Stonemen in Stone Harbor: The Tale of a Mysterious Religious Group and Its Bungalow Colony
Young ladies pose outside of a 1920s bungalow.
Just past 108th Street in Stone Harbor are three narrow streets or “courts” – Bower, Weber and Stone – that are almost a throwback to days of yore.
These streets feature small, quaint bungalows, built closely to one another, seemingly out of place amid new construction that has replaced a large number of the older vacation homes in Stone Harbor.
But while the history of the bungalow colony has been well documented, what’s not as well known is that the bungalows were once owned by a short-lived religious organization called the Stonemen’s Fellowship, which was headquartered in Philadelphia and led by Rev. Henry C. Stone (hence “Stone court”). The bungalows provided a summer retreat for its all-male membership, which once numbered more than 100,000 strong.
Information from the Stone Harbor Museum indicates that the Avalon Development Company originally owned the land that eventually became Bower, Weber and Stone courts. In 1908, the Risley brothers’ South Jersey Realty Company was given rights to run pipes and water to any building constructed on that land.
Six years later, on April 24, 1916, the Risleys obtained the certificates of incorporation for the formally named Stone Harbor Bungalow Colony; it is believed that the bungalows were built between 1908 and 1916, and that they housed construction and railroad workers who helped the Risleys transform the dunes and marshland into the new Stone Harbor.
By early 1917, with the Risleys packing up and getting ready to leave Stone Harbor, it was decided to put the bungalow colony up for sale via auction. The auction flyers described each bungalow as “complete in every detail” with this pitch:
“Electric lighted, sanitary sewerage and daintily furnished with a white enamel bed, two woven wire spring mattress cots and linen couch covers … complete shower bath, porcelain lavatory, vitreous china closet, window shades, wickless blue-flame oil stove, Russian iron oven, ice chest, cooking utensils and dishes. They are the ‘Ford Automobile’ of seashore real estate, practical and inexpensive. They rent for from $88 to $128 per year. Built to sell at $1200. Sixty percent of price bid can remain on mortgages.”
Soon afterward, the Risleys’ South Jersey Realty publication announced the sale of 41 bungalows to the Stonemen’s Fellowship.
“The Bungalow Colony, which proved such an acceptable acquisition to the town last year, has been purchased by the Stonemen’s Fellowship, a national religious organization whose membership is numbered by the tens of thousands, and who will occupy the colony this and succeeding seasons,” the publication stated. But like the shifting sands on Stone Harbor beaches, the organization was gone about a dozen years later.
Early postcards show the nearly identical bungalows built by the Risleys lined up on each side of the narrow dirt streets, striped fringed awnings hanging over front windows, with the entire colony “conveniently arranged and located giving the occupants ready access to ocean bathing as well as the business district of the resort,” wrote Dr. Julius Way in his book, “An Historical Tour of Cape May County.”
The colony had attracted the attention of H.C. Stone, who founded a fast-growing organization known as the Stonemen’s Fellowship in 1910 along with six other members of the men’s bible class at the Holy Trinity Memorial Chapel, located at 22nd and Spruce streets in Philadelphia. The group, originally named the “Stonemen’s Club,” had grown to nearly 100,000 members by 1915, and began holding meetings in the gymnasium of the University of Pennsylvania, and later in Convention Hall, then Philadelphia’s largest auditorium.
Stone, elected president of the Stonemen’s, was a thin, balding man who didn’t appear from a rare photograph to possess any charisma at all, yet he had an ability to attract men to the group’s evangelistic mission.
“From the very beginning, President Stone demonstrated his power of personality to lead, inspire, and control this large society of men,” wrote John A. Hart Jr. in “The North American Student”, published in 1916.
As an aside, in September 1912, a small newspaper item picked up by the Champaign Daily News reported that Stone had been ordered away from Philadelphia by a physician “for his health.” While away, Stone’s wife committed suicide “by taking poison,” and news of her death was announced during services at Holy Trinity. The item stated that “the knowledge that [Stone] probably cannot recover his health is believed to have been responsible for her death.”
The Stonemen’s Fellowship charged no membership dues but required applicants to be Protestant. Eventually, it was revealed that the intention of the group was to launch a nationwide Protestant Unification, with members dispensed far and wide on recruiting trips.
Because it conducted itself so secretively, rumors circulated in Philadelphia as to what it was all about, why it was growing so rapidly, and what was happening at its meetings. Some thought Stonemen’s Fellowship was practicing devil worship and Satanic rituals.
“Whilst the purpose in the heart and mind of Mr. Stone has always been, as he states, to provide an organization based upon Christian discipleship … the air of mystery furnished by secrecy, grips, passwords, etc. and the widely spread belief that it was designed to be a powerful anti-Catholic society, influenced thousands of men to join,” it was noted in The Chronicle, published in 1915.
Where the group’s money came from was never confirmed, although George Wharton Pepper – a lawyer, Christian activist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School, and later a senator – was among those thought to be a major financial supporter.
Pepper’s papers in the University of Pennsylvania’s Archives and Records Center include those pertaining to the Stonemen’s Fellowship from 1915 through 1926, including an address he gave to the group, correspondence, and financial records. The New York Times of Nov. 27, 1915, referred to Pepper as one of the leaders of the group.
But back to the bungalow colony. After the purchase from the Risleys was complete, the “Stonemen’s Fellowship Vacation Club” was created. A 1917 brochure was printed with information, rates and rentals, which stated that “in one stroke [the bungalow] provided a permanent summer headquarters for the organization, and, at the same time, is able to offer nearly 4,000 of its members a communal summer vacation under the direction of the fellowship, at a price never before procurable.”
The brochure noted that “no more complete summer home can be imagined for small families or groups of four individuals.” The season ran from June 4 through Sept. 30. Two rental rates were offered to members: Family ($4 to $8 weekly), and Individual (50 cents daily all season).
The Stonemen’s Fellowship had grand plans to expand beyond the bungalow colony, and erected an auditorium on the boardwalk at about 107th or 108th Street, where it held events, according to Kim Park of the Stone Harbor Museum. It also constructed a Stonemen’s Restaurant in the same vicinity.
The Stonemen’s Bungalow Colony, as it was christened, existed until about 1930, when the nation was in the teeth of the Great Depression and membership sharply declined. Eventually, the borough either bought or took possession of the bungalows; the Stonemen’s Fellowship itself collapsed not long afterward. Little is known about what became of H.C. Stone.
“For some reason, the borough has some of the bungalows being built in the 1930s, while for others 1911, 1912,” Park says. “I am convinced that those 1930s dates were when the Stonemen’s Fellowship folded and the bungalows reverted back to the borough.”
Described as being “built like a yacht for space conservation and utility” by the Stonemen’s Vacation Club brochure, the bungalows still exude the charm of yesteryear, although owners have made many modifications and improvements through the decades. And the simple, compact homes now command a price tag that no doubt would shock H.C. Stone, as well as the Risley brothers, were they still alive.
Stone Harbor Museum goes digital! Be sure to visit the Museum’s website for a variety of digital offerings that were featured throughout 2020.
• Tranquility Tuesdays – a series of calming, scenic photos of our beautiful island.
• The Museum Minute – brief stories detailing Stone Harbor’s unique history.
• Stone Harbor Stories – follow tales from local residents both past and present.
• Art & Writing Contest – view the entries from the summer contest.
• Ice Cream Portraits – what’s better than ice cream in Stone Harbor, here are some of our favorites!
• Plus enjoy our digital “Tour Thru Time” 2020 Gala!
