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Ocean’s Heritage, Winter 2019
Message from the Museum President
Notable Anniversaries
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nniversaries are meaningful milestones that shape our sense of who we are. This year, the Township and Museum have three worth celebrating.
the structure and fill its three galleries. In the ten years since, we have organized 22+ exhibits on our regional history, hosted more than 150 school visits, and opened the door to history to thousands through tours, speakers, newsletters, and videos.
One hundred and seventy years ago, on February 21, 1849, the Township of Ocean was created by the New Jersey legislature. It encompassed a huge, sparsely settled, heavily wooded, flat plain along the coast from Sandy Hook south to Shark River. In the years that followed, sixteen communities broke off from Ocean Township to form their own governments—the most recent, Loch Arbour in 1957. What remained was an 11-square-mile farming community with no oceanfront that developed into
These anniversaries invite us to take advantage of the wisdom of hindsight. Behind each milestone were visionaries who could see beyond the challenges and inspire others to create something we cherish today. This year, with its meaningful anniversaries for the Township and the Museum, let’s take the opportunity to remember and appreciate what they accomplished.
The Township of Ocean and the communities it encompassed at its incorporation, 1849.
Ten years ago, in 2009, the Museum moved into a new home, the eighteenth century (in its oldest part) farmhouse that we named the Eden Woolley House. Our volunteers had worked for four years to restore
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Anniversary Luncheon Saturday, October 26 Deal Country Club
A celebration of our ten years in the Eden Woolley House at the elegant Deal Country Club. We will be honoring Freeholder Lillian Burry for her tireless support of local historic preservation. See oceanmuseum.org for details as they become available.
The Museum in 2018
the Ocean Township we known today, with its parks, recreational and cultural facilities, residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Thirty five years ago, in 1984, a group of volunteers organized the Township of Ocean Historical Museum in the former Oakhurst School (today’s School Board Offices) to preserve documents, artifacts and photographs that help to tell the story of the town. The Museum volunteers identified and marked century-old structures, collected oral histories from longtime residents, had programs on local history, held class visits for third-grade students, and published several books on local history.
Paul Edelson
1,819 17 328 17,475
By the Numbers
Visitors to the Museum—60% from outside Ocean Township Class trips—3rd, 6th, and 10th graders; college class Household memberships (representing 623 people) Website visits (oceanmuseum.org)
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Exhibit openings—Wet as the Atlantic Ocean: Prohibition in NJ; Deal Test Site: 100 Years of History
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Speaker events—WWI Doughboy; Lost Attractions of the Shore; Stories Behind the [Sports] Pictures; NJ Innovations
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New episodes of “Hometown Histories”
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Buildings under Museum care—Eden Woolley House, Tower, Cow Barn, Ryan Playhouse, Pool House, Shed
600+
Hours Museum was open to the public
