The Bivalve shipping sheds and wharves were constructed in 1904 with roofs added over the wharves in 1916. The structures are the principal surviving remnants of the Maurice River Cove oystering industry, which thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Significant to the maritime history and transportation development of the State of New Jersey, the structures are a hybrid building type which linked the maritime trade to the land. The structures include docks, packing and storage sheds and platforms for transfer of the oyster harvest from vessels to docks (wharves), to the packing and storage sheds, and finally to an adjacent rail line for commercial distribution.

The current grant will help fund the preparation of an interpretive plan, creation of an orientation video, creation of new wayside signage, redesigning portions of the web site, and the creation of interpretation packets for teachers and students. Previous Trust grants helped fund the preparation of a preservation plan that is guiding future restoration and repair and Phase I restoration of the sheds and wharves.

The Bayshore Discovery Project received the Governor's Heritage Tourism Award in 2003 for sharing its maritime history programs.

For more information, visit: www.ajmeerwald.org