A Disappearing Community: The “Shackers” of Island Beach
By Emma C. Connolly
The Burger Lease, overlooking the Barnegat Inlet and Lighthouse around 1940. This shack was built and leased by Charlie Burger of Belmar, NJ from 1922 until his death in 1986. Arguably one of the most iconic locations of 20th century Island Beach, this lease – affectionately known as “Breezy Point” – was demolished in 1989.
A Brief History of Island Beach…
Although Island Beach’s history can be traced as far back as the 1630’s, during which time it was controlled by the Duke of York, our story begins in the early 20th century. In 1926, Henry Phipps — former partner of Pittsburgh Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie — purchased the land known as Island Beach from a New Jersey Real-Estate Company. This nearly untouched strip of New Jersey Coast was a valuable find, and Phipps’ intended to make the most of it. He envisioned a seaside resort-town, rivaling his other investments such as Miami Beach. Unfortunately for Phipps, his plans failed when in 1929 economies around the globe were crippled by the Great Depression. In 1930, Phipps died, leaving his estate to be managed by Francis Parkman Freeman.
Having managed Island Beach prior to its purchase by Phipps, Freeman wasted little time in enacting his own vision of how the land should be maintained. In 1933, he and two others (his wife, children’s mystery author Augusta Huiell Seaman; and former Coast Guard Captain Joseph Tilton) founded the Borough of Island Beach. With a total of 18 taxpayers, the small Borough was overseen by the Freeman’s and their successors until the early 1950’s. Briefly during the mid-1940’s Island Beach was controlled by the United States Navy. As World War II raged overseas, the US military was searching for a way to combat Japanese Kamikaze Pilots with minimum loss of Allied life. As a result, a team of scientists from Johns Hopkins University chose Island Beach for use as an anti-aircraft missile testing site. On June 3, 1945, the team witnessed the world’s first successful supersonic Ramjet Missile flight, taking place over the Atlantic side of Island Beach between the sites of the two current bathing areas.
In 1953, the State of New Jersey bought Island Beach from the Phipps Estate for the sum of 2.75 million dollars. This decision was made thanks to the efforts of many concerned citizens, spearheaded by Richard Pough of the American Museum of Natural History, who petitioned and raised money for the preservation of Island Beach as a Nature Sanctuary. After public-use facilities were installed, the newly minted Island Beach State Park was opened to the public in 1959. This park continues to be some of the last undeveloped beach property on the Atlantic coast of the United States.
The Dunes of Island Beach, c. 1950
The Sportsmen’s Shacks...
Upon the purchase of Island Beach by Henry Phipps in 1926, there were others who made Island Beach their home – albeit temporarily. In the early 20th century, there were many small structures on Island Beach, numbering well over 100. Locally known as the Island Beach “shacks,” these dwellings were occupied by fishermen, hunters, and outdoors-men from neighboring New Jersey communities such as Toms River and Belmar. Constructed with the sole intention of functionality (not comfort), these shacks were made from cheap, salvaged materials, and were by nature temporary. Driftwood, tar paper, and even materials from the occasional shipwreck were used during construction. In other cases the shacks were simply houseboats which had been dragged up on the beach beyond the high-tide mark and “parked” there for weekend use by local fishermen.
These individuals, known at the time as “squatters,” saw Island Beach as a land of plenty. Fishing in Barnegat Bay or the Atlantic Ocean, hunting local wildlife, and gathering native vegetation such as the popular Beach Plum were all enticing reasons to spend time on Island Beach, especially during the Great Depression and it’s immediate aftermath. Fishermen and hunters could supply their families with fresh food from Island Beach when many were going hungry.
Phipps’ plan to develop Island Beach into a resort town led him to search for a way to evict these individuals from his land. In response, the fishermen claimed squatters’ rights to the land. However, as a number of these fishermen had at one point paid the previous land-owners for the weekend use of their land, this argument was null and void. On the other hand, they did legally own the shacks which they had built on Island Beach. To settle the matter, Phipps proposed a compromise. He presented the fishermen with the following solution: they could continue living as they had been, with the condition that all shack-owners pay a small annual fee to lease the land from his estate. During these years, many of the leaseholders built upon the foundations of the original shacks, and turned them into comfortably-rustic weekend getaways. This continued under Francis P. Freeman, with the condition that the shack-owners take care of the land they leased – mainly by leaving it alone at all costs. In the late 1930’s, he established the Barnegat Bay & Beach Company to manage the leases. Freeman was among the first to make efforts to preserve the delicate dune ecosystem which, thanks in part to his efforts, flourishes on Island Beach to this day.
Upon the purchase of the property by the State of New Jersey, the agreement between the shack-owners and the land-owners was continued, although certain aspects of the leases’ terms were changed. The squatters, now known as “shackers” or more officially “leaseholders,” would continue to pay a fee to lease the land from the State. However, upon the death of the current leaseholder, the lease would be terminated and the shack either destroyed or left to be reclaimed by nature. This practice has continued over the past 60 years, leading to the reduction in lease sites from well over 100 in the 1920’s to six as of 2018.
The Judge’s Shack: A Family’s Seaside Legacy
The Judge’s Shack at it’s current location between Parking Lots 12 and 13, July 2019.
Perhaps the most recognizable of the remaining lease-sites is known as “The Judge’s Shack.” Built in 1911 and located in the dunes of the eastern side of Island Beach State Park, this shack serves as an important landmark for modern surf fishermen, just as it has since its relocation in 1952. Leased by Federal Judge Richard Hartshorne and his family beginning in 1942, the shack served as a summer weekend home for the Newark, NJ family. In 1952, prior to the purchase of Island Beach by the State of New Jersey, the lease was transferred to Judge Hartshorne’s younger son, John F. Hartshorne, who held the lease until the early 2000’s.
In 2013 the lease was taken over by Island Beach State Park to be preserved as a historic site. This effort was spearheaded by Historic Preservation Architect Penelope Hartshorne Batcheler, the eldest daughter of the Judge, and resulted in the creation of the Friends of the Judge’s Shack preservation group. Made up of family friends of the Hartshornes’, Historic Preservation experts, and other dedicated citizens, this group works tirelessly to preserve the shack against shifting sand, dangerous weather, and the relentless march of time.
A Sketch of the iconic “Judge’s Shack”
done by F. William Greger of Seaside
Park c. 1975. Mr. Greger, known as
“Uncle Bill,” sketched a number of the
Island Beach Lease-Sites during the
1960’s and -70’s.
Who Were the Hartshorne’s?
The Hartshorne family’s connections to the New Jersey Shore go as far back as colonial New Jersey. The earliest Hartshorne in New Jersey was Richard Hartshorne, who emigrated from England in the early 17th century. His brother, Hugh, remained in England, but was among the earliest owners or “proprietors” of the area known as East Jersey. According to family records, in the 17th century the Hartshorne family owned land in both New Jersey and New York, most notably the area known today as Sandy Hook. Their family also owned an area known as “Island Beach,” although not the Island Beach where their descendants’ shack now resides. This Island Beach is known today as “Plum Island,” located in New York’s Long Island Sound.
Judge Richard Hartshorne was born in Newark, NJ in 1888. As a child, he enjoyed frequent visits to the New Jersey Shore, specifically Sea Bright and Brielle. An active outdoors-man even in his youth, Richard Hartshorne enjoyed activities such as seining, sailing, skiing, and crabbing.
Judge Richard Hartshorne
seining in Barnegat Bay, c. 1950.
After graduating from Princeton in 1905, he served as a Navy Lieutenant in the First World War, during which time he met his wife Ellen Sahlin who was volunteering with the American Red Cross. They were married in 1919. In the 1920’s, the pair began traveling, eventually visiting Island Beach in 1924 and staying at the Reed’s Hotel. Some years later, they visited the shack of Dr. Samuel Loveman and his family, which inspired them to purchase a lease of their own. In 1942, Judge Hartshorne purchased Lease No. 65 from the Barnegat Bay and Beach Company for the price of $200. This lease would soon be known simply as “The Judge’s Shack.”
Hartshorne went on to pursue a career in law, and eventually became a Federal Judge. Appointed by Harry S. Truman in the late 1940’s, he served a total of 49 years as a judge at both the local and federal levels.
In the mid-1950’s, Judge Hartshorne transferred the lease to his son John Fritz Hartshorne, and arranged for the shack to be moved nearly six miles south of its original location. This took place just a few years before the creation of Island Beach State Park in 1959.
The Judge passed away in 1975, leaving behind his wife Ellen, four grown children (Richard Jr., Nancy, John Fritz, and Penelope), and a number of grandchildren.
The view from the porch of the Judge’s Shack, facing south
towards the IBSP Nature Center and Barnegat Lighthouse.
Caption: The view from the porch of the Judge’s Shack, facing south towards the IBSP Nature Center and Barnegat Lighthouse.
Judge Hartshorne’s daughter Penelope H. Batcheler went on to become a renowned Historic Preservation Architect, working with the National Park Service to restore Independence Mall from the 1950’s until her retirement in 1993. In the 1990’s Penelope and Historic Preservationist William “Bill” Bolger worked tirelessly to restore her family’s shack on Island Beach. In 2006 they succeeded in transferring the Hartshorne family’s lease to the State of New Jersey, to be stabilized and preserved as a Historic Site. The associated non-profit organization, the Friends of the Judge’s Shack, was founded in 2006. Penelope passed away shortly thereafter, but her family’s legacy lives on – both in the dunes of Island Beach State Park and at the birthplace of our country.
The Judge’s Shack: Interior photos, July 2019
Information compiled and adapted from the archives at Island Beach State Park, and Penelope H. Batcheler’s “The Judge’s Shack: Historic Structures Report” Written by Emma Connolly, Friends of the Judge’s Shack – Historic Preservation Internship, 2019.
Dedicated to the memory of Penelope “Penny” Hartshorne Batcheler.
Original article: https://www.islandbeachnatureprograms.org