Early Stone Harbor tourists kicked off the summer of 1911 with a rousing July 4th gala weekend. Festivities designed to promote development of the once pristine coastline lasted through Labor Day. It was the beginning of a thriving seasonal seashore community.
Nestled between the Great Channel to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Stone Harbor sits on the narrow Seven Mile Island off southern New Jersey. The combination of a burgeoning middle class, increased leisure time and affordable transportation lured early Stone Harbor tourists to the barrier island.
As with other coastal developments around the world from the mid-1800s to early 1900s, developers pushed expansion to the limits and beyond. The price for seaside summer escapes included coastline erosion. Some awareness of the need to protect fleeting beaches began as early as the mid-1800s. But the promise of big profits outweighed the threat of future losses.
Today, many of these seasonal communities are attempting to mitigate damage through “beach nourishment” and other costly strategies that often prove to be ineffective.
Following is a glimpse at the sizzling summers of the Early Stone Harbor Tourists.
Summer Of 1911 Festivities Kicked Off With July 4th Weekend
The three Risley Brothers – David, Reese and Howard – purchased 3,674 acres on the southern portion of Seven Mile Beach for $90,000 in 1907. Through their South Jersey Realty Company they envisioned a flourishing town on the untouched barrier island of sand dunes, expansive beaches and salt marshes. As a wealthy family from Philadelphia, their ideas weren’t popular with many of the locals.
Historian and Author Harlan Radford writes in Riverton History:
“Some folks referred to this new resort as being ‘Philadelphia’s Seashore Suburb.”(Radford: Historical Society of Riverton)
But the Risleys persisted in developing infrastructure for their coastal dream with a target date set for the summer of 1911.
Working quickly, they arranged free railroad transportation for prospective investors along with rooms at the Harbor Inn for investors. They built streets, a parkway, a drawbridge, beach cottages and dug a well.
Using family connections, they arranged for Gov. Woodrow Wilson to dedicate their development in the summer of 1911.
They sent waves of postcards and newspaper ads promoting gala seaside events to draw early Stone Harbor tourists. With plans to sell inexpensive bonds for lots, they hoped to convert many visitors into seasonal regulars.
A few highlights of the opening week:
Saturday, July 1, started the gala with sailboat races. The newly opened Yacht Club followed with an elaborate dinner-dance.
Sunday, July 2, the new Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches held their first services.
Monday, July 3, the Boulevard Bridges and Canal opened with elaborate ceremonies. Crowds of early Stone Harbor tourists attended, along with then Governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson and other dignitaries.
There was something for everyone that weekend, including beachfront automobile races, barbecue, carnival, a ball at the Yacht Club and fireworks.
Tuesday, July 4, featured Regattas, track and aquatic events and another grand ball at the Yacht Club.
Foot races were so popular they became weekly events through the summer. Although women participated in the first modern Olympics and the first Summer Olympics of 1912, they were not welcomed in the Stone Harbor races.
Wednesday, July 5 – The South Jersey Realty Company (the developers who drew early Stone Harbor Tourists) sold First Mortgage Beach Front Improvement Bonds. The starting price of $65 closed the day at $70.
The Stone Harbor Bond Plan gave each holder a fully improved lot at Stone Harbor.
NOTE: Historian and Author Harlan Radford with the Historical Society of Riverton and Stone Harbor Museum curates a robust virtual tour of Stone Harbor history and its staggering summer seasons, including the kick-off in 1911. (Harlan Radford)
A Word About Transportation: Pave It – They Will Come
With the expanding middle class came increasing leisure time and discretionary income. But the growth of seaside escapes was only possible with affordable transportation from nearby cities. In their flurry of infrastructure development, the Risley brothers knew they had to connect their coastal property with the mainland if they wanted to draw early Stone Harbor tourists.
Radford writes:
“Originally, a rail line was proposed but that soon gave way to a more feasible elevated roadway. Dubbed “The Ocean Parkway” initially and later called “The Stone Harbor Ocean Parkway,” this new boulevard extending from Cape May Court House now made it possible for people to come to the island.” (Riverton History)
Immigrant Laborers Were Crucial To Development
A few of these photographs remind us that immigrants built much of American infrastructure. According to the Library of Congress, between 1900 and 1915, more than 15 million immigrants arrived in the United States. That was about equal to the number of immigrants who had arrived in the previous 40 years combined.
In 1910, three-fourths of New York City’s residents were either immigrants or first generation Americans. These people were critical to the development and construction of eastern coastal towns and cities in America during the 1900s. (Library of Congress)
Developers Used Postcards As A Promotional Tool
The Risley brothers were masters of advertising and promotion. One of their most powerful tools for luring early Stone Harbor tourists were picture post cards. As the Social Media platform of their day, post cards were mailed, collected and shared. With space for short personal messages, early Stone Harbor tourists offered the equivalent of five-star reviews that spread the good word for a penny a pop.
Radford writes:
“The Risleys utilized picture postcards as a means to promote Stone Harbor and attract buyers of homes and property. They captured the attention of interested parties by mailing picture postcards describing their direct role in the construction of homes and cottages in Stone Harbor.”(Riverton History)
Thomas Edison Built Model Concrete Houses
Post Cards documented the growth of Stone Harbor. The following post card at Stone Harbor Museum shows a concrete house. It reads:
“View of Eighty-fifth Street, Stone Harbor, N. J., from the Pennsylvania Railroad Station plaza, showing the many new cottages built this year on Free Lots given under the South Jersey Realty Company’s Famous Bond Plan”
While this is not a Thomas Edison concrete house, he was a resident of West Orange, the suburban township in Essex County in northern New Jersey. Edison was granted a patent for his method of constructing concrete buildings on August 13, 1908. In it, he writes:
“The object of my invention is to construct a building of a cement mixture by a single molding operation, all its parts, including the sides, roofs, partitions, bath tubs, floors, etc., being formed of an integral mass of a cement mixture.”
Reversing Erosion Caused By Coastal Developments
The first seaside resorts began in the New York City area in the late 1820s. Areas along the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey were built as early as the 1830s. Development accelerated after the Civil War. By the early 1900s, human construction had triggered a trend of shoreline erosion.
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection:
“Oceanfront dunes were often leveled or developed upon, and freshwater ponds between dunes were filled to create building lots. Rapid development ensued without awareness of coastal hazards, storm vulnerability, or beach erosion.” (NJ DEP)
Many of these coastal developments began to erode as a result of human construction.
Early versions of coastal engineering projects included bulkheads, groins, or revetments. They were designed to slow erosion by armoring the coast by trapping sand. While they were sometimes successful in the short term, piecemeal strategies often aggravated erosion on adjacent shorelines.
Shoreline positions along the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey from 1836 to 1985 show a significant trend of shoreline erosion. New Jersey developed the Shore Protection Master Plan in 1981. It attempts to consider how a shore erosion control program in one area might adversely affect its neighbor. (NJ DEP)
“Today, in most cases, beach replenishment and other nature-based solutions are preferred to hard structures such as seawalls and bulkheads, because it provides the basis for restoration of landforms and biota, and for recovery of lost environmental heritage.” (NJ DEP)
Sea levels in New Jersey continue to rise at a greater rate than coastlines in other parts of the world. (According to the Report of the 2019 Science and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP).
Other Spectacular Seaside Resorts Of The Era
Coney Island (Read All About It!)
Catalina Island, California (Read All About It!)
Coronado Tent City Attracted Glampers, San Diego (Read All About It!)
Racing Nellie Bly
Victorian Secrets From Footnotes In History
Know The Past To Invent The Future
