Last Updated on September 21, 2023 by Christopher G Mendla

Tucker’s Island was a small community on an island/peninsula just south of Holgate.  The island had been inhabited since the late 1700’s. In the 1800’s Rueben Tucker purchased the island and built a home and small tavern. The community grew. Eventually it was about half the size of Beach Haven.

The Tuckerton Seaport has a full size replica of the Tuckers Island Lighthouse. They also have some memorabilia and a map of the island on the floor in one of the rooms in the lighthouse. The Seaport is located at the head of Tuckerton Creek on Route 9

In the 1920’s Tucker’s Island was being destroyed by erosion. A photographer shot an amazing series of photos showing the lighthouse finally toppling into the ocean.

Resources:

• Lbi History
• Tuckers island on Facebook. This Facebook page has some very interesting documents and photos. If you want to see photos of Tuckers island, this is a good place.
• Hidden New Jersey
• Down the shore – A lengthy history of Tuckers Island
• App.com – An article about the Rider Family whose family manned the lighthouse.
• A New Jersey map circa 1856 from Rutgers. The quality is very high and will allow zooming in
• Links to various charts and maps from NOAA

Location

The approximate location of Tuckers Island is shown below.