<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe island had originally been named Mantinicunk Island by the original inhabitants, the Lenape people, Mantinicunk meaning Island of Pines. It changed hands many times after the first European settlement there in the 1600s, as well as names: High Island and Verhulsten Island were names prior to the modern Burlington Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, it was granted to the city of Burlington for primarily farming use. The residents reportedly often campaigned for a bridge to be built between the island and the city of Burlington on the mainland, which never did happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1900, the first family picnic resort opened on the lower half of the island. (And here, I\u2019ll pause to say that if you remember back to the Rose Island episode (theabandonedcarousel.com\/10) you\u2019ll see many parallels to the story of Burlington Island, as they are contemporaries.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The developer put in picnic tables and a bath house, built a pier, and had sand deposited in order to form a beach. There was also an ice cream stand. All told, this was a huge draw at the turn of the century. Reportedly, 4,000 people visited the island in just a single day at the peak of the 1902 season. An early contemporaneous description of the park was \u201cAn ideal temperance picnic resort\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 1907, with things going so well, the park owners reportedly talked to the owner of another park \u2013 Rancocas Lake Park, in Mount Laurel, NJ. That park was a trolley park.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n