Shark attacks a century ago still haunt a seaside town
Memory of a series of fatal attacks in 1916 resurfaced in the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws
Until the summer of 1916, many scientists believed sharks would never harm humans. That myth was shattered when the first recorded multiple fatal shark attacks left four people dead at the New Jersey shore over a period of 12 days, sparking fears that endure today.
Some thought a sea turtle was to blame when a Philadelphia man died after his thigh was stripped of flesh while he swam in the Atlantic Ocean off Beach Haven on July 1, 1916. Five days later, a bellman at the Essex & Sussex Hotel in Spring Lake died after he was bitten and his legs severed.
Worse was to come. Talk of the attacks was far from the minds of Matawan residents on a hot and humid July 12. The town was inland from Raritan Bay, which helped feed the tidal Matawan Creek.
Boys like 11-year-old Lester Stillwell liked to skinny dip off the Old Wyckoff Dock, about a mile and a half from the bay, Matawan historian Al Savolaine said.