Ludlam Island is a barrier island

Barrier island

Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...

 in southern New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, on which Sea Isle City

Sea Isle City, New Jersey

Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 2,114. Visitors raise the population to as much as 40,000 during the peak summer season from Memorial Day...

, and Strathmere

Strathmere, New Jersey

Strathmere is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Upper Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 175....

, a part of Upper Township

Upper Township, New Jersey

Upper Township is a large township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The township population was 12,115 as of the United States 2000 Census...

 are located.

Joseph Ludlam purchased the island in the late 17th century, and grazed cows and sheep on it. In the 1880s, developer Charles K. Landis

Charles K. Landis

Charles Kline Landis was a property developer in South Jersey, who was the founder and developer of Vineland and Sea Isle City....

 founded the City of Sea Isle on the island. The original vision that Landis had of Ludlam Island was modeled after Venice’s opulent waterways and his plan for the island included canals and waterways.

Ludlam's Beach Lighthouse

Ludlam's Beach Lighthouse

Ludlam's Beach Light was a lighthouse formerly located in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. It was decommissioned in 1924 and converted to a private residence which was demolished in September 2010.- History :...

 was constructed in 1885, and was built after Charles K. Landis requested a light because of several shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

s off the island. The light was an L-shaped, two-story, structure with a square light tower on top, located at 31st Street and the Boardwalk

Boardwalk

A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....

 until 1924. In 1923, a fire was started when the keeper's dog knocked over a kerosene

Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

 lantern

Lantern

A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...

, destroying the roof and the light.