Most of Strathmere's charm lies in
its rich history of over 100 years. The Sea Isle
City Improvement Company started developing the
island from Corson's Inlet, down to Townsend's
Inlet, in the late 1800's. Back then, Strathmere was
still known as Corson's Inlet, up until 1912 when
the name was officially changed to Strathmere.
The Strathmere Civic Club was
organized sometime in the mid-1920's. The women held
card parties and dances in the schoolhouse. When
they had enough money, they hired a lifeguard - the
first in Strathmere. The Civic Club also bought a
stand and a boat, both saying 'Strathmere Beach
Patrol' on them. Additional lifeguards were hired
for the weekends.
At the north end of Strathmere on
the ocean side was the development Brighton Shores,
started by people from Ocean City some time between
1925 and 1927. Until that time the 'point' had been
covered with large sand dunes with sea grass,
bayberry trees and beach plum bushes growing on top.
The developers leveled the dunes and more sand was
pumped in to make the island wider. In 1929 after
the stock market crash, the building of homes
stopped on that land for a few years.
In those days the inlet had a
large deep channel making it possible for large
boats to reach the ocean. Fishing party boats ran
through there for years. The 'Starfish' ran until
the channel was too shallow and no longer marked by
the Coast Guard before moving to Townsend's Inlet.
History melds into present day at
The Deauville Inn. It was reportedly a speakeasy
during Prohibition, as well as a rum-running
station, a casino during the 20's and 30's and can
boast President Theodore Roosevelt as being a one
time guest. Today the Deauville is a Strathmere hot
spot.
Strathmere is mainly a summer town
today, with a year round population of about 200
people. Over 60% of the homes are available in the
Summer as vacation rentals.
