Estellville Manor

Do you believe in Ghosts ?

A very long time ago, before I was married in 1970, my Grandmother took me on a "back road" ride in the Pinelands of Jersey. A quick right off the AC Express Way was all I remembered. Now this in itself was not unusual. My Grandmother and my Mother were "back road travelers". As for myself, I always stick with interstates, parkways, turnpikes, etc.

As a child, our weekend trips in the summer to our Forked River seashore home, included drivng through the Pine Barrens, and listening to stories like those of the Jersey Devil. My Grandmother, a 5th generation Philadelphian, loved her history and her stories.

So on this particular trip, we stopped along the road, just in front of a beautiful old abandoned house built in the early 1800's. I noticed the large, towering pillars and the grandness of how she stood among the pine trees and the forgotten over grown gardens. My Grandmother started telling me stories of the house and it's long ago family. She told me about tea parties and gatherings. She described the beautiful furniture and the grande interior of the house. It was almost as if she had lived there in another time. The owners were the Estell family and they owned and operated a glass factory in the area. She said they were very good people and took wonderful care of their employees. Next we went a little down the road and made a "V" turn and we saw the Methodist church, built for all the local families working in the Mills, and it's cemetary of forgotten tombstones and names, worn off from many years of harsh weather and neglect. That's when she said that this is where she wanted to live when she died. This is where her spirit would reside. In this old house with it's many colorful residents.

Many years have passed since my Grandmother died from complications from Alzheimers, but I have always remembered this trip and how she insisted she would live there some day. So on my last trip back to Clifton Heights from Cape May, I decided to take the "back roads" with my son and grandson, to find my Grandmother's new home.

We researched old glass factories in Jersey on the internet and narrowed it down to the Estellville factory, then set our GPS. While following RT 50, I immediately recognized the house. I was even able to go directly to the church. I wonder if I had some "spiritual" help....hmmm

Funny thing is the area is now a state park and has hiking trails and parks all over the place, plus a nature museum, that my Grandson, Nathan really enjoyed. There is even money funded to restore the old house in the future.

By the way, I looked in the windows of this old , empty house and knocked on the door.

The door slowly and silently opened.

I had found my Grandmothers new home.

Florence Powell 1965

A Man Full of Trouble Tavern Museum

Philadelphia 1760

Estell Manor and

what's left of the Estellville glass factory 1825 -1877

M. E. Church 1834