Tuckerton Borough and Ocean County nestled in Southern Ocean County between the Pine Barrens and the Bay, Tuckerton Borough was once a thriving seaport community. Ocean County is home to one-third of the Jersey Shore’s 44 miles of the Atlantic Ocean coastline with sandy beaches, surfing, fishing and water sports.

New Jersey’s first summer resort was on Tucker’s Island off shore from Little Egg Harbor. The island sported boarding houses, private cottages, and a school. In 1848 a Lighthouse was erected there and in 1869 the Little Egg Harbor Lifesaving Station was constructed.

The Tuckerton Seaport preserves and interprets the rich maritime history, artistry, heritage and environment of the Jersey shore and the unique contributions of its bay men. An educational and interpretive center showcasing New Jersey’s rich maritime history and contemporary folklife through interpretation of the cultural heritage and environment of the New Jersey shore and the surrounding environment.

The Maritime Village is a 40-acre site with 17 historic and recreated buildings connected by a boardwalk, a maritime forest and wetlands nature trail, two houseboats, a decoy gallery, a working boat works building in which restoration of sneak-box designs – boats used by duck hunters and recreational boating – of the Barnegat Bay occurs, a historic marine railway, decoy carving workshops and the recreated Tucker’s Island Lighthouse.

The Story of Mobility in America

Maritime Museums in Historic Towns

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Explore exhibits and meet the people who lived, worked and played along the Barnegat Bay:  decoy carvers, boat builders, basket makers, quilters, commercial fishermen, artists and other bay men and women.  General programs offered include hands on activities, workshops, tours and classes taught by Jersey Shore artists.

The Tucker’s Island Lighthouse features exhibits on privateers and pirates of the Jersey Coast

The Jersey Shore Folklife Center JSFC researches, documents, supports and presents the diverse communities and traditions of the Jersey Shore and the Pinelands.  The Center presents folk art programs and exhibits at Tuckerton Seaport and manages the artist roster and guest demonstrator schedule, the Folk and Traditional Artist in Residence Program, the Jersey Traditions outreach program and changing artist exhibits in J.C. Parker’s Decoy workshop.  JSFC celebrates the profoundly creative spirit of the region, its traditional arts, and its occupational and recreational folklife.

The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve Interpretive Center JCNERR is managed by the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The Reserve encompasses habitat in and around the estuary where fresh water from the Mullica River and saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean mix in the Great Bay.

Batsto Village is a New Jersey historic site located in the South-Central Pinelands whose roots can be traced back to 1766. Two centuries of American history are available to visitors, with the Pinelands environment as a scenic backdrop.

Connect for Travel to Tuckerton Borough and the Jersey Shore