Images from “Galilee” …
The Monmouth Beach area known as “Galilee” — located roughly from Central Road to the Sea Bright border — is a borough coastal spot rich in history and imagery. The name is derived from a biblical city in Israel.
This seaside area includes a once thriving commercial fishing village, railroad line and station, the US Life-Saving Service, US Coast Guard, NJ Marine Police, the historic building that once housed them (now the MB Cultural Center), and the St. Peter’s Church at Galilee. Throw in the shipwrecks, storms and seafood and the area has a real charm to it.
Here are some Galilee area images — and I’m always looking for more. Here’s my e-mail.
US Life-Saving Service station at Galilee, 1850s. The second station built in town, it was later moved to Long Branch and was briefly the “Bucktown School.”
Winter Skies — The US Cost Guard station in the background for massive pound boats, Newark Star-Ledger, November 1949.
Fish Stop — Galilee train station, 1903. The station was moved via rail north toward Sea Bright in November 1913. It endured a major fire in 1917, removed its railroad agent in 1929 and was abandoned in 1942.
By the Sea — A “fisherman’s shack” in Galilee, Newark-Star Ledger, May 1959.
That’s It? — An early seawall along Ocean Avenue in Galilee, 1940s. In 1955, a 1,500-foot-long section of stone sea wall was completed in Monmouth Beach. It measured 57-feet across the base and 12-feet across the top. The sea wall was 15-feet-high above Ocean Avenue. Up to 45,000 tons of quarry stone shipped in from Bound Brook, NJ was used.
Sea Thru — Raging storm waters busting through the wooden seawall gate along Ocean Avenue in Galilee, Red Bank Daily Register, March 1984. The early spring nor’easter (with 15-foot-high waves and 75+ mph winds) caused more than $80 million in damages in the borough alone. The scene made it all the way to the nation’s capitol when local congressman Jim Howard showed a US House Appropriation Committee the impact.
On Watch — US Coast Guard Station on Ocean Avenue, 1930s. The USCG held the grounds from 1915 to 1964. The small hut in back is the USCG kitchen.
Water Cops — NJ State Marine Police station on Ocean Avenue, 1982.
Ship-Shape — Jerolamon Boat Works in Galilee, July 1923. Started by Abram Jerolamon in 1861, it was the Shrewsbury River’s first ever boat-building business. Designer of the original “Sea Bright Dory,” he died in September 1909 at his Galilee home.
Left In the Wake — Jerolamon Boat Works remains, late 1960s. Abram’s son Willard ran the Galilee-based business until his son Harold took over in 1936. After a major workshop fire in 1948 and a rebuild, Ulrichsen-Wilson of Keyport acquired the business in March 1952 and operated until the boatyard went bust in June 1964. Harold “Holly” Jerolamon died in December 1957.
Presidential Angling — A gamey newspaper story about Abram Jerolamon and Benjamin Harrison — during the ex-President’s 1894 summer vacation in Monmouth Beach. Long Branch Daily Record, August 1930 “Gay Nineties Edition.” More about President Harrison and Monmouth Beach — HERE.
Maritime Master — Willard H. Jerolamon. Born in Jersey City, this skilled craftsman built “all type of crafts, both pleasure and commercial” before his June 1936 death. Among his specialties were yacht and sailboat construction for wealthy Rumson residents.
Sunk — The end of boat-building in Galilee. Red Bank Daily Register ad, June 1964.
US Coast Guard boat and crew, 1920s.
Mirimar Inn on Ocean Avenue, 1880s. Located in Galilee, it was originally call the Green Inn. Owned by Huga Hanf, it burned in September 1919. Local fishermen getting ready to hit the river spotted the blaze and roused five inn guests to safety just in time.
“Storm Tide” — Waves crest the sea wall on Ocean Avenue in Galilee, March 1962. The first stone seawall built in 1931 was about 17-feet- high.
Day After — Galilee storm damages on Ocean Avenue, February 1927. The St. Peter’s Church is visible in the background. The town’s first seawall made of wood was built in 1931. In May 1956, Thomas Procter Company and Jesse Howland & Sons won $650,000 in contracts to build 3,600-feet a stone seawall for Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright.
Town Gateway — Monmouth Beach Cultural Center, 2010s. The town’s ultimate “Pride of Place” location on Ocean Avenue is quite literally a “Home of Heroes.” Much more than a borough landmark — its compelling history and incomparable location demand that it be protected and promoted.
No Parking — A bevy of white-tailed deer gather near the MB Cultural Center on Ocean Avenue, April 2023 (Karen Manista Photo).
Mayor Lou Sodano (above) examines seawall damage in Galilee, late 1970s.
Shore Security — US Coast Guard Station on Ocean Avenue, 1930s. At Monmouth Beach “wrecks along this section of the coast were regular occurrences and the men were kept busy dragging half-drown people off the decks of stranded ships or out of the surf as the seas raged and the winds howled in snow and sleet and rain.” —Long Branch Daily Record, March 1937
Monmouth Beach Cultural Center, 2004.
Lockwood’s Sea Food market on the seawall along Ocean Avenue is hit by “mountainous seas,” November 1935.
Galilee fishermen and horses huling in the day’s catch, 1920s.
First US Life-Saving Station on the beach, 1857.
Full Boat — the pound boat Swan at Galilee, 1920s.
Horse team pulls in a massive pound boat at Galilee, 1930s.
Green Inn on Ocean Avenue in Galilee, 1908 — MORE INFO.
Galilee Glow — Monmouth Beach Cultural Center on Ocean Avenue amidst an autumnal sunset, September 2022 (MAC Photography).
US Coast Guard Station on Ocean Avenue, 1930s.
Galilee “free beach” in the Fall, October 2021 (MAC Photography).
US Coast Guard Station on Ocean Avenue, 1940s.
Galilee fishermen, 1880s.
Lockwood Family tribute at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center in Galilee, 2017 (Donated by Ned Higgins).
Surfmen from the US Life-Saving Service station #4 in Galilee, early 1900s.
Monmouth Beach Cultural Center on Ocean Avenue, 2022 (R.C. Staab Photo). During more than a century of service at this location were the US Life-Saving Service, US Coast Guard, and NJ Marine Police.
MB Cultural Center in Galilee prior to its renovation, December 1999. The Duluth-style station designed by George Tolman opened in 1894. It’s the borough oldest public building.
MB Cultural Center in Galilee, December 1999. The late borough philanthropist Jay W. Ross funded the rehabilitation of the decaying “hero’s home.”
“Anna-Marie” pound boat and crew in the surf at Galilee, 1940s. Typically, the wooden craft was 33-feet long and weighed 500 pounds.
Pound boat “Swan” lands at Galilee beach, 1940s.
Galilee Groovin’ — Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band hang out at Lockwood’s Sea Food market on Ocean Avenue, August 1973. The Boss sits in front. Nelson Lockwood was the boss going back to 1892 — the family sold fish at this store and lived next door in a large home. All in Galilee — mere steps from an ocean and a river. In the photo behind Bruce ( l to r): David Sancious, Vini Lopez, Clarence Clemons, Garry Tallent, and Danny Federici.
Lockwood’s Sea Food market atop the seawall, 1920s.
Lockwood Sea Food market when is was across Ocean Avenue on top of the seawall, 1920.
Lockwood’s Sea Food market on Ocean Avenue, 1943. The family business sold retail and wholesale seafood.
Lockwood’s Market and all the elements, 1935. The store was literally washed off the seawall during a 1958 storm.
Lockwood property aerial photo, early 1950s. The first steel signal towers at the US Life-Saving Station in Galilee (and in Sea Bright) was built in the fall of 1911. The 50-foot tower replaced a wooden structure and included a 25-foot staff where a flag had to be “continuously displayed,” according to the Long Branch Daily Record.
Lockwood’s Sea Food market (l) and “Lockwood Cottage” (r) on west side of Ocean Avenue, 1959.
Lockwood Sea Food market, 1980s.
“Lockwood House” in Galilee, 1980s.
Lockwood Sea Food market on Ocean Avenue, 1978.
US Life-Saving Station #4 at Monmouth Beach, NJ. October 1894. Pencil sketch by Milton James Burns (1853-1933).
Ocean Avenue in Galilee looking north, 1940s.
MB Cultural Center after Superstorm Sandy, November 2012.
US Coast Guard Station on Ocean Avenue, 1940s.
MB Cultural Center, 2021 (R.C. Staab Photo).
US Coast Guard station, 1958. The USCG operated out of this building on Ocean Avenue for nearly 50 years — 1915 to 1964.
Storm damage to old Ocean Avenue seawall, 1953.
Galilee fishermen with their daily catch, 1930s.
Galilee fishermen and Swan pound boat fight the waves, 1955.
Galilee fishermen and horses gather around a pound boat, 1940s.
A collection of fishermen traps at Galilee, 1940s.
E.O. Peterson, Sr. in his Galilee office, 1950s. An early seashore entrepreneur, he formed Peterson Enterprises in 1954, which included fish freezing and storage, bait fish and ice supply, shrimp supplies, and real estate among other things. A former MB fire company chief, he died in January 1973.
Abandoned fisherman’s shack at Galilee, 1940s.
Riker House being floated from Monmouth Beach (perhaps to Rumson?).
Old Peterson Enterprises property in Galilee, 1974.
Galilee fishermen repairing nets, 1920s.
Fish baskets at Galilee, 1920s.
Storm damage along Ocean Avenue, 1980s.
Galilee pound boat ashore, 1940s.
Peterson Enterprises shrimp trucks, 1970s.
Storm flooding along Ocean Avenue, 1930s.
Aerial photo of of Galilee area looking north, 1927.
US Coast Guard Station aerial photo, 1950s.
Aerial photo of Monmouth Beach looking south from Sea Bright, 2017.
The Flottbek, a German three-master shipwrecked at Monmouth Beach, November 1901.
Marketing photo of Peterson’s Enterprises facility in Galilee, 1960s.
MB Cultural Center sea view, 2017.
MB Cultural Center fire, Sept. 2016.
US Life Saving Station on the beach in Galilee, 1850s.
Galilee train station. It was about a half-mile north of the other borough depot.
Galilee fishermen in their workings, early 1900s.
US Life-Saving Station, 1907. Built in the “Duluth style.”
Wooden seawall in Galilee in post-storm ruins, 1931.
Mending nets at Galilee, NJ, early 1900s. By Max Mongel.
Trap shooting at Galilee. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, August 1889.
US Life-Saving Station, 1908.
Lockwood’s Seafood Market on Ocean Avenue, 1920s. The family business started there in 1892.
Horses haul in a pound boat at Galilee, 1920s.
US Life-Saving Station #4 in MB, 1877.
MB Cultural Center, 2018
A pound boat comes off the beach and across Ocean Avenue to protect from storm waves. Directing traffic is Joseph Tomaini, Monmouth County Road Supervisor, October 1949. (APP Photo).
First pound boat guy, APP 1941.
MB Cultural Center, 2017.
US Coast Guard station, 1960s.
Storm damage in Galilee, 1940s.
St. Peter’s Church of Galilee (l) after storm, 1931.
US Life-Saving Service medal of honor.
US Life-Saving Service medal of honor.
US Coast Guard station in Galilee, 1930s.
Lockwood’s Seafood Market at high tide, 1930s.
US Coast Guard boat and crew, 1920s.
“Galilee Fishing” painting by borough artist Gail Gannon.
Galilee fishermen meet after work, 1920s.
Galilee fishermen pull in pound boats, 1920s.
Horses struggle in the sand while dragging pound boats, 1920s.
Asbury Park Press story, December. 1969.
US Life-Saving Station, 1906.
MB Cultural Center at sunset, 2019.
US Coast Guard station in an abandoned condition, 1996. Waiting for a wrecking ball?
MB Cultural Center, 2007.
MB Cultural Center, 2019.
Vivian Johnson’s Nightclub in Galilee on fire, 1935.
NJ Marine Police Station in Galilee, 1972.
US Coast Guard members in Galilee, early 1900s.
Side view from US Coast Guard Station, 1943.
MB Cultural Center before renovations, late 1980s.
West family goes fishing in Galilee, 1910.
“Preparing the Line’s for Morrow’s Fishing. A Scene at Galilee” in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, December 1888.
MB Cultural Center, 2018.
US Coast Guard storage garages, 1990s.
Ocean Avenue flooding in Galilee, 1950s.
NJ State Marine Police station, 1992.
NJ State Marine Police station, 1997.
U.S. Life-Saving Station #4 surfmen, early 1900s.
Lockwood’s Sea Food market beach side, 1920s.
US Coast Guard Station area, 1920s.
MB Cultural Center sketch proposal by Albert Benoist, 1999.
MB Cultural Center dedication plaque, May 2000.
Alfred Thompson Bricher painting of Monmouth Beach coast, early 1900s.
US Life-Saving Station, 1906.
Ship’s Bell from The Flottbek.
The Flottbek, a German three-master shipwrecked off Monmouth Beach, November 1901.
US Coast Guard Station, 1919.
Damage from Storms of 1913-14 to Ocean Avenue home in Galilee.
Damage from Storms of 1913-14 to Ocean Avenue home in Galilee.
Damage from Storms of 1913-14 to Ocean Avenue home in Galilee.
Damage from Storms of 1913-14 to Ocean Avenue home in Galilee.
US Coast Guard Station, 1940s.
US Life-Saving Service surfmen on “A Wild Night” from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1883.
Francis A. Silva oil painting of Galilee, 1880.
Shrewsbury River viewed from Galilee, 2017.
Peterson ice and storage buildings off Park Road, 1980s.
US Coast Guard Station, 1940s.
Lobster pots from Galilee fishermen, 1980s.
Pound fishing boat from Galilee, 1940s.
MB Cultural Center, early 2000s.
US Coast Guard Station, 1940s.
Shrewsbury Fishermen barn on Seaview Avenue, 1971.
MB Cultural Center tower, 2016.
US Coast Guard Station, 1940s.
Galilee fishing boats on the beach, 1930s.
US Life-Saving Station, 1910.
Anna Marie pound boat coming ashore in Galilee, 1940s.
US Coast Guard Station, 1940s.
US Life-Saving Station, 1930s.
MB Cultural Center, 2010s.
The O. Peterson family and seafood truck, 1940s
Galilee fishermen, early 1900s.
“Dixie” pound boat in Galilee, 1950s.
“Anna-Marie” pound boat and fishermen in Galilee, 1950s.
Galilee fishermen coming ashore, 1950s.
MB Cultural Center yard sale, 2010s.
Monmouth Beach-Sea Bright border aerial image, 1908.
Memorial Day services at Monmouth Beach Cultural Center re-opening, 2018.
US Coast Guard station, 1940s.
US Coast boat at Galilee, 1940s.
Flottbek shipwreck at Monmouth Beach, 1901.
US Life-Saving Service crew in action off Monmouth Beach, late 1880s.
US Coast Guard Station, 1960s.
US Life-Saving Service Station in Galilee, 1910.
US Life-Saving Service crew, early 1900s.
1974 Monmouth Beach School classmates of Mark S. Anthony celebrate his life at MB Cultural Center, June 2016. Mark served 20 years in the US Marine Corp and was a longtime Virginia resident before moving back to MB. He was working at the White House Military Office at time of his death.
Storm damage on Ocean Avenue, 1920s.
Storm damage on Ocean Avenue, 1920s.
US Coast Guard crew at Monmouth Beach Station, 1930s.
Monmouth Beach Cultural Center getting restored, 2000.
Sunset at Monmouth Beach Cultural Center, 2017.
Galilee fishermen loading dock on Ice House Road, 1920s.
First US Life Saving Station on the beach at Galilee, late 1800s.
Storm damage along northern Ocean Avenue area, 1927.
Monmouth Beach Cultural Center on Ocean Avenue, 2011.
Shipwrecked schooner Charles K. Buckley off Monmouth Beach, 1914.
