The History Around 2528 Tilton Rd., Egg Harbor Township

This page tells the story of the area around 2528 Tilton Rd. in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Down the street sit the Atlantic City International Airport and the 177th Fighter Wing. Nearby is the site of the old Shore Mall, which opened in 1968 as Searstown and is now Harbor Square. Railroad tracks once crossed the Black Horse Pike near the mall site, and the historic Bird Town neighborhood lies close by. Some of these details are documented regional history, and some are local history shared by people who know the area well.

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Documented Regional History

A Shore Named for Bird Eggs

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The story of this area begins long before the airport or the shopping centers. In 1614, Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey explored the coast of what is now southern New Jersey. According to the documented history of the region, the shores were so thick with bird eggs that he named the waters "Eieren Haven," Dutch for "egg harbor." That name lives on today in Egg Harbor Township, Egg Harbor City, and the Great Egg Harbor River and Bay that run through the region. Birds have shaped this landscape for centuries, a thread that runs from the region's name to a neighborhood nearby called Bird Town.

The Airport and the 177th Fighter Wing

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The Atlantic City International Airport is down the street from 2528 Tilton Rd. The airport began in 1942 as a U.S. Naval Air Station, built on land leased from the City of Atlantic City to train Navy carrier air groups during World War II. After the Navy moved on, the field grew into a joint civilian and military facility and became the home of the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center. Today the airport is owned and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority.

The airport is also home to the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, which flies F-16 Fighting Falcons. The wing's flying unit traces its presence in Egg Harbor Township back to 1958, when it moved to the former Navy facility that became Atlantic City Air National Guard Base. For generations, the sight and sound of military jets overhead has been part of everyday life in the neighborhoods around the airport, including the community where this property sits.

The Old Shore Mall: From Searstown to Harbor Square

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Just down the street is the site of the old Shore Mall, a shopping destination that shaped the area for decades. The mall opened in 1968 as Searstown, anchored by Sears and joined by many other stores. In the early 1970s it was renamed Shore Mall, enclosed, and expanded into a major regional shopping center that drew shoppers from across Atlantic County.

At its peak, Shore Mall was the place South Jersey went to shop, with department stores and dozens of retailers under one roof. When the enclosed mall era ended, the property was redeveloped and reopened in 2013 as Harbor Square, an open-air shopping center on the Black Horse Pike. Boscov's, one of the mall's longtime anchors, is still operating there today, keeping a direct link to the area's shopping heritage.

Railroad Tracks Across the Black Horse Pike

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One piece of local history shared about this area is that railroad tracks once crossed the Black Horse Pike near the mall site. Railroads played a central role in the growth of South Jersey, moving passengers, produce, and freight through the region, and tracks like these were once a common sight along the corridor. The crossings are long gone, but they are remembered as part of the landscape this community grew up around.

Retailers Along the Corridor: Pathmark and Rickel's

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The commercial strip down the street from the property once included familiar local names that have since closed their doors. Pathmark, a longtime supermarket chain, had a store down the street where families did their weekly grocery shopping. Rickel's, a regional home-improvement and hardware retailer, also served the area. These stores were part of the everyday retail life along the Tilton Road and Black Horse Pike corridors for many years, and longtime residents still recall them fondly.

Bird Town: The Historic Neighborhood Nearby

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Down the street from the property is a neighborhood known as Bird Town. It is a historic neighborhood near the property that has been part of the local landscape for years. There are local stories about how the neighborhood got its name, but the origin has not been verified, so we present Bird Town simply as the historic neighborhood near the property. It remains a part of the area's character and identity.