Leaving So Soon? The Mystery of the Brothers Who Developed Stone Harbor
View of 85th Street from the Pennsylvania Railroad Station plaza, showing the many new cottages built on $100 lots sold by the South Jersey Realty Company.
The brothers Risley – David, Reese and Howard – will forever be entwined with the early history of Stone Harbor.
Their entrepreneurial spirit helped transform open land and marsh into a bustling beach town. While the Risleys’ real estate venture wasn’t popular early on, alluring advertisements placed in Philadelphia newspapers prompted many to invest and build their seashore homes on empty lots.
The Risleys arrived in Stone Harbor from Philadelphia with a vision to design and build a seashore community and, of course, to make money. They established the South Jersey Realty Company and bought 3,674 acres on the southern portion of Seven Mile Beach for $90,000 from the Avalon Development Company in 1907. The company, of which Reese was president and general manager, Howard the vice president and David the treasurer, then distributed property to all three brothers, and went on a promotional spree.
Working quickly, the South Jersey Realty Company provided free railroad transportation and accommodations at the existing Harbor Inn to prospective investors. Soon cottages sprang up, the streets were laid out, and a well was drilled for fresh drinking water. They oversaw the construction of a parkway – complete with a drawbridge at 96th Street – that connected Stone Harbor to the mainland, and through their political connections were even able to get Gov. Woodrow Wilson to dedicate it in 1911.
But just a decade later, they were gone, leaving behind a thriving, growing beach town. What happened to the Risley brothers after 1917?
What we do know is that David, Reese and Howard Risley were all born in Georgetown, S.C., into a fairly well-to-do family.
Their father, David – listed in a family obituary as being born in Absecon – was a successful businessman and owned the Palmetto Lumber Mills, general merchandise stores, and served as a public official in Georgetown.
The Risley brothers were well-educated. David, the oldest, attended Pennsylvania Military College and the University of Virginia, and Howard, the youngest, attended the University of the South in Tennessee. It is not known where Reese went to school.
Photos show that all three Risleys were large men, in both height and weight, and they dressed to impress. Buying and selling real estate became a passion, and they were not easily discouraged. Before their Stone Harbor venture, they attempted but failed in an enterprise to develop land and grow fruit on the Isle of Pines in Cuba.
How the Risleys learned that there was land for sale on the tip of Seven Mile Beach is not known, but they saw the area as a prime spot to get rich. After the disastrous investment in Cuba, they had little money but came up with an idea to build a town. They sold $100 bonds through their South Jersey Realty Company, which entitled the buyer to a lot on which to build a cottage, bungalow, or store, and promised to offer “improvements,” such as streets, water, and electricity.
“The Risleys were real estate salesmen and developers,” says Jim Talone, president of the Stone Harbor Museum, who has done extensive research on the three brothers. “They promoted Stone Harbor, leveled the dunes, and hired people to lay out the streets. Within 10 years, the place was a town.”
The South Jersey Realty Company had several offices, none of which was in Stone Harbor. Three were in Philadelphia, and the fourth in Camden. They advertised their “million dollar issue” of First Mortgage Beach Front Improvement Bonds, which were secured by beachfront lots that were retained by the company, with the intention of selling at a future date.
A 1909 novelty card called “New Stone Harbor” a “Miracle in Rapid Growth,” shows photos of “before” and “after” development. One postcard boasted that there was “absolutely no risk” and “loss is impossible” if one invested with South Jersey Realty.
“We think we have shown you that you take absolutely no risk when you invest with us,” it stated. “Land values at Stone Harbor and Miramar are just starting to advance.”
Two Risleys built themselves grand homes. David’s house, “Cobble Point,” was on Sunset Drive, while Reese’s home, “Hydrangea,” was located on First Avenue, near the Harbor Inn.
In 1911, the Risleys presented the wildly popular Gala Week, a weeklong schedule of events intended to publicize South Jersey Realty that coincided with the Fourth of July. It included a formal ball at the yacht club, a regatta sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer, a beach party and barbecue, and, of course, a fireworks display.
Howard Risley even served for a short period of time as Stone Harbor’s mayor. He was elected in May 1914 and resigned in November 1915 over a contract dispute for a new boardwalk.
In many ways, the Risleys were the Barnum & Bailey of the real estate business. And just like the circus, the Risleys quietly left town about 1917, moving on to their next adventure.
“We don’t know what happened,” said Talone. “They didn’t abscond with anyone’s money and there is no scandal. It may be that they had built the town they wanted and it was time to move on. It may be that, although they built the town, it never made the fortune they dreamed of.”
David Risley died at age 49 of “a complication of diseases” in Philadelphia in 1917, not long after the death of his 10-year-old son, but little can be found about what Howard and Reese did once they completed their business in Stone Harbor.
According to records, Reese Risley died at age 63 in Philadelphia in 1934, but as late as 1930 he was listed in the census as being a “roomer” in Salisbury, Md., the commercial hub of the Delmarva Peninsula.
Census records show that he was one of six men who lived in a house in the Memorial Building on Broad Street. The house was headed by Owen Krause, and Risley’s occupation was that of “real estate agent.” The record indicates Risley was currently married and employed. It could have been that Risley was in Salisbury to buy and sell real estate.
Howard Risley headed west after leaving the Jersey Shore. He was listed in the 1930 census as living in Los Angeles with his wife, Florence; his brother-in-law William Coad, and his 9-year-old daughter Bessie. His occupation was “real estate lecturer.”
The 1940 census shows Howard as being a partner with Coad in a Santa Monica apartment house. At age 61, Howard was listed as a “widower,” with Florence having died in 1938, and that the property was located on Arcadia Terrace; Coad was the apartment manager. Risley’s occupation was “advertising manager” for a “monthly publication” with a 1939 salary of $2,600. He died in 1950 at age 72 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
And that’s about all that we know.
More than 100 years later, the Risleys have their place in the history books as the brothers who helped bring Stone Harbor to life. While information about what they did after leaving Seven Mile Beach is scarce, they sure did a lot while they were here.
