Highland Beach — Playground from the Past
“Sandy Hook’s historic resort paradise”
The beginnings of Highland Beach as a seashore resort date back to “Gilded Age” times. This iconic location — where it seems Sandy Hook, Sea Bright and Highlands of today all converge — rests on a barrier beach. It’s the first ocean access spot along the New Jersey shore. Originally, it was part of “Wardell’s Beach” — going back to the 17th century.
Resort founder William T. Sandlass, Jr. first got involved in November 1887 when he leased 5 acres from an early developer, Ferdinand Fish (a New York real estate magnate). By Summer 1931, Will had become “monarch of all he surveys,” according to a Long Branch Daily Record profile. Will was known as a constant tinkerer — making improvements and changes to his seaside resort every season.
It was the “dawn of leisure time” and the pioneering Sandlass family was way out front — their stewardship of Highland Beach was a legacy of hard work and dedication. For some 75 summers, the family tirelessly provided their guests with a comfortable and enjoyable vacation experience. That commitment helped make Highland Beach an enduring and beloved destination for generations of visitors.
During boom summer seasons the resort offered a wide variety of activity — ocean and river swimming, boating and fishing, sun-bathing, a restaurant and nightclub, a movie theater, roller-coaster and merry-go-round, a hotel, bathhouses and private cottages. Always a showman, Sandlass had most of the buildings designed in the Victorian style of architecture. Access to the resort could be gained by foot, train, boat or auto.
The “$1 Shrewsbury Dinner” presented by Mrs. Sandlass was full of seafood choices and rivaled the best meals around. The resort mainstay the Surf House Hotel & Basket Pavilion served up to 1,000 meals a day in its heyday. Those wooden structures were torn down or moved between 1932 and 1940 by US military orders.
“Highland Beach has all the natural advantages a place could wish.”
—Asbury Park Press, July 1888
In March 1909, Highland Beach along with the Normandie and Navesink sections were annexed by the Borough of Sea Bright (and Will Sandlass was elected a councilman that year). The land was in fact part of Ocean Twp. worth about $250,000 then. In August 1939, the Highland Beach section was officially renamed North Sea Bright.
Highland Beach was a spot where families could gather every summer, form friendships and create traditions that lasted for generations. Many visitors looked forward to their annual trips to the resort with great anticipation, and the memories they created there became cherished family lore. By 1962 the good times were over. The state acquired the remaining 10-acre property and 1,200-feet of oceanfront from Henry Sandlass to create a new seaside park. The spot then became a National Park in 1974.
For more on Highland Beach history, check out Navesink Studio’s video Destinations Past: Highland Beach which explains why “time, technology and politics” ended the Jersey Shore’s first tourist destination. Visit the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum for more on Highland Beach too — history and photos.
Highland Beach images:

Inside Story — Susan Gardiner, a Sandlass family member, has authored an excellent retrospective, Sandy Hook’s Lost Highland Beach Resort ($21.99; Arcadia Publishing, 2020) ORDER HERE. Many of the photos in this post are part of her collection — my thanks to her.

“The Visionary” — William T. Sandlass, Jr., 1912. The man who created Highland Beach was called “Will” by family and friends. Born in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania in March 1862, he was leasing property at Highland Beach by age 25. For most of the next half-century he ruled there as “Beach King” before his death in November 1938.

‘A’ Team — Henry Sandlass with his wife Midge (Sheehan). They married just before he when to war in 1942. The devoted couple would guide the resort during important post-war seasons — making glorious summer memories for generations of families.

Classic Architecture — Highland Beach Pavilion and Surf Club during the resort’s glory times, Summer 1922. The exotic designs served as a draw for customers. Between 1932 and 1940, due to US Army transportation demands, the buildings were either removed or re-positioned on the resort.

Sandlass House restoration plan, 2020 (Anderson Campanella Architects). The original was built in 1893.

Surf House Pavilion-Restaurant at Highland Beach, 1920s. The facility could accommodate up to 1,000 diners.

Crowds await entry into the Highland Beach resort, early 1900s. It was the first shore resort set up to cater to day-trippers. By Summer 1910, the place was welcoming 20,000 visitors per day.

Highland Beach Railroad Station, 1939. Renamed North Sea Bright, the station was wrecked during the “Great Atlantic Hurricane.” in September 1944.

Magnificent seashore structure — the Surf House Hotel & Restaurant at Highland Beach. Opened in 1891, the hit meal was the “Shrewsbury Dinner” for just $1. The buildings were removed in the 1930s.

The Sandlass House on Sandy Hook, 2022. Preservation New Jersey has named the building one of state’s 10 most endangered historic places — MORE INFO.

Highland-Sea Bright Bridge. The “criss-cross” section was added in 1892 by the Central Railroad of NJ. The new bridge facilitated fantastic growth at the resort — with 125,000+ visitors that summer.

Old Sandlass family home in sad decline, March 2022. It’s all that remains of a once fabulous summertime resort — Highland Beach (Geri Gray Photo).

Henry Sandless’ new Bamboo Room opened in June 1941. Remnants of his dad’s “Bamboo Garden”, which opened in June 1916, where used in the son’s new tropical-themed cocktail lounge.

Busy summer day at Highland Beach, 1940s. The resort loved to cater to “day-trippers” and even rented bathing suits.

All that remains of the Highland Beach resort glory days, July 2021. Built in 1893, the structure was home to three generations of the Sandlass family. The “Sandlass House” was at the heart of the Sandlass Pavilion business operations, according to author and family historian, Susan Gardiner.

Bamboo Garden at Highland Beach, early 1900s. Will Sandlass got the “bamboo” idea from his winter trips to Cuba. Later he had a railroad car full of the stuff shipped to NJ for the construction.

Twin Lights seen from Highland Beach over the bridge, August 1887. The first lighthouse was built in 1828 and replaced with the twin towers in 1862. Lighthouse operations ended in 1952 and 10 years later it became a museum.

“Great Switchback Rail Road” at Highland Beach, 1890. Roller-coaster designer LeMarcus Thompson won a patent infringement lawsuit against the Highland Beach Improvement Company and the ride was torn down in 1893.

Great Switchback Railroad at Highland Beach, 1890. Will Sandlass used the ride timbers to build the Sandlass House (the Fruit and Cigar Store) on the old -roller-coaster footprint. The Sandlass Family lived above the store.

Highland Beach post card, 1910. Shown are the Candy Store, Merry-Go-Round and Bathing Pavilion Entrance.

Bamboo Room at Sandlass Beach, 1940s. In later years, it was used for storage by the National Park Service. It burned in March 1978.

Bamboo Garden cabaret, 1916. Will Sandlass spent $10,000 to upgrade his “Bamboo Gardens” pavilion in time for Summer 1916.

Gertrude Ederle (in pink dress) awards swimming trophies at Sandlass Beach, 1960. Ederle (1905-2003) was an Olympic Gold Medal champion swimmer and the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

Sandlass family home, early 1960s. Around the time the family gave up their Highland Beach property to the park service.

Sandlass family home, 2016. A state condemnation committee awarded the Sandlass family $350,000 for the 10-acre tract in 1962.

All that remains of the Sandlass-Highland Beach resort, 1990s. The Sandlass family lost the property to the state government in June 1962.
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