Category: Exploring the Jersey Shore

Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary 11400 3rd Avenue Stone Harbor, NJ 08247

Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary

11400 3rd Avenue

Stone Harbor, NJ 08247

(609) 368-5102

https://www.facebook.com/p/Stone-Harbor-Bird-Sanctuary-100064916130839/

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Open:Sunday-Saturday 24 Hours

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

The sign welcoming you

The History of the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary:

(from the park’s website)

The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is a wonderfully preserved microcosm of what the barrier islands of New Jersey looked like hundreds of years ago. As you walk along Sanctuary paths, it is easy to imagine the Lenni-Lenape Indians wandering through the maritime forest, crossing wind swept sand dunes, past groves of white cedar, birch, pine, holly and sassafras trees, taking time to drink water from a spring fed freshwater pond and then, fishing in the salt water meadows surrounded by herons and songbirds.

As early as the 1870’s and 1880’s, the Sanctuary area was recognized as a “veritable paradise of birds” for ornithologists. The primary attractions were Little Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and egrets. Once the 96^th Street Bridge opened in 1911, those who wanted to study, hunt or collect the eggs of birds no longer had to walk across four miles of marsh. Easy access to the heronry was a boon to birders but also a threat to birds whose plumes and eggs were valued.

In 1941, the Stone Harbor Bird Club was organized in the home of Lillian R. Leuallen. The Bird Club was renamed in 1946 as the Witmer Stone Club to honor Witmer Stone, one of the first ornithologists to document birds in the Sanctuary area. With considerable foresight, the Witmer Stone Club proposed early in 1947 that the Borough of Stone Harbor establish a “sanctuary”. In October of 1947, the Borough Council passed Ordinance #208 which preserved 31 acres of land as a wildlife sanctuary. Subsequent to expert study in 1961 which demonstrated that no birds were nesting on the beach side sanctuary acreage, the Stone Harbor Borough Council sold ten acres to the east of Second Avenue. The remaining 21 acres bounded by Second Avenue to the East, Third Avenue to the West, 111^th Street to the North and area between 116^th and 117^th on the South represents the Sanctuary as we know it today. The Sanctuary remains one of the few bird sanctuaries in the world that are completely within municipal boundaries.

One can’t overstate the foresight and commitment of the residents and Borough officials to conservation as well as the preservation of open space and wildlife in 1947, 1961 and every year since. This commitment was reinforced by the United States Park Service in 1965 when it designated the Sanctuary as a National Natural Landmark.

Over the years, the Sanctuary has been home to thousands of birds and visited by more than a million people representing all fifty states and most countries in the world. It has been estimated that Sanctuary visitors spend more than $5 million each year, locally. Although some like the New York Times in 1960 glorify the Sanctuary, referring to it as “The Everglades of New Jersey”, Stone Harbor residents think of the Sanctuary as a symbol of the character of this quiet, single family town which respects the nature and wildlife that surrounds them while placing a premium on livability, aesthetics and serenity.

The front of the sanctuary from 3rd Avenue

I took a walk when I was in Stone Harbor through the town’s Bird Sanctuary to hopefully view some rare birds. While I did not see much, I heard a lot of singing and scrawling as I walked the path through the trees.

The front gardens in the sanctuary

The gardens were still in bloom in the late Summer and many colorful wildflowers attracted all sorts of butterflies and other insects.

The sign greeting you about the experience

The front path of the sanctuary

You head over the bridge to the paths that take you into the woods

Walking down the pathways through the woods

The path takes you into a deep wooded area in the middle of the town and by the time you get to the middle of the path, you can hear the mating calls of many birds. It’s funny to note that we are a couple of blocks from the shore.

Walking through the pathways

Reaching the middle of the beach woods

The middle of the bird sanctuary noisy with bird calls

Walking back through the pathways through the roads

Touring through the Bird Sanctuary does not take a long time, but offers relief from a busy shore town.

Video on the park:

The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage 610 Washington Avenue Woodbine, NJ 08270

The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage

610 Washington Avenue

Woodbine, NJ 08270

(629) 626-3831

https://woodbinemuseum.org/

https://visitnj.org/sam-azeez-museum-woodbine-heritage

https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Sam-Azeez-Museum-of-Woodbine-Heritage-of-Stockton-University-100085580916230/

Open: Sunday-Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm/Saturday Closed

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46938-d3915473-Reviews-The_Sam_Azeez_Museum_of_Woodbine_Heritage-Woodbine_Cape_May_County_New_Jersey.html

The front of the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage

The entrance sign that welcomes you

The History of the Sam Azzez Woodbine Museum:

(from the museum’s website):

The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage is an independent non-profit charitable organization preserving the unique history of Woodbine, NJ.

Established in the 1890’s through Baron de Hirsch’s philanthropy, Woodbine began as an agricultural colony for Russian Jewish immigrants seeking freedom denied in their homeland. As poor soil conditions limited farming, Woodbine evolved into Cape May County’s manufacturing center while maintaining founding values of education, religion and inclusion.

The museum occupies the historic Woodbine Brotherhood Synagogue, listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places. The restored sanctuary hosts special services, while the Brotherhood Hall houses exhibitions including the community-contributed Collective Memory Wall.

The historical significance of of the Town of Woodbine

The entrance to the museum

The museum is another interesting look at New Jersey history and the development of the immigrant story of assimilation into American society.

I was given a personal tour by the Assistant Curator and she explained the resettlement of Russian Jewish immigrants by a wealthy patron into this South Jersey community.

The main gallery of the museum

The panels tell the story of how these community came into being and how these people built a community through agricultural and eventually manufacturing and small businesses that supported the community around it. It established a town that was self sustaining and grew to the community center.

The panels show the growth of Woodbine as a community

The residents established their own sports teams, community organizations and civic groups like the councils and fire and police departments.

The records of the many town organizations of Woodbine

Display of one of the first families to settle in Woodbine

Display of the religious faith of the community

One of the most touching displays is of survivors of the concentration camps during the holocaust. These pictures represent these women as children and them today.

The display of the women who survived the camps

The history of the community and the growth of diverse businesses in Woodbine

Creating and building the Synagogue in the community

On the second floor of the building is the old synagogue of the community which is only used during the high holidays. This is used by descendants of the community and family members of theirs.

The inside of the synagogue on the second floor of the building

The front of the temple

The chandelier is original to the temple

The space was being prepared for the Jewish New Year and the crowd of people who would be attending.

The Memorial Wall

The traditions of the religion being practiced in the community

The self-government of the community

Still the younger generation was all American and wanted to assimilate into society with an all American past time of things like baseball.

The Woodbine youth baseball team

The uniform of the old baseball team for youths in the town

The last display is of the famous alumni who once lived in the community. These are the men and women who once lived here and went on after all odds to do great things and make our country better.

The Hall of Fame

The museum I thought had a bit of an identity crisis as I really did not know what the museum was about.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an interesting part of New Jersey history I had never known. It just goes to show you how a museum can educate you with just one visit. The Assistant curator said there will be more to come in the future.

The Friendship School Museum 859 South Shore Road (Route 9) Palermo, NJ 08223

The Friendship School

859 South Shore Road (Route 9)

Palermo, NJ 08223

(609) 628-3303

http://uppertwphistory.org/Friendship-School.htm

https://hpsout.tripod.com/

https://capemaycountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5497/CMC-Heritage-Brochure

Open: Please call for a appointment and special tour

My review on TripAdvisor:

The front of the schoolhouse

The entrance to the property

The historic marker

The outside sign

The Friendship School was an interesting look at early rural education where students of various ages would be educated together.

The hours would vary with the growing seasons and students would be educated in the basics to educate them to the next level.

During the school day, children would have various chores to do such as gather wood, collect water, mind the fire and watch the day’s lunch. It would be a full day for both the teacher and the students.

My tour guide confirmed that nothing was easy during the school day and children had a lot of responsibility for what went on in their lives.

The tour was an interesting look at the lives of children of that period of time and the education they received.

The history of the Friendship School:

(from the Museum’s website)

This historic property contains the circa 1930 Friendship School, a circa 1900 privy, and a circa 1917 coal storage shed. The Friendship School was originally donated in 1976 by William Wells, grandson of Enoch Clouting to the Upper Township Bicentennial Committee during a time when Upper Township was particularly interested in its earliest buildings.

The historic plaques

The school’s hand pump

The committee, headed by the late Curtis T. Cordon, evolved to become the nucleus of the Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township (HPSUT) in 1977. Virginia M. Wilson was its’ first President.

The history of the Friendship School begins when it was incorporated in May of 1831 with Jonathon Corson, Lewis Corson, and Seth Young as trustees. The students’ tuition was paid for by parents in 1830, but by 1869, public funding for schools was established. In the 1862-63 school year, 52 students crowded into this 15’x 20’ structure, and of those students in the teacher’s roll book, 24 were Corsons!

The grounds of the school grounds

The school itself is standing on its fourth known location! It was originally located 6 houses southeast of its present location. It was used for classes until it was replaced with a larger building in the 1860’s.

The abandoned school house later owned by resident, Lot Corson, became known as “Lot’s Temple” because church services were held there. Then, it was moved to Enoch Clouting’s farm where a corn crib was placed on one side. It is Enoch’s grandson who kindly donated the school.

The barn on the grounds

The school building was in extreme disrepair when it was moved from the Clouting property to the corner of Ocean Ave. and Shore Road. According to an undated news article, “mere fragments of the (original) building remained” although “some of the heavier corner posts were salvaged.”

The school’s outhouse (pricey)

The historic sign

Nevertheless, restoration of this Friendship School was researched and planned by Kyle Fleetwood of Tuckahoe and James Wilson of Marmora; with assistance from Matt Unsworth, Robert Entirkin, Curtis Corson III, Somers Corson, Marshall “Ted” Behr, Guy Himmelberger, Harry “Hap” Folger and other members of the Bicentennial Committee. It was completed in 1980.

All replacement wood matched the original in size and material and great care was taken to restore it to its original appearance. Locally sourced materials for the restoration/reconstruction came from the Van Vorst sawmill in Petersburg, the Hess sawmill in South Seaville and the Brewer sawmill in Dennisville. Benches donated by Myra Clouting Biggs, were reproduced by Matt Unsworth.

The inside of the school house

The teacher’s desk is a reproduction also made by Matt Unsworth. Hardware for the building was hand-wrought by Robert Entrikin of Petersburg. Although it does not qualify for the State and National Registers listing because it retains little original historic building fabric, the building is important to the historical time line of Upper Township.

The schoolbooks and school equipment

Also on this site are two old frame buildings: a circa 1900 privy donated from the property of the Seaville School on Kruk Drive and a circa 1917 coal/storage shed donated from the Palermo School on Route 9. The coal storage shed, was donated by Wes and Doris Nickerson with Jim and Nancy Siegrist helping with its restoration. It was added to the property in 1993. Three three-seat privy (outhouse) from the old unused Seaville School was donated by Sharon Kruk in honor of her father, and was restored by Lewis Albrecht and Jim Siegrist. It is a work of art (with a French style roof), but is non-functional.

The school room reproduction

A special item, the cedar flag pole, from which flew a U.S. flag that flew above the capitol in Washington, DC, was donated by former Deauville Inn owners, Walter and Gloria Carpenter in December of 1983. (Since replaced)

The school bell and flag

The Friendship School was dedicated on September 10, 1983 by Virginia M. Wilson, President of the Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township, Upper Township Mayor Leonard Migliaccio, HPSUT members: Ebbie Unsworth and her son, Matt Unsworth, and guest speaker, New Jersey State Senator, James R. Hurley.

The children would collect water and fire wood for the class room during the school day

The reproduction of the school

Upper Township continues to own and manage the property and the school, while HPSUT members manage the inside and its activities. Each Upper Township Kindergarten class is invited to the annual Kindergarten Day to learn what a student classroom life is like in a one room school house in the early

The outside of the school

Boro of Lakehurst Historical Society Museum 300 Center Street Lakehurst, NJ 08733

Boro of Lakehurst Historical Society Museum

300 Center Street

Lakehurst, NJ 08733

(732) 657-8864

https://lakehurstmuseum.org/

Open: Sunday 12:30pm-3:00pm/Monday-Tuesday Closed/Wednesday 12:30pm-3:00pm/Friday-Saturday Closed

Admission: Free but donations are accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46549-d23615473-Reviews-Lakehurst_Historical_Society_Museum-Lakehurst_New_Jersey.html

The Lakehurst Historical Society at 300 Center Street

I visited the Lakehurst Historical Society Museum on a trip to South Jersey and was taken by the depth and stories that the displays told of this community, its historical background, the influence on shore communities and the nearby site of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. They even had artifacts that people collected and saved from the disaster.

The former decommissioned Catholic Church houses the collection of the history of the community

The History of the Church as a Museum:

When the Borough of Lakehurst faced increasing population, Manchester Township started construction of the new church in 1972. The members of the Lakehurst Historical Society met with the head of the church and discussed plans to convert the church into a small museum. The request was granted through the Trenton Diocese. The grand opening was on July 18th, 1993 (Museum pamphlet).

The building is surrounded by the resting place of many citizens of the community

The surrounding cemetery of prominent families

The history of St. John’s Church:

William Torrey, the founder of Lakehurst, donated land to the Irish immigrants to build the first Roman Catholic Church in Ocean County, New Jersey. The first mass was observed in 1874 in St. John’s Church. Today this little white gem is the popular museum of the Boro of Lakehurst Historical Society (Museum pamphlet). The museum was established in 1993.

The Mission of the Museum:

Our objective is to preserve the history of Lakehurst, NJ.

The main gallery of the old church tells the different stories of this community

The beautiful and historical stained glass windows decorate the sides of the museum

The history of the air travel through blimps and how this type of travel changed transportation between Europe and the United States

A docking ladder to leave the air ship

The history of this type of air travel

The types of blimps docking in the area

The docking stations at the air field in Lakehurst, NJ

The Hindenburg disaster which happened nearby ending our international travel on the zeppelins

Some of the artifacts saved from the wreckage of the Hindenburg disaster

Another form of transportation in the region was the now defunct Blue Comet Train, which was a major form of transportation from urban areas to the shore communities.

A model of the ‘Blue Comet Train’

The model of ‘The Blue Model Train’

The History of the ‘Blue Comet’:

The Blue Comet was the dream and the folly of R.B. White, the President of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. He developed the train line with such luxury and distinction that for the classier set, there would be no other way to come to the Jersey shore. The color blue would permeate through the whole line.

The line operated like a luxury hotel and never turned a profit. At the start of the Depression, the cost of the trip became prohibitive and the shore destinations it catered to fell out of favor to the wealthy. The last run was on September 28th, 1941 (Museum pamphlet).

Community activities through the years such as the Lakehurst Baseball team are displayed in the museum.

The Lakehurst Baseball Team display

The back of the museum displays life in Lakehurst over the last century with many artifacts donated from clothes, household items and personal artifacts from many families who have lived in the community.

The every day items of a Lakehurst daily living in clothing and furnishings over the last century

One of the standout items was this beautiful Civil War era Swiss music box that was played for me

The video of the music box:

The antique music box

Many other household and personal items have been donated by community members tell the day to day life of members of all classes of the community

Clothing, toys and decorative items

Decorative items for the home, clothing and personal items

Antique toys from the turn of the last century

A display of school items used in the classroom. Not much has changed

The mapping and history of Lakehurst’s agricultural past

The farm and construction building equipment of the past

Community social routines of every day life were on display in the museum.

Local shopping and dress making in the early 1900’s. There was even old advertising from Bambergers on display

More household artifacts

The progressive history of the town over the last century

Mr. & Mrs. Torrey, the founders of Lakehurst, NJ whose land the town grew upon

The History of the Torrey family:

Samuel Whittemore turned over a mile square tract of land (640 acres) as a wedding gift to his daughter, Adeline and her husband, William Torrey in 1821. Torrey mapped out the land (now known as Lakehurst). Adeline Torrey named most of streets after trees and flowers and William lined Union Avenue with Elm trees.

William Torrey was a devout Presbyterian but donated the land in 1869 to build the old St. John’s Church. The first Mass was in 1874 (Museum pamphlet).