Save The Worden House

Save The Worden House Protect Forked River Landmarks! Please donate to STOP Lacey from destroying the 1926 Charles A. NO QuickChek! Link to the GoFundMe is our website.

Smith Memorial Hall, bequeathed to the residents of Forked River and the 1850 Historic Worden House.

09/01/2026

Thomas Edison's 1906 Surf Board Riders film. I wonder what beach that was?

The Charles A. Smith Memorial Hall will be 100 years old on October 22, 2026. It stands on the corner of Lacey Road and ...
09/01/2026

The Charles A. Smith Memorial Hall will be 100 years old on October 22, 2026. It stands on the corner of Lacey Road and US Rt.9 in Forked River. This wonderful building was dedicated to the residents of Forked River for social and educational purposes upon it's completion in 1926, due to the generous $15,000 trust from Charles Arthur Smith. The second floor has a stage and original hard wood dance floor the lower level has a commercial kitchen and a giant meeting room. Unfortunately a developer wants to demolish it and build a QuickChek. Please join in the protest to save this historic landmark and give it back to the residents of Lacey and turn it into a cultural hub. .

John B. Tilton (1863-1946) was an avid sportsman and worked at the Layfayette Hotel at the turn of the century, by 1915 ...
08/31/2026

John B. Tilton (1863-1946) was an avid sportsman and worked at the Layfayette Hotel at the turn of the century, by 1915 he owned the bottling works on Bay Avenue in Forked River, formally owned by Washington Worden. J.B. Tilton is interred in Good Luck Cemetery.

Forked River Gilded Age - It is said that this image of a woman walking across the rail bridge at the Mill Pond was the ...
08/30/2026

Forked River Gilded Age - It is said that this image of a woman walking across the rail bridge at the Mill Pond was the toll collector from the Cedar Creek Bridge Toll House, the toll cost was .10 cents heading North into Berkley from Lanoka Harbor (formally Cedar Creek).

Old Lanoka Harbor road.
08/29/2026

Old Lanoka Harbor road.

Early 1900s photo of Barnegat Lighthouse and the lightkeepers dwelling,
08/28/2026

Early 1900s photo of Barnegat Lighthouse and the lightkeepers dwelling,

SOON Barnegat Pines will be 100 years old! In 1928 Barnegat Pines Realty Co. Inc., of 17 Academy Street in Newark, NJ cr...
08/27/2026

SOON Barnegat Pines will be 100 years old! In 1928 Barnegat Pines Realty Co. Inc., of 17 Academy Street in Newark, NJ created Barnegat Pines "A well planned development" at Forked River. These are a few pages from their promotional sales booklet. Touting amenities of a sportsman's paradise including bridal paths, 50' wide gravel streets and sidewalks, sports, hunting, fishing, swimming and boating.

Charles A. Smith came to Forked River in 1877. When Smith died in 1918, in addition to leaving $15,000, in trust, to bui...
08/26/2026

Charles A. Smith came to Forked River in 1877. When Smith died in 1918, in addition to leaving $15,000, in trust, to build a community hall in his memory, he also bequeathed thousands of dollars to his family, friends, staff and local churches, totaling more than 6 million in today's value. Charles Woolley was the "farmer" of Smith's vast Hollywood Farm estate, located on 1,000 acres at the East end of Jones Road. Smith left $10,000 (equivalent to $220,000+ today) to Annie Woolley, the wife of Charles Woolley, at the time it was customary to bequeath property to a wife to ensure her financial survival, bypass restrictive default inheritance laws. Additionally Smith left her "...all the horses and carriages, wagons, harnesses, farm implements, tools, kitchen utensils and linens in the buildings at Forked River, NJ." Smith's generosity and philanthropy uplifted the entire community of Forked River.

A fantastic look at Gilded Age Forked River, NJ - 1910 White Motor Company Steam Car, driven by Capt. John Farland Wilbe...
08/25/2026

A fantastic look at Gilded Age Forked River, NJ - 1910 White Motor Company Steam Car, driven by Capt. John Farland Wilbert (1873-1959). At the turn of the century, a White Steamer cost $4,000, equal to $136,000 in today's economy. At that time Forked River boasted of being a sportsman's paradise and resort community of roughly 50 homes and 3 grand hotels, Eno's Riverside Hotel, the Layfayette Hotel and the Parker House. The White Steamer was built by the White Sewing Machine Co. of Cleveland, Ohio it was also the first automobile bought for the White House and President Taft. Each car was powered by a two-cylinder, 40 horsepower engine (semi-flash boiler) and burned kerosene. 1905 saw the introduction of the hood design known as the “white curve”. By the spring of 1900, 4 White steam cars had been built and by January, 1911 the last White steam car was built. Only 9,000 were produced.

Forked River circa 1912: Young Caroline "Carrie" B. Holmes (1898-1995), Henry "Dater" Horner (1895-1965 )and unknown stu...
08/24/2026

Forked River circa 1912: Young Caroline "Carrie" B. Holmes (1898-1995), Henry "Dater" Horner (1895-1965 )and unknown student.

Address

P. O. Box 14
Lanoka Harbor, NJ
08734

Telephone

+19174009168

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