Asbury Park
a city and popular Popular summer resort in Monmouth co., N. J.; on the Atlantic Ocean, 6 miles S. of Long Branch, and on several railroads.
It adjoins Ocean Grove on the N., being separated from it by Wesley Lake. It was founded in 1869, and given a city charter in 1897. The city contains a large number of hotels and boardinghouses, many attractive summer dwellings, electric lights and street railways, National banks, and several periodicals.
It has trolley connections with a cluster of summer resorts extending down to Atlantic Highlands, and is rapidly becoming nearly as popular a winter as a summer resort. Asbury Park and Ocean Grove were originally laid out by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for camp meetings and other purposes. Pop. (1910) 10,150; (1920), 12,400.
ASCALON (as'kal-on), ASHKELON, or ASKELON, one of the five cities of the Philistines, on the Mediterranean, W.
S. W. of Jerusalem, on the main road from Egypt through Gaza to central Palestine. Very often mentioned in Scripture, it rose to considerable importance in past Biblical times. Near the town were the temple and sacred lake of Derceto, the Syrian Venus. A great victory was won here by the crusaders in 1099. The position of Ascalon is naturally very strong. Near the ruins of the city stands now a village of the same name. The eschalot or shallot, a kind of onion (allium escalonicum), was first grown there.
ASCANIUS (as-kä'nē-us), a son of Æneas and Creusa, who accompanied his father in his flight from the burning of Troy, and landed in Italy. He ably supported Æneas in his war with the Latins, and_succeeded him in the government of Latium. He afterward built Alba Longa, to which he transferred his seat of government from Lavinium, and reigned there 38 years. His descendants ruled over Alba for 420 years.