Barnegat

Around 1609 Henry Hudson sailed along the coast of New Jersey coming to an inlet which he named Barende-gat, a Dutch word meaning an inlet with breakers. This name was replaced by Barndegat by early mapmakers and later evolved into the present day spelling of Barnegat.

The Barnegat Township School District serves public school students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade and has an enrollment of 3,219 students. Schools in the district are four elementary schools, Russell O. Brackman Middle School for grades 6-8 and Barnegat High School for grades 9-12.

Barnegat is located in the southern half of Ocean County and covers an area of approximately 35 square miles. Barnegat is 60 miles east of Philadelphia and 90 miles south of New York City. It is bordered on the east by Barnegat Bay and separated from the Atlantic Ocean by Long Beach Island.

By boat, the ocean is easily accessible from Barnegat through the Barnegat Inlet, along which sits the Barnegat Lighthouse. The bay is part of the Atlantic Inter-coastal Waterway, entered on its north end by the Point Pleasant Canal and connecting on the south end with Little Egg Harbor.