A small gap between barrier islands along the southern Jersey Shore is known as Hereford Inlet. It bridges the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Although no information can be found as to how Hereford Inlet received its name, the word hereford is defined as an animal of a breed of red and white beef cattle.

The inlet used to be situated near the village of Anglesea, but is now known as North Wildwood. In the late nineteenth century, this area was a busy center of fishing and coastal commerce, as well as frequent shipwrecks due to many dangerous strong currents and frequently shifting sandbars just off the coast.

The Hereford Inlet Life Saving Station was established in 1849 to help save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers. In 1882 the life saving station was moved to a new site due to coastal erosion. But with the increase in shipping traffic and shipwrecks a new larger station was established. On June 10, 1872, Congress appropriated $25,000 for the construction of a fourth order lighthouse at Hereford Inlet on a one-and-a-half-acre site on a dune overlooking the inlet. The lighthouse was completed on April 16, 1874.

Yet, even today, the inlet is a dangerous waterway to navigate due to shifting sands from the longshore current. For the past few years, the currents have pushed the sand from Avalon and Stone Harbor southward into the inlet. The currents also moves the sand farther south to get deposited on nearby Wildwood beaches. This is one important why public beaches along the Wildwood communities get wider every year.