This is stop #45 on our Belmar Treasure Trail. We’re stopping here to mention some interesting environmental and historical facts about the residential areas you see across the street. One bit of trivia is about the land itself, or specifically, it’s geology. The area from here south has soil that does not drain as well and has a higher water table than the northern section of town. Also, as you’ve walked along the boardwalk, you may have noticed that in the northern part of town, the size of the blocks were longer and the housing lots larger. After the town got its start as a summer community of just 25 people in 1872, more visitors and residents started flocking to the seaside get-away. In 1908, the new Belmar grew by annexing adjacent areas. One of them was called the Ocean Grove Park Tract, which started at 12th Avenue and we ...