Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons

Lakehurst, NJ is best known as the site of the Hindenburg disaster and the unofficial “Airship Capital of the World,” a place where rigid airships were once common and where one of the most iconic events in history took place. But there is much more to the story than one notable disaster.

Located on the northern fringes of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, Lakehurst boasts a past filled with visionary railroad barons, innovative military advances, and quirky New Jersey residents. For the first time ever, a comprehensive history of this fascinating community is gathered between two covers.

From its days as a big iron community making cannonballs for the American Revolution to its modern status as a bedroom community nestled outside one of the East Coast’s largest military bases, Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons offers a story of New Jersey triumph and tragedy as told by the people who lived it.

Featuring dozens of photos and based in part on a slew of interviews, Barrens, Blimps & Barons will delight railroad aficionados, students of military history, and anyone who has ever had a connection to Lakehurst, Manchester, Toms River, Whiting, or the Pine Barrens.

Eric San Juan spent his formative years romping around the woods of Lakehurst, troubling the teachers of its elementary school, and dreaming of getting out of the town he’d eventually come to love.

EXCERPTS

The Ghosts of Hangar No. 1

RELATED WORK

75 Years Ago Today: The Hindenburg Disaster

On This Day in History: Graf Zeppelin Completes First Trans-Atlantic Voyage

Why Would You Write About Your Crummy Little Town?

Praise for Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons

“Eric, You have captured the essence of Lakehurst in this book. With every page I turned I either thought to myself, hey I know that place or wow I didn’t know that. Thank you for bringing our small town to life and giving it the grandeur it deserves..” – Amazon Review

“I consider myself a bit of a history buff – but love a good story as well. This book is the best of both worlds. The author (Eric San Juan) did an amazing job of making the history of a tiny New Jersey town into a charming and interesting book. I was always fascinated with the town of Lakehurst because of its history around the Hindenburg disaster, but this book opened my eyes to history I was never aware of. .” – Amazon Review

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