It was 92 years ago this month, June 6, 1930, that the Founder of the borough of Atlantic Highlands died, weeks short of his 87th birthday.
Known as the Father of Atlantic Highlands, its first Mayor, and author of “From Indian Trail to Electric Rail,” Thomas Leonard was a lifelong resident of the area, born in Leonardville before there was an Atlantic Highlands, and dying at his home at 85 Third Avenue from what was described as a “general breakdown.
The headlines of one of the many newspaper stories surrounding his death and burial noted that the Founder “did many things for that Village,” referring to Atlantic Highlands
He was a busy and energetic man from the time he was a boy, when he did business in a general store and the went into farming. While he was busy as a farmer, he got the idea of developing great portions of his own land into a seashore community. That was the beginning of the creation of Atlantic Highlands with its elegant hills for summer bungalows for wealthy New York businessmen washing down to the cooling waters of Sandy Hook Bay and quickly gaining the reputation as the place to live or spend summers and holidays.
In order to create his dreams Mr. Leonard went into the building business, and he and his brother John J. Leonard, formed a firm that dealt in all manner of house materials and lumber.
Residents loved the new look that was coming to this community and Mr. Leonard was elected the borough’s first Mayor and became a leader in everything promoting the village as a coveted seashore resort, all the while preserving the beauty and history of his birthplace. He sold off some of his own farmland for new construction, laid out the design for the town, added businesses as needs grew and in 1887 worked towards its incorporation and separation from Middletown Township, which continues to surround the borough.
Mr. Leonard also was a founder of the First National Bank, helped organize the Camp Meeting Association and was the superintendent of the Baptist Church where he was also a deacon for many years. He was a director for many years of the Atlantic Highlands Building and Loan Association.
Mr. Leonard was preceded in death by his wife, the former Maria Runyon, who died in 1923, and was survived by his three daughters, Clara Hendrickson and her husband, Dr. Harry, Edith Knight and Marianna Bell.
The funeral for the first Mayor of Atlantic Highlands was at Central Baptist Church, where he was an official, and he is buried in Fair View Cemetery.
