Sign up for email newsletters
Development of Stone Harbor began in the late 19th century as a beach resort along the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad line. The community was marketed to wealthy residents of Philadelphia and the Main Line seeking a resort destination for a second home.
Stone Harbor was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1914, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 28, 1914.
The borough gained a portion of Avalon on December 27, 1941. The borough is said to be named for an English sea captain named Stone who sought shelter from a storm in the area.
In 2015, a contract was awarded to dredge adjacent bodies of water. In early 2016, during the dewatering stage of the operation, a total of three geotubes discharged a small quantity of sediment containing several contaminants. Dredging was halted pending development of a plan to prevent future such spills.
A recent visit to the Stone Harbor Museum revealed this poem which captures some of the magic of Stone Harbor.
Titled “Stone Harbor Swan Song,” it was penned on September 11, 1954 by Helen T. Elliott, poet, governess, and cook at Ruf Wud Cottage located at 394 93rd Street.
“Tonight a sheen of gold is spreading o’er
The smooth lovely sea. Its luminous light
Reveals the hidden mystery of the night
And clarifies where darkness was before,
Transmutes to splendor where the moonbeams pour
Their gold enchantment down the far coastline,
Where beach thickets and dunes, beach grass and vine
Are touched by alchemy along the shore.
How good to come on such a golden night
Away from noise and tension and life’s glare.
And stretched, distracted on the sand’s hard turf
To feel its coolness, silent with delight.
While the moon, glimmering, fades and the air
Sighs with the muted echo of the surf.”
This poem’s author cites Rufwud Cottage for which there is Reference Number: 14000979: State: NJ: County: Cape May: Town: Stone Harbor Borough: Street Address: 394 93rd St. Multiple Property Submission Name: N/A: Status: Listed 12/2/2014: Areas of Significance: significant under criterion C as a relatively rare example of an Arts and Crafts-influenced Craftsman style summer cottage.
Thirty years prior to the tenure of Elliott, the Stone Harbor Water Tower pumping station was built in 1924, the oldest municipal structure still in use in Stone Harbor. The tower, 133 feet (41 m) high, can be seen from almost anywhere on the island.
It holds 500,000 US gallons (1,900,000 l; 420,000 imp gal) of water and is supplied by four individual fresh water wells 890 feet (270 m) deep which tap the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer.
Stone Harbor attractions include The Wetlands Institute, the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary and the Stone Harbor Museum.
The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary maintain the Villa Maria by the Sea convent, which opened in June 1937, with a new and modernized Retreat House expected to open in the autumn of 2022.
The beach fronting the Villa is called Nun’s Beach and is a well-known surfing spot with a fabulous fundraising contest in September of any given year.
The original Stone Harbor cottages and bungalows are documented by Harlan B. Radford, Jr. in “Stone Harbor: The Early Years,” a 1998 publication of The Stone Harbor Archival Advisory Committee, introducing the community’s beginning stages of construction thus:
“But where and how did it all begin? Like any good plan, it started on paper with streets and avenues laid out in a rectangular grid pattern and the in-between spaces identified with block and lot identification numbers.
“In addition to a hotel, there were only four cottages in existence as their development began. Stone Harbor today is seen just as they planned it with three numbered avenues running north and south and numbered streets, east and west.
“There are surviving examples of early 20th-century souvenir picture postcards displaying many of the fine examples of Stone Harbor’s architecture as the seashore resort began its earliest stage of development.
“An artist’s rendition of ‘New Stone Harbor’ appeared on an early postcard image and it is not all that far removed from what would become a reality as Stone Harbor slowly started to evolve.
“Printed in Germany, the postcard shows the planned Harbor Inn and impressive large homes and invites recipients to receive details about the development ‘Without incurring any obligation.’
“Some of the illustrated structures, however, never actually came into existence, notably a lighthouse on the bayside, a sizable amusement pier jutting out into the ocean, as well as a large Ferris wheel also facing the ocean.
“Stone Harbor’s first permanent structure was the Harbor Inn built in 1892 at 83rd Street facing and close to the ocean. Originally called the Hotel Abottsford Inn, new ownership renamed it Harbor Inn.
“The first exterior view of the postcard shows the ‘Harbor Inn, New Stone Harbor’ with a tall water pumping windmill that also included a water tower for storing water.
“The caption on a second postcard states: ‘Harbor Inn at Stone Harbor. This popular hostelry is run by the South Jersey Realty Company, builder of Stone Harbor, and here guests of the company are entertained on the Company’s Free Inspection Trips. It is open all year.’
According to Radford, “The Roomy Parlor seen in an interior view of Harbor Inn featured a flaring horn gramophone, numerous sitting and rocking chairs, a fireplace, floor lamps and ceiling gas lamps for lighting, and a writing desk.
Also, “The Dining Room shows several ceiling-hung gas lamps and numerous fully-set tables seating 4 persons, each with tablecloths ready for dining.
“A cluster of seven ‘handsome cottages’ constructed in the late 1890s between 80th and 83rd Streets formed the original resort.
“With the construction of roads, curbs, and sidewalks, along with water and sewer lines, and a sewage disposal system the ‘New Stone Harbor’ started to develop in earnest with residents and visitors from Philadelphia and the Main Line.
“Hydraulic dredges created as many as seven dredged basins that enabled even more development and established prime lots for more housing.”
In the late 1890s, three enterprising brothers from Philadelphia formed a business venture called the South Jersey Realty Company (SJRC). (https://stoneharbormuseum.org/2022/07/25-two-key-elements/)
Howard, David and Reese Risley envisioned a thriving coastal town on an undeveloped tract of land popularly referred to as Seven Mile Island located in Cape May County.
The Risley Brothers set into motion a plan to transform the barrier island of sand dunes, wide expansive beaches and salt marsh at Seven Mile Beach into a popular vacation resort.
Some folks actually referred to this new resort as being “Philadelphia’s Seashore Suburb.” Indeed, Main Line residents have also been enjoying Stone Harbor ever since.
Mary Brown, Main Line Media News columnist, is an adjunct professor of Latin at Saint Joseph’s University.
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.
Sign up for email newsletters