How Cattus Island Park Came to Be

The storied past includes widespread vandalism, a beachfront you'd be chased from by a frontloader, and a wealthy owner who used it as a sporting retreat

“Now that we’ve got Cattus Island, what do we do with it?’’ That was the question asked by a Daily Observer editorial writer on Oct. 14, 1980, four days after the park opened on the peninsula jutting out into Barnegat Bay between Applegate’s Cove and Mosquito Cove. The writer reviewed the history of the place since Ocean County bought it for $2.75 million in 1973. It wasn’t pretty. Vandals burned down the mansion, then the barn that was to house nature exhibits. Every improvement was attacked by vandals, who succeeded in scuttling plans for campsites in the uplands along the salt marshes. The freeholders considered turning part of the park into active recreation fields, then scrapped those plans, recognizing that Dover Township had the …

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