This shoreline once played a vital role in Keyport’s working waterfront. Fishing and oystering boats lined the bulkhead, with nets, equipment, and small docking facilities supporting a thriving local industry. Nearby stood oyster houses and processing operations, including those associated with Keyport Fishery, while C. C. Galbraith & Son manufactured lifeboats and marine equipment along this stretch of shore.

At the mouth of the Luppatatong Creek, this area was also part of a natural landscape of salt marshes—valuable not only for their ecological role but historically for salt harvesting, used in preserving food and even in the production of munitions.

Long before its maritime and industrial uses, this land was tied to the Kearny Plantation, whose family once owned much of what became Keyport. During the Revolutionary War era, the area was locally known as the “Cow Pen,” where livestock were held. British forces are believed to have come here to seize cattle and provisions, giving the site a small but tangible role in sustaining troops during the war.

In more recent memory, the beloved Ye Cottage Inn stood nearby, welcoming visitors for generations until its loss during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Standing here today, you are in a place shaped by centuries of change—where farmland, salt marsh, maritime industry, and community tradition have each left their mark on the landscape.