19th century church highlights Historical Society tour

The Historical Homes and Garden Tour hosted by the Barnegat Light Historical Society was a big hit among locals and visitors last week. The event showcased five Victorian-era homes, one oceanfront retreat, the Barnegat Light Museum and St. Peter’s-at-the-Light Episcopal Church. The day ended at the museum with a decadent wine and cheese party, open to all and free of charge.

Photo by Jack Reynolds

St. Peter’s-at-the-Light Episcopal Church, located on the corner of 7^th Street and Central Avenue, was originally built in 1890 as a Methodist chapel. Benjamin Archer, a ship builder and proprietor of the Oceanic Hotel, which washed away during a storm in 1920, had the chapel constructed for the town’s visitors. The building was later sold to the Presbyterian Church, before it was acquired by the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey in 1937, according to a history posted on the church website, stpetersbarnegatlight.org.

The church was once known as a summer congregation only. It closed in 1946 for several years but reopened in 1955 by Diocesan Bishop Alfred Banyard, at the request of Fr. Henry Beck and William Doughty. In 1992, St. Peter’s was maintained as a Mission Church, serving the local population and its summer residents. The church now offers Holy Eucharist year-round.

The pews of the church date back to 1780 and were hand-built by local craftsmen of the Revolutionary War. The furniture was obtained from a deserted church near Batsto in the Pinelands of Atlantic County.

It also includes many relief-carved oak endowments crafted by local artist Tom Martie. The religious pieces have a nautical flair that reflects the community’s coastal habitat.

Stained-glass memorial windows, dedicated in the 1970s, send colorful light streaming into the church building, creating a religious and artistic monument. In addition to St. Peter, these ornamental windows depict the Virgin and Child, St. Cecilia, St. Francis, St. Dorothea, St. Andrew and John the Apostle. Many of the symbols are associated with the Christian Church as well as the Island’s nautical environment.

“It’s small, in that you get to know your neighbors and the people that come to church,” expressed Anne Colella, a member of St. Peter’s Church. “It’s not too big; it’s really homey, with all the wooden pews and small but special characteristics of the building. Father Donald (Turner) is a wonderful priest,” she added.

A majestic, three-panel triptych depicting the life of St. Peter rests on the east wall, behind the altar. Its Renaissance-style paintings and three-dimensional carvings illustrate the concepts of the New Testament. In 1957, Bishop Banyard appointed Lewis F. Carr of Barnegat Light to create the magnificent artwork for the re-opening of the church.

The sanctuary, painted red, represents the throne of God. Gold, stenciled keys represent the Kingdom and the Cross. The blue ceiling exemplifies Heaven, set apart from the Nave, which symbolizes Earth.

The center panel portrays the Lord dressed in green, which represents eternal life. The red lining of His chasuble represents sacrifice, and the pomegranate designs signify the Resurrection, while the grapes refer to the Eucharist. The sides render six recesses holding ceramic statues of six of the apostles, including St. Thomas, St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. John, St. Paul and St. Philip. The side panels depict some of the most influential moments of St. Peter’s life, including the miracle of the fishes and Jesus walking on water to save him. When the triptych is closed, the symbol of the Virgin Mary is exemplified by the saying, “Open to us the door of Salvation.”

Photo by Jack Reynolds

But St. Peter’s wasn’t the only historical building exuding charm and grace along the Aug. 23 tour. All of the homes featured on the outing were kept as originally built, when possible. Of course, with houses dating back as early as the 1850s, certain renovations have been necessary.

The oldest home featured on the tour, nicknamed “Twisted Cedars” for its surrounding old cedar trees, dates to about 1850 and is owned by Karen Larson, president of the Barnegat Light Historical Society. The house was moved to the Island from Point Pleasant by barge, after a commercial fisherman took refuge from a northeaster in Barnegat City (the town’s name until 1948). Afterward, he told his wife he’d like to live there. But she was disinclined to leave her house, so they compromised and moved the house with them. The house was completely refurbished before Larson bought it as a weekend home in 1986. She now resides there year-round.

“Any restoration I’ve done, I’ve tried to maintain as original of a look as possible,” Larson claimed. “I don’t have a shower, but I’m used to the bathtub. The kitchen is an add-on, and I have a new ceiling and windows, and the wood-burning fireplace is now electric. The wood was too messy,” she said with a laugh.

Jim and Gerry Perko’s home, located on 3rd Street, was the second oldest home on the tour, dating back to 1876. The cottage was built by William T. Bailey of Camden and once served as the lighthouse keeper’s residence when his original lodging, located next to the lighthouse, was ruined by erosion. Restorations to the house were undertaken between 1979 and 1980, long before the Perkos bought it in 2004.

“Jim and I are involved with the (Barnegat Light) Museum and the (Barnegat) Lighthouse, so there’s one lighthouse in every room of the house, which is kind of fun,” exclaimed Gerry Perko. “Make sure you check out the cedar shower upstairs. And in the front bedroom there’s a view of the tippy-top of the Lighthouse you won’t want to miss either,” she added, smiling.

Salvatore and Mary Jane Saia’s home, located on 12th Street, was built in 1885 by Benjamin F. Archer, one of the founding fathers of Barnegat Light. He built the home for his married daughter, Emily. When Emily passed, her daughter Katie Zeber inherited the home. Near the time of her death, Zeber became senile. She was a hoarder, and had no idea she had squatters living with her in the home. The Saias purchased the house in 1983, after Zeber passed.

“There were piles of trash everywhere,” explained Mary Jane Saia. “It was a challenge, but it was structurally sound. So we went for it.”

Five years later, the house was featured in Country Homes Magazine. But in 1991, the second and third floors of the house were ruined in a fire, and the first floor suffered from severe water damage. The house was completely restored, but many of the former families’ possessions are still featured around the home, including Emily’s sun bonnet, a dining room table and chairs, and Zeber’s husband’s bathing suit, made out of wool.

John and Marion Larson’s home, also located on 12th Street, was built in 1886 and served as a summer home for the owners of the Whitney Glass Factory. John Larson’s parents bought the home in 1944. He and Marion purchased the house from his parents in 1962, and raised their seven children there.

The house has many original features, including three fireplaces surrounded by one chimney, which features the home’s initial woodwork. Whitney Glass Factory bottles dug up from the front yard are also displayed around the house. A scale model of John’s Miss Barnegat Light fishing boat sits near the dining room window. His duck decoy collection, featured in the library, also honors one of his favorite pastimes.

Photo by Jack Reynolds

“John was an avid duck hunter. The ugly ducks were his decoys, and the pretty ones are the ones he bought for decoration,” Marion Larson said, chuckling.

Edwin Heitman’s home, also located on 12th Street, was built in 1890. Much of the work on the house was done before he bought the house in 1968, including removal of the original tower and the addition of a garage. Besides painting the interior, remodeling the kitchen, scraping the paint off the floors and removing a portion of two walls on the third floor, there wasn’t much more he needed to do. He did, however, close off the front door, which lead to a large, wraparound porch. The only way to get into the house is through the backdoor.

“I closed off the front for privacy,” said Heitman. “Most of my company spends their time visiting on the porch. They eat, sleep, drink and relax on the porch. It’s occupied 24 hours a day,” he said matter-of-factly.

Thomas and Danette Hoffman’s oceanfront sanctuary, nicknamed “Harbor Lights,” on 8th Street was built in 1937 by Robert M. Brown, a renowned architect from Philadelphia. The house was featured in the 1948 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, before it was sold to Thomas Hoffman’s father in 1952. He bought the house, including five oceanfront lots and all of the possessions in it, for $26,000. Each room is named and all cabinets and drawers are labeled, as per Brown. Mostly everything original remains intact. A deck, screened-in porch and hot tub are the only additions to the house. The view of the ocean through the living room’s large bay windows is a sight few other homes on the Island are privy to.

“I think this is the best panoramic view on the Island,” said Carol Morrow, a tour-goer from Barnegat. “It’s like a postcard,” she added, looking out the windows in awe.

After traipsing around the neighborhood in Barnegat Light, many of the tour-goers met at the Barnegat Light Museum, where some of its members attended the building as children when it was the town’s only schoolhouse. The day ended on a high note, as visitors tended to the wine and cheese and sat amongst the flora in the Edith Duff Gwinn Garden. The garden is maintained year-round by members of The Garden Club of Long Beach Island. Three dedicated ladies – Betty Frey, Peg Felix and Cathy Sutton – are there every Monday from May through October, leading the rest of the club in maintaining the garden.

“It is a labor of love for them,” said publicity chairperson Ginny Scarlatelli.

For more information about the Barnegat Light Historical Society, visit www.bl-hs.org, or dial 609-494-8578.


This article was published in The Beachcomber.