More Than a Museum in Ocean
By DON STINE
Coaster Photo:
A fireplace is a focal point in this room at the Woolley House which is undergoing extensive renovations.
The completion of renovations to the historic Eden Woolley House in Ocean Township is close at hand but more money is needed for the last stretch of the improvements.
“There is very definitely light at the end of the tunnel. I am gratified we have gotten as far as we have, which has taken about three-and-a-half years,” said Howard “Doc” Richmond, a trustee with the Township of Ocean Historical Museum.
Richmond said about 7,500 volunteer hours and about $800,000, funded through grants, donations and fundraisers, has been spent thus far on renovating the historic Eden Woolley house.
The building is an 18th century farmhouse once owned by Eden Woolley, the first elected committeeman of Ocean Township, which once incorporated land from Sandy Hook to the Shark River.
The house was moved from its former site at Route 35 and Deal Road several years ago to its current site at Joe Palaia Park, just west of the township’s new public library.
The original one-story section of the house was built in 1730 with another two-story addition built around 1830. Woolley was the second person to own the house from 1835 to 1892.
“He held very large parcels of land along both sides of what is now Deal Road and also tracts west of the present-day Route 35. He was a gentleman farmer,” Richmond said.
The external features of the house’s Greek Revival architecture have been completely restored with the exception of shutters. Restoration work reinforced ceiling joists to the second floor. Plaster was restored while still retaining the original Dutch doors, the original fireplace and hearth, and the original wide-plank flooring
Some of the walls in the house are original “daub,” a mixture of mud, horse hair and hay. Wooden beams in the house were originally made using an adz with the original tree bark still seen on one side.
“A section on one of the walls will be left exposed so people can see the type of early construction that went into the house,” Richmond said.
The second floor will contain a file room, research library, museum offices, work rooms for constructing exhibits and projects, storage space, and a quilting room.
New amenities, like updated electrical wiring, air conditioning, fire sprinklers, handicapped restrooms, and a chair lift, have also been installed.
And while the restoration moves on, volunteers and funds are still needed
Richmond estimates it will still take about $500,000 to put the final touches on the restoration project.
“Major projects left include restoring the interior trim in the entire house that was removed to put the electric in and finish the interior painting. We also still have to purchase and install lighting fixtures and connect them,” Richmond said.
“Loads of other things, like exterior landscaping, creating additional paths with pavers, installing shutters, and stuff like that is still needed. And little stuff like that adds up,” he said.
Richmond said exhibit cases, display panels, and furniture still need to be purchased.
“It’s all expensive,” he said.
Richmond stressed that the museum will also be a regional historical facility which will also hold exhibits and meetings for other historical societies in Monmouth County needing such a space.
“We are a living and working museum. We are not just the Township of Ocean Historical Museum anymore. That’s the name but the building will be much more than that,” he said.
He said that a historical library will also be housed in the building that will contain material on many towns in Monmouth County.
In order to continue raising money the museum still seeks donations and holds fundraisers.
A “Buy a Brick” campaign, that allowed people to buy a personalized brick for the walkway around the house, was recently successful.
Richmond said the museum is also sponsoring “Project Finish Line 2008.”
“It’s a fund-raising project under which anyone donating $1000 or more will immediately be recognized on our website (www.oceanmuseum.org), in an upcoming newsletter, and forever memorialized on plaque on the house’s entranceway wall.
“Additional donations are desperately needed. We also need volunteers, especially experienced painters and carpenters more than anything else,” he said.
To donate telephone the museum at 732-531-2136, contact museum President Virginia Richmond at ginigeni@optonline.net or send donations to: Finish Line 2008, c/o Historical Museum, 163 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755-1514.
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