Township), High Bar Harbor (the northernmost section of Long Beach Township), and Barnegat Light. From the bridge southward, the island includes the communities of Ship Bottom, Brant Beach, Long Beach Township (including the census-designated place of North Beach Haven, and Beach Haven, with the Holgate section of Long Beach Township at the southernmost tip of the island. History The island has been continuously settled since 1690, initially being a destination for hunters. Barnegat Inlet, to the north of the island, was an important path for freight shipments and whaling from the 17th century through the 20th century. Due to the Inlet's importance and its turbulent waters, a lighthouse tower was constructed in 1835 to guide shippers through the area. Still, it was inadequate to ships, constantly being mistaken for another passing ship because the light was fixed. Erosion problems destroyed the tower in 1857, two years before the current Barnegat Lighthouse was completed in 1859, flashing at each compass point every 10 seconds. It was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the supervision of George Gordon Meade, famous for leading the Union forces to victory four years later during the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg. The United States Life-Saving Service built Station #17 in Barnegat Light (then known as Brownsville) around 1872, which continues today as a United States Coast Guard station. A developing tourism sector prompted the Tuckerton Railroad (a short line running from Tuckerton to Whiting) to build a bridge across Barnegat bay that ran from Barnegat city to Beach Haven; the tracks were completed in 1886 and were leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 included a fatal attack in Beach Haven, killing University of Pennsylvania student Charles Vansant in July 1916, which partly inspired the book Jaws. A severe winter storm in 1920 destroyed most of the beaches along the island, several hotels, and reopening the new inlet in Holgate. A storm in 1923 further diminished the tourism sector, resulting in the discontinuation of train service to Barnegat City between 1923 and 1926. In 1935, the railroad bridge to the mainland washed out, leaving the entire island without rail service. Several storms throughout the island's history have resulted in the island being split in two, with the division occurring at the island's narrowest point in Harvey Cedars. The most famous of such storms was