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self-guided -
Historical Walking Tours
This is as far as I have gotten with the Walking Tours
More to come soon
How These Tours Came To Be
In March 1995, my Island Heights Girl Scout Troop 425
took on the task of working on a self-guided historical
walking tour of Island Heights, as suggested by Ellie
Rogaiski, the Borough Clerk. It didn’t seem like such a big
task at the time, and as originally envisioned, it wouldn’t
have been. After all, we had the 1981 New Jersey Historic
Sites Inventory of Island Heights as a starting point, and
we had access to earlier printed walking tours to refer to.
A few meetings and we should be done (or so we all thought).
We narrowed down the more than 300 sites that were
placed on the State and National Registers of Historic
Sites to 84 which we felt really should be included. That
was the part of the project the Girl Scouts worked on.
Then we realized that visiting that many sites was far more
than a one day project, so we ended up with three separate
tours. Already the project was growing beyond the “simple”
printed booklet we all thought we were doing. Then came
the idea of adding architectural notes to the simple historical
notes we had planned. The project grew again, and it was
time for the Girl Scouts to move on to other things leaving
me to finish the task.
Inspired by my large collection of lsland Heights postcards,
my “thoughtful” husband told me that it would be “easy”
to add in graphic images which would, we all agreed, make
the finished product so much better. The project grew
larger again. Then began the task of culling through all the
old sources for information, calling up the owners and
former owners of houses, sorting through all the photos,
postcards, etc. available. Countless hours later, I have
pretty much compiled the Riverfront Tour, the Camp
Meeting Tour and the Westray Tour. I’m sure I’ve left out
many facts that should be included and included a few
“facts” that really aren’t. If you will let me know about
these errors of omission and commission, I will try to
correct them in later editions of this work. And, of course,
old photos and stories of some of the houses are still
needed.
Sarah Punderson May 10, 1998
Island Heights History
Once a major waterway, the creek on
the north side of Island Heights is
what first made the island noteworthy
to ships navigating into Toms River.
In 1762 the Dillon family took
ownership of the whole island, and
the remains of their first house can be
found within a much altered structure
on the northeast section of the island.
In later years it was divided into the
Brinley, Hurry and Westray farms.
In 1878, the Island Heights
Association was formed by the Rev.
Jacob Graw, 12 other ministers and
17 businessmen to purchase land from
the Brinley farm to develop into one
of the nine Methodist Camp Meeting
communities in New Jersey. The
Association quickly cleared a site at
the peak of the 60 ft. bluff overlooking
the Toms River and constructed
cottages and a tabernacle so that
thousands of people would converge
on Island Heights late in the summer
of 1878 for the first religious camp
meetings. In addition to promoting
the religious aspects of this new
community, the incorporators were
quite keen on the real estate
development potential for such a
location. The land was carefully
blocked into salable lots, and
promotions were run in Philadelphia
and the surrounding areas. Before
long the community became known
for its yachting activities and seashore
pleasures, and many grand “cottages”
were being built. However, because
of its Methodist origins no liquor was
(nor still is) allowed to be sold within
the boundaries of the town. As the
development succeeded, the Westray
and Hurry farms were annexed to
Island Heights, which eventually
became a Borough in 1887. Because
of the quality of the original
architecture and the preservation of
the remnants of that era, Island
Heights is now on the State and
National Registers of Historic Sites
and the Victorian ambiance of a
bygone time flavors our lives.
Architectural Notes
The popular architectural styles
during the development of Island
Heights between the 1880’s and the
1920’s were Queen Anne, Colonial
Revival, Gothic Revival, Carpenter
Gothic, Stick, Shingle and Bungalow.
Some of the houses were designed by
architects and pure in design, however,
for the most part, local carpenters
would design and do the work, using
materials locally available. They
would come up with their own
individual designs, hence the term
“vernacular” to describe a style, and
more often than not, several styles
were combined in one structure. The
Vernacular Queen Anne Style, which
predominates, can be characterized
by its extremely varied appearance.
Irregular floor plans were used to
avoid symmetry and flat surfaces were
interrupted with gabled dormers, bays,
towers, front or wrap-around porches
and sometimes second story porches.
Texture was added with various
shaped shingles usually combined
with clapboard. The houses were
decorated with gable ornamentation,
spindled railings, decorative porch or
roof brackets and a variety of devices.
The steeply pitched roof often with a
large front gable, gave the houses an
overall vertical appearance.
Throughout the tours, elements of all
of the styles will be indicated, but the
Vernacular Queen Anne Style can be
assumed unless otherwise noted.
Naturally a Project of This Scope Required The
Assistance of Too Many People to Thank By Name But
a Few Deserve Special Thanks for Their Help:
Mary Kaye Millard for giving the Girl Scouts and the
project a direction and her editing
James Punderson for scanning the photos, layout,
typesetting and computer graphic work
Leigh Murphey for contributing the “ISLAND
HEIGHTS HISTORY” and access to previous research
Donald Bottomley for his photograph collection
Island Heights Junior Girl Scout Troop 425
Lindy Capron, Dana Janquitto, Michelle King, Allie
Lupico, Rachel Page, Sarah Jeanne Punderson, Hilary
Scheer, Hillary Sheehan. Naura Sheehan, Amanda West
and especially Annette Lupico my co-leader
They together were responsible for selecting the sites by
sorting through photos and touring the town, for matching
the various research materials, for making the display
board and preparing the “What Do You Know Kids’ question inserts.
Reference Sources
1. McAlester, Virginia and Lee; A Field Guide to
American Houses, published by Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1984
2. Campbell, Carolyn M. and Peryl King and
Martha T. Smith; Chickaree In The Wall
published by Ocean County Historical Society, 1987
3. Salter, Edwin; Salters History of Monmouth
and Ocean Counties, NJ published by Gardner
& Son, Bayonne, NJ, 1890
4. The New Jersey Historic Sites Inventory.
Island Heights Ocean County, 1981 sponsored
by the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission
5. Island Heihts and Windsor Park 1888
booklet printed in 1888, reprinted by the Ocean
County Historical Society
6. Pictorial Album of Island Heights. New Jersey
compiled by Adolph Woolly and George
Heffernon; published by the Ocean County
Historical Society, 1971
7. Island Heights. An Architectural Introduction;
a walking tour booklet published by the Island
Heights Cultural and Heritage Association, 1981
8. Kralik, Marilyn; Island Heights Historic
District Suggested Walking Tour, unpublished
9. Simpson, Miss Emma E.; Pioneers of Island
Heights; unpublished
10. Island Heights Herald; Vol. IZ No. 42, May 29, 1895
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © 1998, Sarah Punderson.
No portion of the Island Heights Walking Tours
may be reproduced in whole or in part
without
prior written permission of Sarah Punderson
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The Westray Tour