Stone Harbor is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, that is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It occupies the southern portion of Seven Mile Island together with its northern neighbor Avalon. It is a resort community for visitors enjoying beaches, sailing facilities and a thriving commercial center. The community attracts a large number of vacationers from the Mid-Atlantic region and Quebec. The borough has a summer population in excess of 20,000, and a year-round population of 866, according to the 2010 United States Census.
The New York Times describes Stone Harbor as a place of “gleaming McMansions and elegant shops”, with an average single-family home selling for $2.5 million in 2008. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Stone Harbor (ZIP code 08247) as #191 on its list of the most expensive ZIP codes in the United States, based on median home sale prices after being ranked 47th in the magazine’s 2006 listing. As of 2001, Worth magazine ranked Stone Harbor at 101 on its list of the Richest Towns in America, based on median annual real estate prices.
Development began in the late 19th century as a beach resort along the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad line. The community was marketed to wealthy residents of Philadelphia seeking a resort destination for a second home.
Stone Harbor was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1914, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 28, 1914. The borough gained a portion of Avalon on December 27, 1941. The borough is said to be named for an English sea captain named Stone who sought shelter from a storm in the area.
In 2015, a contract was awarded to dredge adjacent bodies of water. In early 2016, during the dewatering stage of the operation, a total of three geotubes discharged a small quantity of sediment containing several contaminants. Dredging was halted pending development of a plan to prevent future such spills.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 866 people, 441 households, and 255.8 families residing in the borough. The population density was 619.6 per square mile (239.2/km2). There were 3,247 housing units at an average density of 2,323.3 per square mile (897.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.11% (841) White, 1.62% (14) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 0.12% (1) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.69% (6) from other races, and 0.46% (4) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.35% (29) of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
