The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of History

1376

By Rick Geffken
When Sallie Adams and Tom Kaiser starting looking around Monmouth County for a new home in 1994, they were less interested in its rich history than in finding a tranquil setting for their family. The well-travelled couple and their sons loved Manhattan, but needed a change. Several months of exploring real estate listings in the Two River area didn’t yield a house that excited them. “We’d almost given up thoughts of moving,” says Sallie, when their real estate agent “Columbo”-ed- “There’s just one more thing.” He talked them into visiting the Monmouth Hills section of Middletown to look at a “cottage.”
Turning off Highway 36 onto the well-hidden Serpentine Drive, Sallie and Tom scarcely believed they were so close to the shore. Was it possible that this enclave, so close to a major highway artery, was filled with so many charming and distinctive homes and rustic lanes winding in and out of the woods?
By the time they reached “Sea Vista” on East Twin Road, they were amazed at their luck. The shingle-style house with sawtooth cedar shake filigree, the several unenclosed eves, and exposed roof rafters enchanted them. Spectacular ocean and bay views from every window; lots of open space; three working fireplaces; and a former horse stable on the ground floor – who had read their minds? Wouldn’t their boys just love the quirky sleeping porch extension from the master bedroom; and even the mysterious second floor “door to nowhere?” The five-minute ride to the Seastreak Ferry dock was a delightful bonus. Sold!
One hundred years beforehand, an earlier generation of New Yorkers was equally intrigued by the hurly-burly going on in the Highlands of Navesink. On summer weekends during the last decade of the 19th century, boarding houses, hotels, tents, bungalows and boats in the little clamming and fishing community on the Shrewsbury River were filled to capacity. It caught the attention of The New York Times, which proclaimed, “Highland Beach has features, perhaps, that no other resort on the Atlantic coast possesses.”

Ferdinand Fish whimsically called his summer home at Navesink Beach (Sea Bright) "Aquarium." The cottages of the Water Witch Club used similar nautical themes and styles.
Ferdinand Fish whimsically called his summer home at Navesink Beach (Sea Bright) “Aquarium.” The cottages of the Water Witch Club used similar nautical themes and styles. Photo credit: George H. Moss, Jr., from Another Look at Nauvoo to the Hook

It wasn’t unusual for 10,000 people a day to flood the runaway success that was William Sandlass’s 5 year-old excursion resort. Day-trippers came by steamship and train to enjoy ocean and river bathing, merry-go-round rides, strolls along the boardwalk, seaside restaurants, and ice-cream and soda shops – all to escape the city heat and their work-a-day lives.
Inevitably this excitement caused a flurry of building in the Highlands. New homes and estates were creeping up to the castle-like Twin Lights on Mount Mitchell, the highest point on the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. A part of that 240-foot hillside in what was then called Sea Side offered unparalleled views of Sandy Hook, Coney Island, and beyond, all the way to New York City.
The prominent investor behind the development of Highland Beach was the New York real estate magnate Ferdinand Fish. Delighted as his plans for the development of the area started to bear fruit, Fish next organized the Highlands of Navesink Improvement Company, recruiting wealthy leisure class friends. The resulting Water Witch Club aimed for a limited number of high-design homes in a sylvan setting for kindred spirits. Fish knew the perfect place to create a special social environment for folks with money and artistic leanings.
The Water Witch Club purchased a huge tract on Mount Mitchell, including an extensive area down to the Shrewsbury River. The club’s name was homage to James Fenimore Cooper’s 1830 novel “The Water Witch,” long associated with the small bayside community.
As head draftsman for the Beaux-Arts architectural firm, Carrère and Hastings, Lyman A. Ford was on the team which won the competition to design the New York Public Library in 1897. A year later, Ford was assigned to design and build houses in the new and exclusive colony on Mount Mitchell. He built at least six, including his own “Sea Vista.” Of course, he picked the best spot on the hill for his summer home, just a short walk from the Casino clubhouse.
Water Witch Club home owners took their meals at the Casino in the early years of the community – no one wanted heat generating kitchens inside summer cottages. The center of the elite’s social life of games, recitals, and dances, the Casino was not a gambling venue the name implies today.
When a fire destroyed the Casino in 1911, Lyman Ford designed a replacement, the only private casino remaining in New Jersey (listed on the National Register of Historic Places). Ford’s interior motif of rich, dark wood was highlighted by an elevated stage for plays and other club productions. A dining room, sitting room, and five bedrooms upstairs accommodated the steady stream of summer guests at the little colony. Tennis courts and a sweeping lawn overlooking Sandy Hook Bay and the ocean enhanced this idyllic playground. In 1916 the community officially changed its name to Monmouth Hills. Abandoning the private club concept, “the Hills” morphed into a nonprofit homeowners association.
In recent years Sallie and Tom’s good neighbor, Mary Jo Kenny, related the history of Sea Vista and Monmouth Hills where she’s lived for more than 40 years. President of the Twin Lights Historical Society, she has amassed an archive of documents, photos, letters and the like. Kenny related the story of that odd door in Sea Vista. “During the Second World War when housing was scarce for people working to support our troops at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook, Sea Vista was divided into up and down apartments, each with its own entrance. When it was reconverted to a one family residence, the second floor stairway was dismantled, but the door was left in place, still workable.” Soon after, a wrought iron gate was added outside of the door to prevent unintended exits. It’s a cool and quirky feature.
Lyman Ford lived in Sea Vista for 45 years. Sallie and Tom’s time there will be about half of Ford’s – a country home in Virginia beckons them. They’ve recently decided to sell Sea Vista, the only one of the Lyman Ford-built cottages left. Improvements made during their stay include a modern kitchen, an entertainment room in the former stable area, and landscaping to beautify the setting. The couple kept the look and feel of this 19th century gem, even replicating period wallpaper in several rooms. Yes, the “door to nowhere” still leads there.
Frank Rizzo of Gloria Nilson is the listing agent. For inquiries about the sale of the home, he can be reached at 732-221-9810. Sallie and Tom want to find just the right buyer. It will be someone who appreciates the unique history of Highlands and Middletown. Someone with an artistic imagination like Lyman Ford’s. Someone who wants to see for miles and miles. Someone who will love a Sea Vista.