Harlan’s History: THE VINTAGE HAINER BUNGALOW, Stone Harbor, N. J. 1920

Harlan’s History: THE VINTAGE HAINER BUNGALOW, Stone Harbor, N. J. 1920

THE VINTAGE HAINER BUNGALOW, Stone Harbor, N. J. 1920
A close-up black-and-white image of the a large Stone Harbor bungalow seen on the postcard, set on a beach dune landscape. The architectural style includes a wide front porch enclosed with windows, dormer windows on the roof, and a neighboring house partially visible to the right. The photo has a textured printing quality typical of early 20th-century postcards and contains a few visible stains near the top center of the image.

Over the many years of writing hundreds of illustrated articles on the subject of Stone Harbor, New Jersey, the popular seashore resort town located on the South Jersey shore, I have discovered that one of the most popular subjects of greatest interest to my readers has been featuring vintage houses, buildings, businesses, and various other types of structures that have played an important part in the history of the borough.
A black-and-white vintage postcard featuring a large Craftsman-style bungalow labeled “HAINER BUNGALOW – Stone Harbor, N.J.” The expansive home is elevated on pilings above sandy dunes and faces the Stone Harbor Yacht Basin. The house has prominent overhanging eaves, a centered dormer, many tall windows, and a side-facing staircase. On the right-hand side of the postcard is handwritten script, partially legible, addressed to “Dear Dudley” and signed “Uncle John.” The date “Aug. 16 – 20” is handwritten beneath the image.

That being said, the old vintage post card illustrated above depicts a classic large bungalow that was situated on the Stone Harbor Yacht Basin. This summer home was owned by the Reverend Levi Wesley Hainer of Norristown, Pa. This charming post card was placed in the mailstream and postmarked at the Stone Harbor post office on “AUG. 7, 1920.” Interestingly, this particular piece of mail was addressed to a Mr. Dudley A. P. Hainer residing at 35 Monroe St., Brooklyn, N. Y. It was not at all uncommon for homeowners and proprietors/owners of apartment houses during these early years of the 20th century, when picture post cards were so common and popular, to publish post cards showing their own lovely houses or business establishments.

We are therefore grateful to have access to many post card images preserved from the past to help us reconstruct what life was like in Stone Harbor over a hundred years ago.
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