Surf City, LBI — Leonard T. Connors Sr.'s 49 Years as Mayor, the Town's Own Name History, and the Surf City Hotel

A 49-Year Mayor, a Town That Changed Its Own Name, and a Hotel That's Still Open

Surf City's identity starts with a genuine small-town political dynasty unlike anything at neighboring Ship Bottom or any other New Jersey market on this site. Leonard T. Connors Sr., born April 11, 1929, in Jersey City, served as Mayor of Surf City from January 1, 1966, to December 31, 2015 -- 49 consecutive years, one of the longest mayoral tenures of any New Jersey municipality. For more than two of those decades, he simultaneously served in the New Jersey State Senate, representing the 9th Legislative District from January 12, 1982, to January 8, 2008 (26 years), preceded in that seat by John F. Russo. He announced his Senate retirement in January 2007. A graduate of Wood-Ridge High School who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1947 to 1949, Connors was a Republican; he died December 4, 2016, at age 87, at a nursing home in Little Egg Harbor Township. His son, Christopher J. Connors, born 1956, succeeded him in the State Senate's 9th District seat in 2008 and, per available reporting, has continued to hold that seat -- though this page hedges any "current as of 2026" claim, since the source material's most recent confirmation point is not dated to the present year. Leonard T. Connors Sr. was in turn succeeded as Surf City's mayor by Francis R. Hodgson Sr., who himself had served 46 years on the borough council before becoming mayor, and who was reported (per one source, noted as age 92 in 2025) to still be serving in recent years -- also hedged here as a dated figure, not asserted current as of 2026. No specific policy accomplishment, controversy, or scandal connected to either Connors or Hodgson is stated here beyond these tenure and family facts, because none was confirmed in this research pass.

Layered onto that political story is the town's own name, which changed multiple times before it became Surf City. Before 1875, the area was informally known as "Great Swamp," and also referenced as "Buzby's Place," after Hudson Buzby, an owner of the Mansion of Health boarding hotel, and at points as "Old Mansion." The community was formally incorporated as Long Beach City on September 19, 1894, from portions of Stafford Township. Sources differ on exactly when and why the final renaming to "Surf City" took hold: one account holds that the U.S. Postal Service rejected "Long Beach City" in 1894 due to confusion with Long Branch, New Jersey, while Wikipedia states the Borough Council formally adopted a resolution renaming the town to "Surf City" on May 26, 1899, to avoid confusion with other Jersey Shore place names. Both dates are presented honestly here rather than asserting one as correct. That same name has fueled a real, reported naming-precedence claim: Surf City, New Jersey has held its USPS-recognized name since 1894 or 1899, more than a century before California's Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz began using the "Surf City" nickname in the 1960s and later fought their own public and legal battle over the "Surf City USA" trademark. This page presents that as a real, reported claim of naming precedence -- not an official adjudicated legal victory for the New Jersey town, since no formal trademark ruling naming Surf City, NJ as "the original" was independently confirmed in this research pass.

Surf City is also home to a real, still-operating historic hotel: the Surf City Hotel, one of the oldest structures on Long Beach Island, with the original building constructed in the late 1800s. It operated under several earlier names over time -- Mansion House, Long Beach Inn, and Marquette Hotel -- before adopting the "Surf City Hotel" name in the early 20th century, and it was originally popular among local fishermen and hunters. In the pre-Prohibition era it was known for its parties and notoriety; in the late 1940s the cocktail lounge was expanded to accommodate summer vacationers. A Wurlitzer organ was installed in the bar in the late 1950s, and long-time owner Hank Crane later donated that organ to Richmond, Virginia. An earlier version of the building on the same site was rumored to be haunted before it burned down, generating local ghost stories that persist today -- this page repeats only that general characterization, without inventing named ghosts or specific haunted-event dates. Current ownership dates to April 2017, when Colleen and Greg Gewirtz purchased the hotel. A short walk or paddle away, on Barnegat Bay, sits the Surf City Yacht Club: an informal group of young men had been getting together since 1894 to promote aquatic sports in the area, and the club was formally incorporated as a nonprofit on September 26, 1940. It purchased its first property, lot 36, in 1937 for $200, later expanding with lots 34 and 35 in 1939. Today it runs junior and interclub racing fleets (Optimist, Sunfish, Laser, 420, and Windsurfing dinghies) plus senior fleets (Lightning, Snipe, and Mariner), and serves as a regular venue for the Snipe Atlantic Coast Championships. It is a private club, and no current membership numbers or fees were confirmed or are stated here.

On geography and everyday life: Surf City sits in southern Ocean County on Long Beach Island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, immediately north of Ship Bottom and south of Long Beach Township, with a total area of just 1.32 square miles -- 0.74 square miles of land and 0.58 square miles of water. It sits roughly 57 miles east-southeast of Philadelphia, 71 miles south of New York City, and 60 miles from Trenton. Long Beach Boulevard (County Route 607) is the main road; no Interstate, U.S., or state highway serves the borough directly. The climate is humid subtropical, with average annual snowfall of 12 to 18 inches (November through April), an average summer high of 82.7 degrees Fahrenheit, an average winter low of 25.9 degrees, and an annual average ocean-water temperature of 54 degrees (a general year-round average, not a seasonal swimming temperature). The 2020 census counted 1,243 year-round residents, up 38 from 2010's 1,205. Older, dated figures from the 2010 census showed 622 households, 95.52% White and 1.33% Black residents, with a median age of 59.4; a 2006-2010 American Community Survey estimate put median household income at $63,375 -- both hedged here as dated, not current, figures. Surf City operates under a Borough form of government with a mayor and a six-member council that has been all-Republican since the early 1960s, per source material; it is part of New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District and 9th Legislative District. Younger students attend the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District: Ethel Jacobsen School in Surf City serves PreK through 2nd grade (111 students, per source material), while Long Beach Island Grade School in neighboring Ship Bottom serves 3rd through 6th grade (125 students); older students attend Southern Regional School District, with 902 students in its middle school (grades 7-8) and 1,975 in its high school (grades 9-12) -- all dated snapshot enrollment figures, not necessarily current. Local bus service includes Ocean Ride's OC9 route, TransportAzumah's seasonal Manhattan service, and the free local LBI Shuttle. Along Long Beach Boulevard's roughly one-mile commercial strip sit small businesses including mini-golf, the Surf City 5&10 (in business for close to 70 years, per one source), and various food vendors -- no additional current specific business names beyond these are invented here. Two distinctive, closely spaced water towers are a recognizable visual landmark in the commercial district. Daily beach badges, per source material that is likely dated, cost $10 in peak season (June 18 through Labor Day) for ages 12 to 64, with weekly badges at $20 -- treat this as a snapshot, not necessarily this year's rate.

On storm risk: per New Jersey Department of Community Affairs data, compiled by NJ Spotlight and cross-referenced with U.S. Census figures, Surf City's housing stock damage from Hurricane Sandy (October 2012) was 27% -- notably less than neighboring Ship Bottom's 46% (the worst rate on all of Long Beach Island), but still a meaningfully high figure. No exact current (2025/2026) median home sale price or property-tax rate specific to Surf City was independently confirmed in this research pass -- treat Long Beach Island real estate in general, hedged Ocean County terms rather than a fabricated specific dollar figure. This is also a New Jersey market, not a Delaware one: New Jersey levies a real state sales tax and has its own property-tax system, distinct from any no-sales-tax framing used elsewhere on this site. This is the second Long Beach Island market built on this site, immediately following its direct southern neighbor Ship Bottom, and this page deliberately does not re-cover Ship Bottom's own 1817 shipwreck-rescue name origin or its Ron Jon Surf Shop birthplace story -- those belong to Ship Bottom alone. This page is independent research, not legal, tax, insurance, or financial advice; confirm anything time-sensitive with the appropriate licensed professional or local government office before making a decision.