Was Bay Head Named After a Horse?

For Bay Head residents, the origin of their town's name seems pretty obvious; the borough sits at the head of the bay. But now, a historian from Monmouth University has discovered evidence that calls this assumption into question. Dr. Phillipa Saddler is an expert in the history of New Jersey and has been doing research into the origin of the names of towns and cities. "One would expect that a name like Bay Head is self-explanatory," said Dr. Saddler. "But as with many things in history, the truth is not always what one would expect." Dr. Saddler says the origin of the name involves an incomplete application by businessmen in a hurry, a clerk who looked at the wrong map, and the resemblance of that map to a horse.

The borough of Bay Head has its origins with the Bayhead Land Company which was formed in 1879 with the intention of creating a resort area. One of the company partners was Leavitt Howe. Dr. Saddler has found the original correspondence between Howe and an Ocean County Clerk named Colton Hengst. Howe included a letter with the application for incorporation asking the clerk to process the application quickly.

To whom it may concern,

Please attend to this application at your very earliest convenience. It is of great urgency that our request is processed lest we lose our capital for investment. I implore you to do your utmost to make good on on my request post haste!

Yours respectfully,

Leavitt Howe    

"It is quite apparent that Howe wanted their application done very fast," said Dr. Saddler. "Luckily for Howe, Colton Hengst was the individual who got his note."

Dear Mr. Howe,

As you requested, I have processed your application for incorporation with great alacrity. I was forced to take one liberty, however. You and your partners neglected to include a name for your land company. Rather than delay, I felt it best to choose a name, myself. I took note of the fact that you enclosed a map of the area for incorporation and perceived an uncanny resemblance to a horse's head. As my own steed is a Bay of fine character, I decided to use the moniker Bayhead for your company name. 

I hope that this chosen name is acceptable, but should you demur, you may submit a petition for revision at a later date.

Sincerely,

Colton Hengst
Clerk for the County of Ocean

Dr. Saddler explains that the Bay in Bay Head comes from the type of horse Hengst owned, and not Barnegat Bay. Mr. Howe and his partners must not have objected as they never changed the name. "I believe the gentlemen of the Bayhead Land Company were more concerned about getting their enterprise going than they were about having a name based on a horse," said Dr. Saddler. "It's also possible that they realized the choice of name was serendipitous given the location of the land." 

Dr. Saddler noted that one of the ironies of the clerk's name choice is that he must have mistaken the map of Ocean County for that of Bay Head. It is the map of Ocean County that bears an uncanny resemblance to a horse's head. 

"History has so many oddities like this," noted Dr. Saddler. "And the final part of the Bay Head naming story is the result of yet another mistake." The town was supposed to be called Bayhead, from the original land company, but when it was incorporated as a borough, it was called Bay Head due to a mistake on a train station sign. History does work in mysterious ways.