With the inclusion of the Sandlass House by Preservation New Jersey as one of the ten most endangered historic places in New Jersey, property owner descendant and author Susan Sandlass Gardiner is more determined than ever to preserve the historic recreational area of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“It adds more credence and credibility to our case, certainly,” Sandlass Gardiner said. “It gives it more significance, but it can’t make a decision.”
Preservation New Jersey is a non-profit organization which operates with a support grant from the NJ Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. Its members work to promote the economic vitality, sustainability, and heritage of New Jersey’s diverse communities through advocacy and education. The group has been releasing a list of the state’s most endangered sites since 1995, and has named more than 200 sites in that time.
For Sandlass Gardiner, it’s a personal cause as well as a strong attempt to preserve the story of a way of life in earlier decades.
The author grew up in the Sandlass House, located on the Shrewsbury River just across from the Highlands Sea Bright Bridge. Her family moved out of the two-story structure in 1963; however, its current ownership seems to be in question as well.
Sandlass Gardiner would like the park service to include the facility in its leasing program as a means of securing interest in its reconstruction. Currently, the NPS issues long term leases for reconstruction and rehabilitation of buildings on Fort Hancock, at the opposite end of the Sandy Hook peninsula. Additionally the Monmouth County Board of Education is financing the reconstruction of a former barracks and ancillary building in the Fort Hancock area for inclusion in MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, where every student is a member of the NJROTC program.
More than 1,000 residents from throughout New Jersey have signed petitions urging the Park Service to include the Sandlass House in the leasing program.
However, according to Sandlass Gardiner, “The National Park Service sent us title documents saying NPS owns the house and property in a transfer in 1981,” she said. “The public records have discrepancies. Some public records say the state of New Jersey still owns it. That affects the pathway for preserving the house. If in fact NPS is the owner of the property and house, they require it to have national historic recognition to preserve it.”
To have the Sandlass House named to National Register of Historic Place would require a professional historian to move the application forward
The history of the property and house dates to 1888 when the Highland Beach Resort was built by William Sandlass Jr. on leased land. The Highland Beach Gravity Railroad, one of the first roller coasters on the East Coast, was the initial attraction. The two story house was built five years latter from the frame of the roller coaster, which had been disassembled. By 1910, a merry-go-round, pavilions, restaurants, bars and storefronts were part of the development, attracting as many as 20,000 people per day at its peak.
In 1962, New Jersey designated the land south of Fort Hancock as a state park and seized the resort through eminent domain, paying the Sandlass family $350,000 for the land and buildings. In 1979 Fort Hancock, which had been decommissioned as an active military installation, and the entire peninsula was acquired by the National Park Service and became the Sandy Hook portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The Sandlass House served as a base for park rangers who worked as caretakers until 2012, when the last ranger -tenant moved out. Four months later, the Sandlass House became a victim of Super Storm Sandy, which worsened problems with an already leaky roof.
Preservation New Jersey supports these actions which would allow an interested entrepreneur to evaluate the house, make a roof repair, and renovate the building,” the nonprofit said in its announcement of the endangered list.
“We treasure our National coastline, the rich and diverse history created by opening its beaches to the everyday families who find pleasure in sharing these natural and cultural resources every year,” said Sandlass Gardiner . “The 1893 Sandlass House at Sandy Hook played a keystone role in this legacy reaching back 129 years ago when it was built by resort entrepreneur William Sandlass. Now the home is the last remaining vestige of the iconic Highland Beach Resort once serving hundreds of thousands of visitors in the Golden Age at the Gateway to the Jersey Shore.”
She pointed out that Preservation New Jersey’s recognition of the Sandlass house “validates the importance of the home’s historic role on the Sandy Hook peninsula. This recognition and public awareness acts as a catalyst to engage the National Park Service in a larger conversation to find ways to partner in a common goal for the home’s preservation in a timely manner.”
Sandlass Gardiner added that “as community advocates, we will seek a trained historical specialist to pursue writing a National Register application in a context that meets NPS requirements for recognition of this home beyond the local level.
For next steps to assist in this preservation effort, interested historians and others interested in preservation are invited to contact Susan Sandlass Gardiner at: susangardiner813@me.com.
