It was a heatwave. People were desperate. In July 1916, the residents of the Northeastern United States were dealing with a polio epidemic and a record-breaking stretch of temperatures that felt like a literal furnace. There was no air conditioning. Naturally, everyone headed to the shore. What followed over a period of twelve days wasn't just a series of tragic accidents; it was a fundamental shift in how humans perceive the ocean.
Before the Jersey shark attack 1916 events, the general public—and even many scientists—didn't actually believe sharks were a threat to living humans. They were seen as scavengers. Cowardly, even. Famous millionaire Hermann Oelrichs had even offered a $500 reward in 1891 to anyone who could prove a shark had ever bitten a person in temperate waters. Nobody claimed the prize. That collective sense of security vanished on July 1, 1916, at Beach Haven.
A Timeline of Terror on the Jersey Shore
Charles Vansant was 25. He was on vacation with his family from Philadelphia. Around 6:00 PM, he went for a quick swim before dinner. When he started screaming, people on the beach thought he was calling to his dog. They were wrong. Alexander Ott, a former member of the US Olympic swimming team, rushed in to save him. By the time they dragged Vansant to the sand, the flesh on his left leg was gone. He bled out on the manager’s desk of the Engleside Hotel.
The world didn't stop.
Most people thought it was a fluke. A "stray" incident. Five days later and 45 miles north in Spring Lake, Charles Bruder, a bell captain at the Essex and Sussex Hotel, was swimming roughly 130 yards from shore. A woman on the beach screamed that a red canoe had capsized. It wasn't a canoe. It was blood. When lifesavers pulled him into a boat, they realized both of his legs had been severed below the knee. He died before they hit the sand.
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The Matawan Creek Anomaly
If the ocean attacks were terrifying, what happened on July 12 was basically unthinkable. Matawan Creek is a tidal inlet. It's brackish. It's narrow. It's miles from the open ocean. Captain Thomas Cottrell, a local fisherman, saw a massive shadow swimming up the creek under the Wyckoff Dock. He ran to town to warn people. They laughed at him.
"A shark in the creek?"
The laughter stopped when 11-year-old Lester Stillwell was pulled under while swimming with his friends at a spot called the "Wyckoff Dock." Local businessman Stanley Fisher dived in to find the boy. He succeeded, but as he was climbing out of the water with Stillwell’s body, the shark struck again. Fisher died at the hospital later that day. Less than an hour later, half a mile downstream, Joseph Dunn was bitten. He was the only one of the five victims to survive, though he nearly lost his leg.
What Kind of Shark Was It?
This is where the debate gets heated among marine biologists. For decades, the blame was placed squarely on a juvenile great white shark. Why? Because on July 14, a taxidermist and Barnum & Bailey lion tamer named Michael Schleisser caught an 8.5-foot shark in Raritan Bay. When he opened its stomach, he found human remains and bones.
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But there’s a catch.
Great whites aren't big fans of fresh water. Matawan Creek, where three people were struck, is significantly inland. Many modern experts, including George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History, suggest a bull shark might have been the real culprit behind the creek attacks. Bull sharks are famous for their ability to tolerate fresh water through osmoregulation.
- The White Shark Theory: Supported by the physical evidence found in Schleisser’s catch.
- The Bull Shark Theory: Supported by the geographical location of the Matawan attacks.
- The Multi-Shark Theory: Some believe it wasn't just one "rogue" shark, but a series of encounters caused by an unusually high population of sharks following the Gulf Stream closer to shore.
The "Rogue Shark" theory was popularized by Dr. Frederic Lucas, then-director of the American Museum of Natural History. He believed a single, injured, or "man-eating" shark had developed a taste for humans. While this theory has been largely debunked by modern biology—sharks don't "hunt" humans by preference—it became the DNA for Peter Benchley’s Jaws.
The Cultural Aftermath and Jaws
You can't talk about the Jersey shark attack 1916 without talking about pop culture. Before this, sharks were barely a footnote in the American psyche. After 1916, they became the ultimate monster. President Woodrow Wilson even held a cabinet meeting to discuss the "shark problem." The US House of Representatives appropriated $5,000 for shark eradication.
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It was a literal war on the water. People lined the docks with shotguns. Dynamite was tossed into the waves. Harpoons, nets, and even poisoned bait were used to clear the Jersey Shore. It was the birth of the "Monster" narrative that still makes people hesitant to dangle their feet off a surfboard today.
Honestly, the hysteria was more dangerous than the sharks themselves in many ways. It led to a massive decline in shark populations over the following century as people hunted them out of fear rather than necessity.
Lessons for Today’s Beachgoer
We know more now. We have drones. We have satellite tagging. We have a much better understanding of apex predator behavior. If you’re heading to the shore, the Jersey shark attack 1916 serves as a historical reminder that the ocean is a wild environment, not a swimming pool.
To stay safe, follow the practical protocols established by shark research organizations like OCEARCH:
- Avoid Estuaries and Inlets After Heavy Rain: Rain washes nutrients and baitfish into the water, which attracts predators. This is exactly the kind of environment seen in Matawan Creek.
- Stay Away from Schools of Baitfish: If you see birds diving or fish jumping frantically, leave the water. You are sitting in a drive-thru.
- No Night Swimming: Sharks are crepuscular hunters. They see you better in low light than you see them.
- Ditch the Jewelry: Shiny objects reflect light like fish scales. To a shark, a gold watch looks like a snack.
- Understand the "Rogue" Myth: Most bites are "test bites" or cases of mistaken identity. Humans aren't high-calorie enough for a shark's diet.
If you want to dive deeper into the history, visit the Matawan Historical Society or read Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo. It’s arguably the most detailed account of that 1916 summer. Understanding the reality of these events helps strip away the cinematic fear and replaces it with a healthy, educated respect for the marine ecosystem. Check local beach reports for shark sightings before you head out, and always swim near a lifeguard stand—response time is the single biggest factor in surviving an encounter.