STONE HARBOR – When Stone Harbor’s tiniest houses, in the Courts, were built, they were not overshadowed by the expansive multimillion-dollar homes that now characterize Stone Harbor. They stood, along with their sister properties on Linden Lane, surrounded by unused lots and expanses of wild grass.
Indeed, the character of Stone Harbor has changed dramatically in the nearly 100 years since those undersized houses were built.
Lisa Wetzler, a resident of Linden Lane, bought her 350-foot bungalow 20 years ago, on a teacher’s salary, but the current value of nearly every property in Stone Harbor sits well outside affordability for the average Cape May County household income of $67,074 (per 2019 census data).
Wetzler said that many of the bungalows were built for workers who could not afford anything luxurious but needed places to live so they could do their jobs. Over time, the houses were sold and eventually became vacation homes, second homes, and full-time houses for a wide variety of people, she said.
“The bungalows were laborers’ housing, often without indoor plumbing… They didn’t have heat; they were just shacks,” John Rose, who lives on the inside corner of Linden Lane, said.
These houses, even if the original architecture has changed, still retain their tiny stature, but a strict zoning code has made it nearly impossible for Wetzler and the Roses to make meaningful improvements to their houses, like a new hot water system or improved electrical wiring.
Rose said that the single bedroom in their house is only accessible via ladder, and that he and his wife’s older ages make them wish for another first-story room. This will not be possible, as proposed zoning changes that would allow minor expansion were rejected by Stone Harbor Borough Council after public controversy in December 2021. Wetzler will continue to store paper towels in her car, as there is simply no room in her 350-foot home.
This controversy brewed for many years, and homeowners in the Courts found themselves often under intense public scrutiny, Wetzler said, but she does not want this picture of controversy to define these communities. Although times have changed in Stone Harbor, she describes the community found in these smallest of houses as giving and selfless.
“We were worker bees,” she said. “As a teacher, I had to have a second job. I worked at a restaurant, one of my sons was a lifeguard, and we did a lot of the turnover cleaning down in Stone Harbor. It was joyous.”
Rose, who grew up on Linden Lane, describes the street as tight-knit and friendly to everybody.
“It was a great place to learn to ride a bicycle… I grew up with everybody knowing everybody who lived there,” he said. “Even walking down to the beach every day, all the people in the area knew who we were,” he said of his childhood.
Rose’s family has been on Linden Lane for as long as he can remember. His parents rented their bungalow in the 1950s before eventually purchasing it in 1965 for $4,500. In the more than 50 years that have passed since Rose was a child, he said that the character of Stone Harbor has changed immensely.
The small businesses that he remembers as a child have mostly faded. He said that the variety of businesses that support year-round living shrank dramatically, as affordable housing became evermore scant.
“There were four bakeries in Stone Harbor when I was a kid. There’s only one left,” Rose said.
“There used to be a newsstand and toy shop where the owner was blind. You’d go in and pick out your comic books and tell him what you were buying. He would feel the change out. He had everything tightly organized, so he knew what he was getting, and he knew everybody well. He trusted everybody who came in. For me, Stone Harbor was 20 years behind the rest of the world. Then we started noticing people looking at you funny when you went outside of your little bubble,” he added.
Rose remembers the many characters he saw come and go through his years on Linden Lane. One of the largest houses on the street was once owned by two sister spiritualists. Rose said that the sisters would perform seances on many summer nights.
“When one of the sisters died, her ashes were buried in the backyard. I think there’s a shed above her ashes now,” he said.
Although the changes in Stone Harbor, and the struck-down zoning change that means the bungalows cannot expand, have disappointed Rose, both he and Wetzler cherish the community that has formed among Stone Harbor’s smallest residencies. The Courts and Linden Lane often host block parties, where families gather to laugh, dance, and sing.
“It’s a special place of good neighbors and friends,” Wetzler said.
To contact Collin Hall, email chall@cmcherald.com.
