ferris wheel – Boynton Beach Historical Society

In my days working as archivist for the Boynton Beach City Library, every once in a while I’d get a phone call from an enthusiastic caller who thought they discovered a rare image of Boynton Beach. I adore finding new (old) images of Boynton Beach, so you can imagine my excitement as I anticipated this revealing, deeper glimpse into the faded history of our fair city.

A group of young people enjoying the time at the shore.

Envision my disappointment, and theirs, when I scrutinized the photograph and determined it was not Boynton Beach, Florida.

How did I know the images were not Boynton Beach? Well, the trees weren’t right (we had pines and palms). The big Ferris Wheel and merry-go-round, while resplendent for their time, weren’t representative of our Boynton Beach.

Beach-goers flocked to the New Jersey shore in the summer-time.

The other Boynton Beach, in this case, was a New Jersey waterfront resort established by another Boynton, Cassimer Whitman Boynton, a native of Maine. It was located in Woodbridge Township near Perth Amboy.

There are many similarities and even more differences in Boynton Beach, New Jersey and Boynton Beach, Florida.

One of the amenities in Boynton Beach, New Jersey

Similarities between Boynton Beach, New Jersey (also known as Sewaren) and the Boynton Beach Hotel in Florida.

Both places called Boynton Beach
Both established as resorts for wealthy northerners
Both on the waterfront
Both offered postcards as souvenirs to guests
Both had wooden hotels for guests to stay
Visitors arrived to both resorts via train or boat
Both had a bathing beach with a bathhouse
Both had a shooting range
Both offered fishing and boating excursions
Both began in the late 1800s
Both the resort in New Jersey and the Hotel Boynton in Florida closed by 1925

Pleasure boating.

Differences between Boynton Beach, New Jersey (also known as Sewaren) and the Boynton Beach Hotel in Florida (established by Major Nathan Smith Boynton of Port Huron, Michigan).

This undivided back postcard shows the bathing beach and bath houses.

Started by different Boynton families (they were both descendants of Sir Matthew Boynton)
The Boynton Beach in New Jersey attracted visitors in the summer months
The Boynton Beach in Florida attracted visitors in the winter months
The Boynton Beach in New Jersey offered amusement rides, a Nickelodeon, photographic booths and pony rides.
The Boynton Beach in New Jersey had a hot dog stand and an ice cream stand
The Boynton Beach in Florida offered dining in the Boynton Beach Hotel dining room. Meals were included for $2.00 a day in 1898.
The Boynton Beach in New Jersey had a dance pavilion with live orchestra’s every Saturday in night in the summer.
The Boynton Beach in New Jersey had a pier.

The Ferris Wheel. Boynton Beach, New Jersey

Both of the resorts closed by 1925. The New Jersey property was sold to the Shell Oil Company. The Florida Boynton property was managed by A.E. Parker, Major Boynton’s son-in-law until 1925. The area is now known as Ocean Ridge.