{"id":163694,"date":"2023-07-16T18:26:45","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T22:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasburygirl.com\/?p=163694"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:44:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:44:27","slug":"mermaids-history-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/mermaids-history-new-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"The History Behind Mermaids in New Jersey"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"custom_featured_image\" style=\"display:none;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-800x533.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-800x533.png 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-585x390.png 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-263x175.png 263w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><div id=\"custom_category\" style=\"display:none;\">history<\/div><p>When it comes to New Jersey, the first thing that may come to mind is the shore and surrounding beaches. While most people think of a beachside vacation or a platter of fresh-caught seafood, New Jersey has an incredible <a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/lifestyle\/sports-first-occurrences-nj\/\">history<\/a> of mermaids, dating back centuries. <strong>Read on for a complete rundown surrounding mermaid history right here in New Jersey.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-236928\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-800x533.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-800x533.png 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-585x390.png 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid-263x175.png 263w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/mermaid.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Seeing Merfolk<\/h3>\n<p>In 1609, before he came upon the river we now call by his name, English explorer Henry Hudson documented his crew\u2019s sighting of a mermaid off the coast of Greenland:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy that time shee was come close to the ship\u2019s side, looking earnestly on the men&nbsp;a little after, a sea came and overturned her from the navill upward, her backe and breasts were, like a woman\u2019s, as they say that saw her. Her body as big as one of us, her skin very white and long haire hanging downe behinde, of colour blacke. In her going down they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse, and speckled like a macrell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hudson\u2019s matter-of-fact account suggests the explorer didn\u2019t question the reality of mermaids. They were rare, but not so unusual. Sadly, Hudson didn\u2019t see any merpeople in the area surrounding what is now New York and New Jersey. But others of his era did see water women along our&nbsp;coasts.<\/p>\n<h3>River Woman of the Shatemuc<\/h3>\n<p>A traditional Lenni Lenape story tells of a boy taken by a sudden rushing wave while he was walking through a stream that was normally calm and safe to cross. The boy\u2019s friends, who\u2019d witnessed the awful event, described to his parents his sudden disappearance under the water.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Read More:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/best-jersey-shore-artists-hire\/\">Jersey Shore Artists to Hire (Instead of Using AI Slop)<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The parents of the boy went to a seer who told them that their son was alive and had been taken by a water woman. They were told that they could find their son if, at sunrise, they&nbsp;camped&nbsp;on the bank of the great river fed by the stream where their son had disappeared. The Lenape called what we refer to as the Hudson River, \u2018the Shatemuc,\u2019 and it is there that the people awaited the water woman.<\/p>\n<p>Much to their surprise, the boy appeared \u2014 and he wasn\u2019t alone. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/indiancountrytoday.com\/archive\/mermaid-tales-from-native-tribes-abound\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lenape story goes<\/a>, \u201cBefore the hour, a great crowd gathered at the appointed place, and the mysterious deep began to roll and throw forth great whirlpools. And thunder or rumbling sounds burst into the air. At sunrise, behold, they saw on the waves of the great river the missing boy. At his side was a beautiful humanlike personage, said to be a mermaid.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Tom\u2019s River Mermaid<\/h3>\n<p>In 1869, a supposed New Jersey mermaid was widely reported to have been found off the coast of <a href=\"https:\/\/cdnc.ucr.edu\/?a=d&amp;d=DAC18690811.2.37&amp;e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom\u2019s River<\/a>. News accounts express disappointment that the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/best-seafood-restaurants-jersey-shore-new-jersey\/\">fishermen<\/a>&nbsp;who caught her were so frightened as to throw her back into the sea from which she\u2019d come. But there would probably have been a curse in keeping her, so it\u2019s likely better that they let her go.<\/p>\n<p>A full century later, Olson\u2019s Bar and Grill on Toms River&#8217;s Route 37 featured a mermaid posed as \u2018food\u2019 on its iconic restaurant roof. Today, that sign is no longer, but a Mermaid Road does exist and locals occasionally report sights of iridescent tail fins flashing in the waves at twilight.<\/p>\n<h3>A Novel Concept<\/h3>\n<p>One would think that authors aplenty would have documented tales of mermaids roaming our waters. But only a few published accounts exist that record this maritime history. New York Times bestselling artist and author Mark Siegel\u2019s graphic novel,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781250829443\/sailortwainorthemermaidinthehudson10thanniversaryedition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Sailor Twain: Or the Mermaid in the Hudson<\/i><\/a>, tells a lusty love story that takes place on a Hudson River steamship during the Gilded Age.<\/p>\n<p>Well-loved author Alice Hoffman\u2019s&nbsp;<i>The Museum of Extraordinary Things<\/i> starts where Barnum\u2019s Fejee Mermaid exploit ended. Her 2014 historical fiction novel centers on a girl who becomes entangled with mer-adventure on the Palisades cliffs. Then, there is the tale that real estate agent and storyteller Christina Sciarretta has spun for the sake of her children. Hers is an internet yarn of a mermaid named&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.shorelocalnews.com\/the-legend-of-the-jersey-shore-mermaid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Waverly<\/a>&nbsp;who collects treasure at the New Jersey Shore. Perhaps future writers will also see fit to give witness to the merfolk who live here.<\/p>\n<h3>Mer-Money Making<\/h3>\n<p data-skm-boomerang-el-0=\"processed\">By the nineteenth century, mermaids were an international sensation. In 1842, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/circus-washington-street-hoboken\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">circus<\/a> showman, P.T. Barnum exhibited a gruesome construction that he called the \u201cFejee Mermaid.\u201d This less-than-beautiful spectacle was actually an assemblage of at least two animal corpses \u2014 hardly the stuff that dreams are made of. Still, it drew crowds to New York from all around.<\/p>\n<p>Barnum exhibited the Fejee Mermaid in New York with great success for about a month. Dr. Griffin, Barnum\u2019s partner in the mermaid scheme and a fraudster posing as a naturalist, gave lectures explaining to the crowds flooding the New York Concert Hall that all land-dwelling animals have counterparts in the ocean (e.g.: sea horses, sea lions\u2026 ). It obviously followed that sea people would exist as well.<\/p>\n<h3>Mer-Events<\/h3>\n<p data-skm-boomerang-el-0=\"processed\">To be and see a mermaid, Coney Island hosts their Annual Mermaid Parade. This parade normally comes back annually so definitely be on the lookout.&nbsp; The 2026 date is set for June 20th.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-skm-boomerang-el-0=\"processed\"><strong><em>See More:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/froyo-spots-new-jersey\/\">Fro-Yo Is Back: Where to Find Frozen Yogurt in New Jersey<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-skm-boomerang-el-0=\"processed\">The Newport area of Jersey City adds a mermaid sighting that is the easiest to glimpse.&nbsp;<i>Water\u2019s Soul&nbsp;<\/i>(aka<i>&nbsp;The Shushing Woman<\/i>) may exist in plain sight, but we see only the very top of her. Sculptor Juame Plensa describes her as an elusive water spirit. He has placed her massive white head upon a pier on the Hudson waterfront, but what lies beneath? Quite possibly, a tail. Is that the secret we are meant to keep?<\/p>\n<h3>Mermaid Healthcare<\/h3>\n<p>The gorgeously illustrated&nbsp;<i>Sailor Twain<\/i>&nbsp;features a wounded mermaid whose caregiver becomes supernaturally obsessed with her, in the vein of old siren song stories. The health and medical treatment of mermaids is often on the mind of Sara Weller, a Jersey City resident who works to program tours of the abandoned hospitals on&nbsp;Ellis Island. She notes that just as lighthouse keepers were provided medical care in those once state-of-the-art medical facilities, so too could the mermaids injured by steamships, ferries, and fishermen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Follow @thejerseyshoregirl_ on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thejerseyshoregirl_\/?hl=en\"><span class=\"s1\">&nbsp;Instagram<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;for the latest Jersey Shore updates,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twilight-lion-90332.myflodesk.com\/jrf4qhj7qk\"><span class=\"s1\">sign up for our weekly newsletter here<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/calendar\/jersey-shore-events-this-week\/\"><span class=\"s1\">events calendar<\/span><\/a>, which has over 40+ events weekly to peruse.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/category\/lifestyle\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-120157\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719-800x240.jpg\" alt=\"read more button\" width=\"300\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719-800x240.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719-1024x307.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719-768x230.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719-585x176.jpg 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/1-e1658249565719.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>historyWhen it comes to New Jersey, the first thing that may come to mind is the shore and surrounding beaches. While most&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":236928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8833],"tags":[9680,9683,9673,9678],"class_list":["post-163694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-beach-life","tag-historic-landmarks","tag-jersey-shore","tag-new-jersey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The History Behind Mermaids in New Jersey - The Jersey Shore Girl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether or not you believe in mermaids, New Jersey has a rich history surrounding these mystical creatures. 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