The first jetty on the site was a 1,100 feet (340 m) wooden structure built by the Margate Pier Harbour Company in 1824.

[2] It was known as the Jarvis Landing Stage and allowed ships to load and unload passengers at low tide when Margate Harbour was inaccessible.

[2] On 1 January 1877 the pier was cut through by a shipwreck driven by a storm; between 40 and 50 people were trapped on the seaward side of the break until the next day when they could be rescued.

[5] The Margate lifeboat was one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk that sailed to France in May-June 1940 to assist with Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of members of the British and French armies ahead of the German advance.

[7] The wooden wreckage of the pier was burnt on the beach in the days following the storm surge, though portions were salvaged by local residents.

[1][4] Some relics from the pier structure are held at Margate Museum, these include the entrance plaque and portions of the railings and deck.

[4] In summer 2018 a Dreamland Margate Mural-by-the-Sea art installation was erected at the former landward end of the pier.

[2] The artist J. M. W. Turner boarded for a time in Margate and painted an oil sketch that included the jetty, which he could see from his window.