About Five Mile Beach journal. (Wildwood, N.J.) 1890-1906
Wildwood, N.J. (1890-1906)

Five Mile Beach Journal

The Five Mile Beach Journal of Wildwood, New Jersey was established in 1890 by Samuel P. Foster, who trained to be a journalist with the Camden Temperance Gazette. In 1884, Foster bought the Elmer Times, located in Salem County, New Jersey. A day trip to Wildwood in 1890 led to the creation of the Five Mile Beach Journal, which, until 1895, Foster printed in Elmer, making weekly trips to Wildwood. In 1890, when the Journal began, Jerediah (Jed) DuBois was an employee of the Elmer Times. In 1895, DuBois moved to Wildwood and purchased the Five Mile Beach Journal from Foster, becoming its editor and proprietor, a position he retained until he sold the paper in 1923.

DuBois was born into a farming family in Salem County, New Jersey in 1869. Prior to his apprenticeship with the Elmer Times, he studied at Peirce's Business College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DuBois was a Republican who served as city tax collector and treasurer for Wildwood, held a position on the Wildwood Board of Trade, and was the director of the Marine National Bank.

The Journal's masthead stated that the paper was "Devoted to the development of Holly Beach, Wildwood and Anglesea." The June 17, 1903 issue of the paper devoted 23 pages to the promotion of the area. DuBois hoped that it would help "…convince the public that this is the favored spot on the New Jersey coast. It is the ideal resort for those seeking either recreation or investment."

The development of Five Mile Island began in 1879 when the land was purchased by Frederick Swope who began selling lots to investors to build housing for wealthy Philadelphia and New Jersey residents. Travel to the island was initially challenging, but by 1903, railroads connected Philadelphia and South Jersey towns. A bridge was built across the inlet in 1903. The newspaper regularly covered these transportation access struggles.

One of the newspaper's advertisements was "Personals about you and your friends mixed with a batch of interesting local news." Each town had a social column devoted to the activities of its residents and visitors, along with who was visiting from Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

The paper was published on Fridays until June of 1903, when the publication day was moved to Wednesdays. Though the paper was Independent it gave fuller coverage to Republican issues and candidates than to Democratic concerns and later became Independent Republican. Along with local political and social news, the paper covered railroad timetables and shipping news.

The paper was published as the Five Mile Beach Journal until 1906 when it was re-named the FFive Mile Beach Weekly Journal.

Provided by: Rutgers University Libraries