Historical Homes & Garden Tour, Wine & Cheese Party

Join the Barnegat Light Historical Society for its Historical Homes and Garden Tour on Thursday, Aug. 23 from 2 to 5 p.m. The fundraiser will showcase six historical homes located in Barnegat Light. Five of the homes featured on the tour are Victorian structures, built in the late 1800s, when the town was originally established as Barnegat City. The sixth home is an oceanfront oasis constructed in 1937, which encompasses five acres of land, a rare find on Long Beach Island.

Photo by Jack Reynolds

The tour will also highlight St. Peter’s-at-the-Light Episcopal Church on 7th and Central Avenue, which was originally assembled in 1890 as a chapel for guests staying at the Oceanic Hotel. Two lush gardens will be featured on the tour as well, including the Edith Duff Gwinn Garden at the Barnegat Light Museum, which is maintained by members of The Garden Club of Long Beach Island. The celebrated outing only takes place every few years, so don’t delay! Tickets cost $25 each.

“We only sell 200 tickets, and that’s a big thing because there aren’t any long lines,” expressed Diane Adams, curator and docent of the Barnegat Light Historical Society for nearly 10 years. “The owners are in the homes during the tour, and they love to talk to the guests about the history of the home, what they did to renovate it, ghost stories, whatever,” she added.

The Barnegat Light Historical Society is also hosting its annual Wine and Cheese Party that very same day. Anyone interested in taking a peek inside the Barnegat Light Museum, located on Central Avenue at 5th Street, is welcome to stop by the exhibition hall any time between 3 and 6 p.m. for finger food and beverages, as well as a comprehensive look at the museum’s local, historical artifacts. The membership drive is free of charge.

“We have a nice spread of finger foods with cheese, fruit, dips and breads, crackers and nuts. And people make cookies and little finger foods that they are known for here,” relished Adams. “We have red and white wine, soda, iced tea, punch. The guests help themselves in the museum, and then a lot of them go out and just mingle in the gardens. It’s very nice; it’s very pretty. All the people dress up and go out in the gardens. It’s a moment in time,” she described.

The museum is inside the town’s old one-room schoolhouse, which was used from 1904 to 1951. The museum is on the National Register of Historical Places and houses relics, reproductions and snapshots, illustrating the history of Barnegat Light and the rest of the 18-mile Island. One of the museum’s most fascinating pieces is the First Order Flashing Lens from the Barnegat Lighthouse, put in service Jan. 1, 1859. The town’s old post office mailboxes, kitchen appliances from immigrants who came to work at the docks, animal and plant fossils and postcards autographed by famous individuals are just some of the exhibit’s other exciting characteristics.

For more information about the Historical Homes and Garden Tour and the Wine and Cheese Party, visit bl-hs.org, or dial 609-494-8578.


This article was published in The Beachcomber.