This image is the cover for the book Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore

Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore

Many of the North Jersey Shore towns we know today began as quiet retreats for pious New Yorkers wishing to escape the vice and crime of the city.


Towns such as Long Branch, Ocean Grove, Red Bank, and Atlantic Highlands all got their start like this, but with the passage of Prohibition in 1919, the region became a haven for criminals who began smuggling liquor through the serene seaside. Speakeasies sprang up on virtually every corner, as gangsters like Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and Meyer Lansky ruled this brutal underworld, while civilians were caught in the crossfire of gun battles between rival syndicates. Discover the true drama that captured the Jersey Shore during Prohibition.

Matthew R. Linderoth

Matthew Linderoth is a resident of the North Jersey Shore. He studies twentieth-century United States social history. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Rutgers University and a master's degree in United States history from Monmouth University. He can be contacted at MatthewRLinderoth@gmail.com.

The History Press