Avalon Celebrates 125 Years Since Exiting Middle, Incorporating

AVALON – On May 20 the Borough of Avalon celebrated 125 years since its incorporation as a separate municipality. 
Avalon began its settlement modestly as a location for pasturing cattle and landing whales decades before its incorporation. In 1887 the Seven Mile Beach Company bought the land, built a hotel, sold tracts to other developers and gave a right of way to the West Jersey Railroad to open the island to tourism. 
At the anniversary celebration Business Administrator Scott Wahl reminded the crowd that Avalon was a beach community by design. From those first days, tourism and summers came to define life in the borough.
Within a few years of its purchase of the land, the Seven Mile Beach Company separated from Middle Township and became an independent municipality.
A lifesaving station was an early development. By the early 1900s a boardwalk was constructed.
In 1911, just a year before he would win election as president, Gov. Woodrow Wilson opened the bridge on Stone Harbor Boulevard to link the island and the mainland.
By 1914, Stone Harbor separately incorporated and the island took the form it has today.
The anniversary festivities took place at the Avalon History Center which also mounted a special exhibit open to the public showing the borough’s early development. The street was blocked off and the band, Loud N Klear, performed throughout.
As unusual as it might be to achieve 125 years as a thriving community, Avalon shared center stage with two of the borough’s churches, each of which was founded in the same year as the borough’s incorporation.
The First United Methodist Church of Avalon and Wells Memorial Presbyterian Church were established within weeks of each other, and each celebrated their 125th anniversary along with the borough.
The music, history center exhibits, speeches and the free lunch provided by the borough all would have marked a successful event for most communities.
Not so Avalon. Here, an added attraction was a bocce tournament with teams from Wildwood Crest, Middle Township and Stone Harbor which competed against Avalon for what has become known as the Mayor’s Cup.
With two bocce courts just across the street from the History Center, Avalon was well prepared to play host.
Avalon was the defending champion having won the cup in the inaugural year of the Mayor’s Cup Challenge and the borough pulled out all the stops in its attempt to repeat.
Teams of four players from each municipality were led by their respective mayors.
Michael Clark from Middle Township, Carl Groon from Wildwood Crest, and Judith Davies-Dunhour from Stone Harbor each led their teams in the battle against Martin Pagliughi’s Avalon team.
The double elimination tournament was the centerpiece activity of the ceremonies, with Stone Harbor unseating Avalon.
The Mayor’s Cup will be taking a trip south of 80th Street for the next year.
Avalon vowed revenge and both Middle Township and Wildwood Crest teams gained experience at a contest their players had not played. The next Mayor’s Cup challenge might also see new municipalities enter the fray.
With just a week to go to the traditional opening of the summer season, Avalon’s anniversary reminded all of some of the things that make the borough so successful as a summer resort.
The beaches are ready. The bay waterways have been dredged. The recreational facilities are prepared. The business district started to bustle. The History Center and the five-star award-winning library are ready. Even the bocce courts invite those who would experience a game once played in slightly different form at the time of the Roman Empire.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.