In the 1800s, the 2.8 square miles in New Jersey known today as Little Silver consisted mostly of farms, woods, and saltwater marshes. Towards the turn of the century, John T. Lovett opened his famous nursery, and resort hotels began to spring up on the scenic Little Silver Point peninsula. In the 1890s, the construction of a dock for Patten Line steamboats at the end of the Point increased the volume of summer visitors. Separated from Shrewsbury Township in 1923, Little Silver has remained a prosperous and vibrant community over the years. The farms and nurseries have almost all been replaced by housing today, but residents find that their shrubs and backyard gardens grow beautifully on the fertile land. Over the years, many New York and northern NewJersey commuters have decided to make Little Silver their home, traveling by rail or auto to their jobs. Karen Schnitzspahn's Little Silver is a tribute to the peaceful but significant development of the borough from the 1880s to the 1970s.
Karen L. Schnitzspahn is a Little Silver resident and the author of several local history publications. Many of the images in this collection have been generously supplied by the Little Silver Historical Society, the Borough of Little Silver, and present and former residents of the borough.