In This Place...

In This Place.... An Ever-Changing Landscape.
Bombay Hook Island - Bygone Days
The series of illustrations tell the story of dramatic changes to the landscape just east of where you stand over the past 200 years...from a riverine one in the 1700's and 1800's...to a large ponded area by the early 1900's...to the vast tidal marsh system we have today.

The image below shows the meandering path of old Duck Creek along the Bayside area of "fast land" called "Bombay Hook Island". Note the old Bombay Hook Lighthouse (upper right), and Bay View Schoolhouse (lower left) that once sat at the intersection of Lighthouse Road and Route 9 - across from where the Mallard Lodge stands today.

The Storm of '78 and the Lake in its Wake
In 1878 a massive storm wreaked havoc on this part of the bay - breaching the dunes that had protected Bombay Hook Island and areas inland. The "Big Break" resulting allowed tidal water to flow into the land, creating a vast shallow inland lake, and dissecting the old bayside road that previously led down to Woodland Beach.

In "Tales of Bay View Neck", Florio describes old timers recollecting: "when they could put on a pair of skates at Bay View Schoolhouse and skate clear to the Lighthouse"; and (for the prime waterfowl habitat created by the vast flooded lands) "when the ducks were so thick they blocked out the sun."

The Broadway Meadows Marsh Today
Over the ensuing decades, more breaks in the bayside banks developed. As channels deepened and widened, a more natural tidal ebb and flow was restored to the landscape, resulting in the fine expanse of tidal marsh that locals today call "Broadway Meadows".

A view out across Broadway Meadows can be enjoyed from the bridge of the ARE Center boardwalk or via the birding tower a half-mile south at the route 9 bend. The star marks your present location. The 1800's farmhouse that later became the M&M hunting lodge, and then the "old" ARE Center, is circled in red.