CORRECTION: The owner of the newly-purchased property at 619 Seagrove Ave., Lower Township contacted the Herald regarding the Dec. 27 front page story about his plans for the house and land. Kenneth Mann stated the farmhouse would not be demolished. He intends to use the property as his residence.
CAPE MAY POINT – According to longtime tenant Trish Siembora, her time as a resident of one of the oldest farmhouses in the Cape May area has come to an end; she was told that the house and land where she has resided had been sold and that the farmhouse and other buildings are designated for demolition.
The circa-1782 simple white shingled-frame farmhouse where she has lived for many years, full and part-time, is at 619 Seagrove Ave. at “the Point.”
The house and property were once the heart and soul of the Ocean View Dairy, a 40-plus-acre dairy farm owned and operated over many generations by the Rutherford family.
The dairy farm ceased operations in the 1970s. David Rutherford, who died in March 2016, just one month short of his 90th year, was known locally as an environmentalist as well as a farmer.
According to an article in the Cape May Magazine, (Spring 2009), his family first settled on the property in 1815.
The original house had been built in 1782, with two later additions that were added circa 1875, and 1920.
As a dedicated naturalist, Rutherford was a great steward of the land according to Siembora and her friend John Papale. Both spoke of his love for the history of the land and his penchant for finding Native American arrowheads, which he would donate to local museums. Siembora spoke about Rutherford’s energy and desire to preserve the property as best he could.
Rutherford had already sold one large parcel of the land to the state for preservation purposes. Siembora believes that he intended to preserve the rest of the land before he died.
The land immediately surrounding the farmhouse features outbuildings and a cottage; some buildings still contain relics of the farm’s past such as milk bottles from the dairy and a horse-drawn tiller entangled in the overgrown brush.
Siembora believes that the property has already been sold and is concerned that a housing development will replace the historic property that the Rutherfords and neighbors so loved.
Chris Clemans, of Chris Clemans Sotheby Realty, who represented the new owners, was unable to speak for the persons who acquired the property, but she understands that a family home will be built on the site by its new owners.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.
