Belmar is located in
Monmouth County south of
Long Branch between
Asbury Park and
Spring Lake along Highway 35 on the banks of the Shark River near the
Atlantic Ocean. Belmar is part of the
Monmouth-Ocean, New Jersey metro area.
The name Belmar comes from the French for "beautiful sea". Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch East India Company, and sailing the ship the "Half Moon," is believed to be the first to drop anchor on the shores of Monmouth County. He claimed all this territory for the Dutch when he returned home. In 1664, British King Charles II granted to the Duke of York the whole region from the western bank of the Connecticut River to the eastern shore of the Delaware River.
