Ocean Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated placeof New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 1, 2023. (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed December 16, 2012.GCT-PH1 – Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County – County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Monmouth County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 16, 2012. It had a population of 3,057 at the 2020 census, down from 3,342 in 2010.DP-1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Ocean Grove CDP, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 8, 2012. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean's Jersey Shore, between Asbury Park to the north and Bradley Beach to the south. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ocean Grove is noted for its abundant examples of Victorian architecture and for the Great Auditorium, acclaimed as "the state's most wondrous wooden structure, soaring and sweeping, alive with the sound of music." Another building, a former high school, is now the Jersey Shore Arts Center.
Ocean Grove was founded in 1869 as an outgrowth of the camp meeting movement in the United States, when a group of Methodist clergymen, led by William B. Osborn and Ellwood H. Stokes, formed the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to develop and operate a summer camp meeting site on the New Jersey seashore. By the early 20th century, the popular Christian meeting ground became known as the "Queen of Religious Resorts".Page, Tim. "'Summerfare' Offers Choir Festival", The New York Times, July 30, 1986. Accessed June 30, 2015. "Ocean Grove, about six miles south of Long Branch, was founded in 1869 as a Methodist camp meeting ground; by the early 20th century it had been dubbed the 'Queen of Religious Resorts.'" The community's land is still owned by the Camp Meeting Association and leased to individual homeowners and businesses. Ocean Grove remains the longest-active camp meeting site in the United States.Home page, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Accessed November 6, 2007.
History
In July 1869, Reverend W. B. Osborn, Reverend Stokes, and other Methodist ministers camped at a shaded, well-drained spot on New Jersey's seashore and decided to establish a permanent Christian camp meeting community called "Ocean Grove". This followed a search of the Jersey Shore for a place not infested with mosquitoes. About twenty tents were pitched that summer. In 1870, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association was incorporated and land was purchased. The property was laid out into lots and roadways. The lots were leased for 99 years with the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association retaining ownership. Residents were expected to follow the strict Methodist social norms of the era which included prohibitions of alcohol, tobacco, cards, dancing, the reading of novels, and chewing gum. Nine wells were driven in 1870 to provide fresh water. The first was eventually named the "Beersheba" well, for an ancient well used by the Biblical patriarchs Abraham and Isaac. It is still in existence under a photogenic 1881 gazebo, though belatedly connected to the town water system in 1911.
Drawing from the major population centers of New York City and Philadelphia, Ocean Grove soon became a popular destination during the growth of the camp meeting movement in post-Civil War America. Tents and an open-air wooden shelter for speakers were erected in the 1870s, for the trainloads of visitors arriving by the New York and Long Branch Railroad after 1875. In 1877 alone, 710,000 railroad tickets were sold for the Ocean Grove-Asbury Park train station.
A third, larger auditorium was built in 1880.
As Ocean Grove drew more and more visitors, the facilities were outgrown, and construction of the present Great Auditorium was completed in 1894. Originally designed to accommodate crowds of as many as 10,000 people, the subsequent installation of theater-style cushioned seating in many sections reduced seating capacity to 6,250. It remains Ocean Grove's most prominent structure and the centerpiece of its summer programs (see more about the Auditorium further down the page). By the early 20th century, said The New York Times in 1986, it was called the "Queen of Religious Resorts ... Visitors would travel miles to bask in the Victorian seaside splendor and to attend engaging, extroverted religious ceremonies. Millions of people, tourists and pilgrims both, made the trip to Ocean Grove every summer." The social disillusionment around 1920 following World War I had a profound effect on Ocean Grove and churchgoing in general. There was a decline in these activities and there was little in the way of new construction in the town after this time. One result was that Ocean Grove became a time capsule of late Victorian and early 20th century architecture.
Until Ocean Grove's municipal authority was folded into Neptune Township in 1981, it had its own set of unique laws, including one that made it illegal on Sundays to have horses, wagons, then cars on the streets of Ocean Grove.Gilinsky, Robert. Asbury Park and Neptune, p. 64. Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Accessed July 16, 2019. "An infamous blue law prohibited Sunday driving is documented here a few years before the courts determined that the statute was illegal in 1981. Not only was it illegal to drive in Ocean Grove, but in 1914 it became illegal to have a car parked on the street there." This had a significant effect on the development of a close-knit community. People looking to get away for the weekend typically avoided the Grove (the beach was closed on Sunday, too). That meant the visitors were likely to be coming for a week-long visit or more. Most came to attend programs sponsored by the Camp Meeting.
President Ulysses S. Grant visited Ocean Grove during his time in office and made his last public appearance in this town. Other presidents to speak on the grounds included James Garfield, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Richard Nixon. Heavyweight boxing champions James J. Corbett and Max Baer and department store magnate F.W. Woolworth were among the celebrities of the day who vacationed in Ocean Grove.
In 1975, Ocean Grove was designated a State and National Historic District as a 19th-century planned urban community. It has the most extensive collection of Victorian and early-20th century architecture in the United States. The Historical Society of Ocean Grove maintains a museum and a restored c. 1884 cottage in addition to offering walking tours.
During the 1960s–1980s, the town declined along with much of the Jersey Shore, and was pejoratively called "Ocean Grave" due to the general air of decrepitude and the elderly population. But beginning in the 1990s, and through 2006, Ocean Grove experienced a dramatic increase in property values and a considerable revival in fortune, particularly with the restoration of older hotel structures, many of which had deteriorated into single-room occupancy ("SRO") quarters. As part of this resurgence, a number of sidewalk cafés and shops along Main Avenue (the main business thoroughfare) now cater to visitors and seasonal residents.
Plans were announced in 2006 for a major new hotel and condominium development on property which had been vacant since the 1970s, when the old North End Hotel – once Ocean Grove's largest – was damaged by fire and subsequently demolished in 1980.Sahn, Michelle. "New life at old hotel site", Asbury Park Press, March 23, 2006. Accessed August 28, 2022, via Newspapers.com. These plans became controversial though, and in January 2008 the Planning Board of Neptune stated the North End Redevelopment Proposal was "inconsistent with the town's Master Plan". On April 13, 2019, the remaining structures on the North End were destroyed by fire, leaving the whole area vacant land.Oglesby, Amanda. "Dunes Boardwalk Cafe still smoldering day after fire", Asbury Park Press, April 14, 2019. Accessed August 28, 2022.
For the 2024 season, the camp meeting association began allowing Sunday access to its beach at weekday hours, while in a court battle with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. This was later considered permanent after the department declared the camp meeting association could no longer restrict access on Sundays.
Geography Ocean Grove is in southeastern Monmouth County, in the eastern part of Neptune Township. It is the only part of Neptune Township to touch the Atlantic Ocean. New Jersey Route 71 (South Main Street) forms the western edge of the community. Route 71 leads north into Asbury Park and to the southern part of Long Branch, while to the south it passes through Bradley Beach and leads less than to Belmar. New Jersey Route 33 has its eastern terminus at Route 71 on the western border of Ocean Grove. Route 33 leads west to Freehold, the Monmouth county seat, and to Trenton, the state capital.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ocean Grove has an area of , including of land and of water (12.71%).
Demographics
Because Ocean Grove is a summer resort community and many residences are unoccupied during the winter months, these statistics may not be representative of the population at all times of the year.
Ocean Grove appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1950 U.S. census. It did not appear in subsequent censuses until it was listed as a census designated place in the 1990 U.S. census.
Racial and ethnic composition +Ocean Grove CDP, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)3,8682,9582,60790.88%88.51%85.28%Black or African American alone (NH)1561771133.67%5.30%3.70%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4100.09%0.03%0.00%Asian alone (NH)3929310.92%0.87%1.01%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1140.02%0.03%0.13%Other race alone (NH)32120.07%0.06%0.39%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)3129870.73%0.87%2.85%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1541452033.62%4.34%6.64%Total4,2563,3423,057 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 3,057. The median age was 57.6 years. 5.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 31.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.7 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,853 households in Ocean Grove, of which 7.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 25.8% were married-couple households, 27.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 55.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 3,123 housing units, of which 40.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 16.4%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 3,342 people, 1,948 households, and 616 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 3,132 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 91.41% (3,055) White, 5.48% (183) Black or African American, 0.03% (1) Native American, 0.87% (29) Asian, 0.03% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.81% (27) from other races, and 1.38% (46) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.34% (145) of the population.