Burlington Island
The mission of the Friends of Burlington Island (FOBI) is to develop and maintain a unique island experience for the citizens of the Delaware Valley where they can hike, fish, and enjoy the tranquility of Mother Nature.
The FOBI aims to assist with a safe and responsible approach to opening Burlington Island for enjoyment by the public. We particularly support programing for school age children to enable recreational and educational opportunities.
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Join Friends of Burlington Island
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” ~Robert Swan
The FOBI needs YOU to join the growing number of supporters working to preserve the Island in its natural state for the enjoyment of surrounding communities, naturalists, environmentalists, and recreational enthusiasts. YOU can help accomplish the FOBI’s goals to raise funds, recruit volunteers, promote the Island’s vitality, and provide assistance to responsibly reopen Burlington Island.
By joining the Friends of Burlington Island, you will be invited to all of FOBI’s events and island work projects. Your membership also enables you to exclusive updates on the Island’s progress and proudly shows your commitment and support of the Island.
Businesses, non-profit organizations, individuals, and families are all welcome to join the FOBI! Annual membership forms and payment (when applicable) can be submitted online or printed and mailed. See below for additional information on membership options.
For more information or questions, email us at info@FriendsofBurlingtonIsland.org.
- Businesses and Non-Profit Organizations – Annual Dues $100.00
- Reciprocal Membership – Contact the FOBI @ info@friendsofburlingtonisland.org for more info.
Sign up and pay (if applicable) online HERE.
Print and mail a completed membership form along with payment (if applicable) by downloading it HERE.
About Us
The Friends of Burlington Island (FOBI) is helping to develop and maintain an island experience for Delaware Valley citizens. Burlington Island is rich in nature and vital to the community. Opening the island is essential to the revitalization of Burlington City, New Jersey.
Things to do on the Island
The island is a nature-lover’s paradise offering hiking, fishing, kayaking, and day camping. Plans may include other activities. The island also features a 97-acre fresh-water lake perfect for fishing and kayaking.
Destination Anywhere: Burlington Island
Courtesy of Michael J. Franz (#mickeyshuffle) and his ‘Destination Anywhere’ series, the Friends of Burlington Island (FOBI) is grateful to have contributed to this wonderful video.
“On this episode of Destination Anywhere, we’re going to take a deep dive into the history of Burlington Island. Located in the Delaware River, between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Burlington Island was the site of the first European settlement in New Jersey in the 1600s. By the 20th century, the island was home to an amusement park and would later become a vacation destination up until the late-1970s. With no permanent residents, Burlington Island is maintained by local volunteers striving to maintain and restore the glory of the island.”
Burlington Island Nature Slideshow
Educational Programming Slideshow
United By Blue Cleanup
With each rainfall, centuries-old trash left on the Island leeches into the soil and runs into the freshwater lake or into the Delaware River, which provides drinking water to 15 million people. In 2019, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection facilitated a massive cleanup that included United By Blue (UBB), an outdoor apparel brand. After two weeks of intense coordination and labor and with the help of various public and private organizations, groups, and persons, 96,100 lbs. of trash was removed from Burlington Island!!
In addition to their commitment to sustainable materials, ethical manufacturing, and a zero-plastic policy, United By Blue (UBB) is making a tangible impact on ocean pollution. For every product sold, one pound of trash is removed from waterways and oceans through company-organized cleanups. By mobilizing the community in this effort, UBB aims to not only rid our shorelines of litter, but also to inspire individuals to live less wasteful lives.
Safe Boating Tips
Safety is paramount when boating on any waterway, especially the Delaware River between Burlington, NJ and Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania. Friends of Burlington Island suggests all boaters understand tides.
Historical Timeline of Burlington Island
1624 Walloons from the French speaking area of Belgium – The first European settlement in New Jersey.
1625? Swedes took over when the Walloons (Dutch) moved back to New York.
1655 The Dutch returned.
1664 The Dutch left when the English arrived in Burlington.
1668 Peter Jegou and Henry Jacobse farmed the empty island with the permission of the English Governor.
1671 First recorded murders in NJ took place on the island.
1673 The Dutch recaptured the island.
1674 The English were granted title of the island in the Treaty of Westminster.
1677 The Quakers arrived from England and bought land from the Lenape and settled on the mainland.
1679 Robert Stacy asked to lease the island. He was granted a 7-year lease with the understanding he would continue to allow Jegou and Jacobse to farm the land. Stacy evicted the farmers.
1680 The first petition to be signed in Burlington against Stacy.
1682 Stacy gave up his lease and suggested that island rents be used to maintain a school for the education of youth within the city.
1683 William Penn tried to gain possession of the island.
1710 The legal title of Matinicunk Island was granted by the Crown to the town of Burlington and made it part of the Province of New Jersey.
1720 Governor William Burnet improved the island for the people of the city to use as a pleasure grounds or park.
1727 Burlington appointed a board of overseers, or managers, of seven persons to inspect, inquire, and manage the island. Income from farming, fishing, and rents on the Island was to be used for education of youth.
1805-1888 Island Managers gave more than $100,000 towards the construction or development of seven schools within the City. For more than 150 years the Board of Island Managers was the only financial support of the public-school system in Burlington.
1824 The State Legislature acted to incorporate the Managers of the Island School Fund for Education of Youth.
1852 The Legislature reincorporated the Island Managers under the title “Managers and Treasurer of the Fund for the Education of the Youth in the City of Burlington”.
1852 One of the first acts of the Managers was to sell the lower 100 acres of the island to the Burlington Island Land Association for $20,100. Their plan was to put a bridge to the island and sell lots for homes. They tried for more than 35 years, then gave up.
1890s Charles Conrad Abbott, New Jersey’s first archaeologist, rowed to the island and found tiles, beads, pipes, and glass fragments from the Swedish, Dutch, and English occupations.
1900-1917 One hundred acres was sold for a family picnic resort. During this time, four farms were also in operation.
1914 Fifty acres additional of land was sold to the Burlington Island Park Company for an elaborate amusement park, one of the largest on the East coast.
1917 The Greyhound was built – one of the largest wooden roller coasters in the world. This new park attracted thousands. The park was so popular that the Burlington Island Park Company bought more land to expand. It was in operation for 11 years.
1917–1918 The Delaware River was extensively dredged to enable ships being built for service in World War I just north of Bristol to pass through the channel. The dredge was deposited on the north end of the island closest to the shipyard.
1928 A fire destroyed much of the amusement park and six years later a second fire took out everything else. The only ride that survived was the beautiful carousel, which currently resides on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights, NJ.
1934 After the fires, the land was bought by a sand and gravel excavation company that removed 97-acres of material creating Burlington Island Lake.
1960s 85 families leased campsites with 50 families building summer homes on the north end of the island.
1978 The leases were terminated, and all the summer residents were evicted. Whatever they did not take with them was bulldozed into several large piles which remained there for more than 50 years. At the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers placed hundreds of thousands of yards of river dredge spoils on the southern end of the island, using it for a second time as their dumping ground.
2019 A small but mighty company called United By Blue based in Philadelphia proved to be a key player in cleaning up the debris from the summer homes. United By Blue coordinated efforts to remove 96,100 pounds of metal and debris from the island in a clean-up that lasted a week in the pouring rain with multiple volunteers from various agencies including the Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Burlington, the Board of Island Managers, and a host of volunteers.
Present – The southern half of the island, closest to the Burlington Bristol Bridge, is owned by the City of Burlington but is under the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey Green Acres program. The northern half of the island is owned by the Board of Island Managers.
The island is now able to be used for recreation, education, preservation, and cultural purposes. There are four miles of hiking trails on the island marked by color and numbers which correspond to GPS locations so that any hiker or visitor who needs assistance can call 911 and their location will be identified. The Burlington Island Lake is spring fed, separate from the Delaware River, and is said to be the largest lake within an island within a river in the world. It features fishing, rowing, kayaking, and beautiful vistas.
Burlington Island is once again on the Army Corps of Engineers radar as a dumping site for the Delaware River dredge spoils and the City is in a lawsuit to stop it. With citizen participation, it can be stopped, but it is up to the people to stand up for the island. Please sign our petition on this website.
Back in the Day
Burlington Island once had one of the largest amusement parks on the East Coast and thousands of people visited. Boats came from Philadelphia and Trenton bringing people to Island Beach with stops in Bristol and Burlington. This video captures some of the fun times that were prevalent during the 1920s when “Island Beach” was in operation.
Flashback Photos Video
Sign the Petition
Please help save Burlington Island, Burlington, NJ from having dredge spoils dumped on it. Dredge spoils will destroy the natural environment that fosters the deer, fish and other animals that call the island home. Dredge spoils will also bury the ancient Native American village, burial and ceremonial grounds on the Island.
