going back to the mid/late 1800s. Jersey shore resorts were very popular from that period, and increasingly so in the early 20th c., with Atlantic City and Cape May being the premier beach/seaside resorts.

Nice bit of personal history as my grandparents went there for their honeymoon in 1937 or so, all the way from Pittsburgh. We have a great old picture of them on the boardwalk. My mom grew up going to Ocean City (just S of Atlantic City) in the '40s and '50s.