Twp. museum to open at new site this year 'Buy a Brick' campaign to support restoration project at Woolley House BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer Above: The historic Eden Woolley House on Deal Road will become the new home of the Township of Ocean HistoricalMuseum. At left: The bricks purchased through the museum's "Buy a Brick" campaign are placed under the flagpole in front of the Woolley House. OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is offering area residents the opportunity to make their mark on township history by participating in the "Buy a Brick" campaign. The campaign supports the renovation and restoration of the historic Eden Woolley House on Deal Road. Upon completion of the restoration project, the Woolley House will become the new location of the town's historical museum. The Historical MuseumAssociation is sending forms to township residents that ask for the community to support the project by purchasing a brick that will be displayed at a location to be chosen at a future date. "A first section of bricks was completed in November," said Virginia Richmond, president of the Historical Museum Association. "They were placed around the flagpole in front of the Woolley House. "The bricks cost $100 each, and the majority of that money goes directly to the restoration and repair of the Woolley House," she said. Richmond explained that if more people purchase bricks, the museum might make them into a walkway leading to the Woolley House. Community members who participate in the campaign may select a message or a name to be carved on the memorial bricks, according to Richmond. The Woolley House restoration and repair project started in 2005, and Richmond said she expects it to be completed this year. The project is estimated to cost $1 million, and the museum association has raised $600,000 to date, Richmond said. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is currently operating out of a classroom that has been divided into two smaller rooms at the former Oakhurst School building on Monmouth Road in the Oakhurst section of the township. The space is not large enough to meet the museum's needs, Richmond said. "We have a lot of artifacts stored all over [Ocean Township] because the room has limited space to exhibit," Richmond said. In 2005, the museum received approval to occupy the Woolley House by the Ocean Township Council. The Woolley House was removed from its original location on Route 35 to make way for the construction of a Stop & Shop supermarket and strip mall. It was relocated to a site on Deal Road. The house has undergone extensive renovations since it was placed at the Deal Road site, according to Richmond, who explained that in addition to waterdamage repairs, a new roof has been constructed on the structure. A significant amount of work still needs to be completed before the museum can open to the public at the Woolley House, Richmond said. Such work includes the installation of handicap-accessible features to meet standards set by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, she said. "People ask when it will open, but there is still a lot to do," Richmond said. "There is no bathroom. The walls and ceiling, which are made of plaster, are cracked and need restoration. "There isn't electricity, except for in the basement," she said, adding, "There is no kitchen because it had to be completely gutted due to a large leak." The Woolley House was constructed around 1750. A second addition was constructed in the early 1800s and a third addition was built in the 1900s. The Ocean Township Historical Museum Association is also asking the public to donate to the "Woolley House Finish Line 2008" campaign in order to raise enough money to open the museum this year, Richmond said. "We are asking for individuals or businesses to donate $1,000 to help assist in finishing the job," Richmond said. "We have a thermometer on Deal Road that asks people to help with the restoration and send money to the [association]. "We already have $500,000 and a lot of that is grant money," she added. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum first opened at the Oakhurst School in 1983. It currently has a staff of 20-30 volunteers and showcases artifacts dating back to the 1800s. "We have a section [at the museum] for Wanamassa, Oakhurst and Wayside with photos and artifacts that date back until the 1800s in an area we consider our neighborhood room," Richmond said. "We also have in that same room, some information about the former Deal Test Site, now known as Palaia Park, as well as some information about some of the old homes and mansions that were in the area. "The room also serves as our office," she said. Another room at the school has a display for government and services and features items from the Wanamassa and Oakhurst fire departments, first aid squads, the Police Department and the Township Council, according to Richmond. "We have a map … that shows Ocean Township as it was when it was incorporated in 1849," Richmond said. "The Legislature in Trenton originally divided the land, which went from Sea Bright to Shark River. "We have artifacts that came from Oakhurst School, like a potbelly stove, some old desks, books and a lunch box. A lot of the items have been donated," she said. The museum also has a display of items that people had in their homes before there was electricity, Richmond said. "For instance, we have candleholders, ice cream makers and butter churners," Richmond said. "We also show how ice was harvested from a lake in Ocean Township before people had refrigerators." The museum is also used to host programs for township third-graders to show the students what the Oakhurst School was like before it had electricity, a furnace and running water, Richmond said. "We use all the artifacts that they would have had in a home to show them how they would have lived," Richmond said. "We have a lot of things we consider treasures." Richmond explained that the museum holds files on the history of Ocean Township's government, schools, community events and some of the area's cemeteries. "We try to get the files in acid-free materials, so as not to lose them," Richmond said. "We have quite a nice research library. "When we do move, there are plans to have a new research library in the upstairs of the Woolley House, where people can do research and study their genealogy," she said. Richmond said she is hopeful the museum will open at the Woolley House this year, but she said there is no definitive deadline for the restoration. "You move along and something gets uncovered that you didn't know existed, and it's another bump in the road," Richmond said. For information on making donations or volunteering at the township Historical Museum, call Virginia Richmond at (732) 531-4295.