with a new bridge that would be completed in 2020 at a site south of the current crossing.

The Sea Bright Skiff was developed on the Jersey Shore in the early 19th century for fishing offshore, by being launched through the surf and returned to shore.