Quaker Inn interior. Internet photo.

Internet photo.

Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net

We thought that the Quaker Inn inquiry was finally over, but not so fast!  A Grover, David Dougherty, was  “intrigued” by our quest after Lee Morgan acquainted him with our less than complete  efforts to tell the story of the Quaker Inn.

So David decided to “dig in” and help out.  He researched old Ocean Grove newspapers: “All the information has been gathered from advertisements in the Ocean Grove Record/Ocean Grove Times. I used either the first of second issue of July of each year from 1885 through 1937″

He found that the hotel we know as the “Quaker Inn” had acquired a variety of names over the years. Each of those ads were for rooms (“accommodations”) to rent.

David says  that  “all of the websites today list 1895 as the date of construction of the Quaker Inn, but there is an ad for 37 Main Avenue renting rooms in 1889. That ad says: “To Let: A few choice rooms with a private family, at 37 Main Avenue.”

David says, ” I don’t know if this 1889 ad references the same building, in which case, the later real estate pages are incorrect, or if possibly a house was torn down and rebuilt in 1895 as the building we see today.”

Editor’s note:  This part of the narrative remains murky as does the erratic numbering of 37 and then 39)

IN SUMMARY:

a. in 1888 the listing was advertised as the “Bower Cottage” at Main and Olin (sic)

b. In  1889, the property was called the “Bower House,” and its address was now Main Avenue near Central Avenue.

c.  1892 it again became the “Bower Cottage” at the same location.  At that time the address had no number mentioned.

d. In 1897 it was again the “Bower House.”

e. In 1902, the property is called “The Waterbury”  (“formerly the Bower House.”)   We saw that name on the Sanborn map of 1905.

f. In 1908 it was still “The Waterbury” but its listing now was an actual address: “39 Main Avenue-“–the same as today.

g. In 1912, the listing was “Ocean Grove Hotel” managed by people whose last name was Griggs.

h. In 1920 it was still listed at 39 Main Avenue–corner of Central.

i. In 1924 the property was named “Griggs Hotel.” (Formerly Ocean Grove Hotel.)

j. In 1925 the name changed again to “The Virginian.”  It had new owners.

k. David says,  “The first listing that I find for the “Quaker Inn” is in 1928. It lists an address of 37 Main Avenue.”

l. Subsequently the hotel was called “Borton’s Quaker Inn” at 37 Main Avenue.

m.   In 1936 it was called “Quaker Inn” at 37 Main Ave..

n. In 1937 the “Quaker Inn Hotel and Restaurant” was listed at 37-41 Main Avenue.

n. In 1939 Gibbons History of Ocean Grove was published, and its list of 80 hotels included the Quaker Inn at 39 Main Avenue (at Central)

David Dougherty concluded his analysis with this: “So this is the history of Bower Cottage, the Bower House, The Waterbury, The Ocean Grove Hotel, the Griggs Hotel, the Virginian, Borton’s Quaker Inn, and finally the Quaker Inn.

Blogfinger thanks David for moving the ball further up the field.

So far, no professional historians have joined the Blogfinger team of amateur historians, and yet we have advanced the knowledge of this historic hotel.

There still remains the story of the people who owned and managed this property over the years, and maybe, in the tradition of Jessica Fletcher we will discover a murder in that hotel for us to investigate and solve.

—-*”What’s in a name?”  From Juliet’s soliloquy in Act, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

DON AND JUAN:

And if you can stand some more Quaker lore, here is a link to a more contemporary view of the Quaker:

Are They Baking Blackbird Pie at the Quaker Inn?