Sharon Hazard

The post-Civil War era in America was a time of growth, socially and economically. Industrialization was on the rise, people were on the move and railroads were growing at a pace to keep up with both. Manufacturing and transportation were the business to be in. To invest all of this newly-made cash, banking was another burgeoning business. The country was growing and so were the pocketbooks of businessmen. Many of them became the nouveau riche, and most of them came to Long Branch to spend their money. They also came to hobnob with the powerful politicians and military bigwigs who were already making Long Branch their summer headquarters. The influence that the new business leaders enjoyed was evident in the political as well as the economic arenas.

These business tycoons became the new arbiters of taste and culture. One of the more flamboyant of these millionaires was James Buchanan Brady, also known as Diamond Jim. He made his fortune selling railroad equipment and got his nickname because of the number of flashy diamonds he wore. He once boasted that he had a different set of jewelry for every day of the month. Besides his jewelry, he like to show off his girlfriend, the famous actress, Lillian Russell. The pair would often be seen strolling through the hotels or riding down Ocean Avenue in one of Diamond Jim's new "horseless carriages."

Another visitor to Long Branch is well-known in American history as the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, but she is not as readily identified as the woman who put official stamp of approval on Long Branch as a place to vacation. Mary Todd Lincoln, her two sons and sister stayed in the Mansion House Hotel while visiting in August 1861. Her trip nearly to Long Branch nearly coincided with the Battle of Bull Run and when she arrived, new army recruits were drilling on the corner of Broadway and Myrtle Avenues. The soldiers, along with the rest of the town, stopped what they were doing and paid proper homage to the first lady of the land.