In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch to start colonizing America, anchored in what is now known as Barnegat Inlet.

 

According to a log of the "Half Moon", his ship, was the remark "This is a good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see." He reported a large lake or "drowned land" which of course was Barnegat Bay. The Dutch named the bay "Barendegat", meaning in Dutch, Inlet of Breakers.

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Waretown is named after Abraham Waier, an early settler and a member of the Rogerines (sometimes called Quaker Baptists) who came here in 1739 from Connecticut. He built a mill to replace one he had lost in a storm elsewhere and was "generally esteemed". He died March 24, 1768 at the age of 85.

 

Over its first one hundred years, Waretown had many different spellings and pronunciations, from Waier Creek and Waier Mills in 1762; Wiretown in 1802; Waretown, 1809; Weartown, 1828; Wiretown Branch, 1839; Waretown Mill, 1866; to Waretown 1872.

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Breakers Kitchen & Tap is located right next to the Barnegat Branch Rail Trail in Waretown.   The trail was built on the former Barnegat Branch Division roadbed of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.  The trains ran from Toms River south through bayside towns to Barnegat.  One of the main events they used to have at the Waretown Railroad Station was a dance called The Fandango, a name that begs to be made into a cocktail.

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Try our Fandango Martini today.