The History of the Jersey Shore surrounding Shark River, from Brielle to Asbury Park, originally published as a regular feature in "The Herald" Wall, N.J. between 1990 and 1992.

DO YOU REMEMBER ROUTE 38?

By Mildred Colyard

     Through the years, there have          This highway was also referred
 been many changes in our seashore       to as "Sterner's Folly" because
 area.  I thought it would be in-        the area was laid out as a dual
 teresting to write about some of        road extending from Route #35 to
 them and use this column as a           Route #34, and in the future it
 melting pot of information from         was to continue westward to link
 readers.  Perhaps you might even        up with Highway #38 in the western
 have some pictures you would enjoy      part of the state.   Unfortunately
 sharing  with us.                       this never happened.  The highway
                                         remained a single road, with east
                                         and west traffic using only one
 THE OLD RACE TRACK IN WALL              side of the proposed dual roadway.
                                         Some old maps of the area actually
    Having been a resident of Wall       show the proposed connection of
 Township for many years, I decided      these two Highway #38s.  Were you
 to write my first article about         around when this road was built?
 this area.  I think the old race          The little used road also had
 track on the south side of highway      another synonym - the "Army Mile".
 #34 would be a place to start.          I recall, as do many others seeing
                                         the Army Signal corps soldiers
    Do you remember the speedway         working along the unimproved half
 there?   It was between Highway 34      of Route #38,  stringing telephone
 and Allenwood Road.   There was a       or telegraph wires between poles.
 deep oval in the woods where the        This was just one of the places in
 cars raced and the spectators           Wall Township where they trained
 stood or sat on stumps to watch.        during the war.   Another area,
 Remember the horrendous noise made      taken over by the Army, was on the
 by the speeding cars?  It could be      west side of School House Road,
 heard as far east as West Belmar.       opposite the Oak Tree Tavern.
    Did you stand, as we did,
 holding the smaller children so
 they could see better?   Were you       HEROY'S POND
 driving one of the cars?   If you
 were, tell us about it.                      My sons informed me that they
    I have included a photograph,        and their friends use to play in a
 taken at one of these races.  Dick      culvert that ran under Highway 38.
 Napoliton was kind enough to lend       They said they could stand up in it
 it to me for the column.                and walk through to Heroy's Pond.
    Are there any other pictures or      This pipe was installed to allow
 information pertaining to these         the overflow of water from a brook,
 race cars we could use?                 located west of Route #35, to drain
                                         northward into the pond.
                                            Heroy's Pond, another area the
 OLD ROUTE #38                           boys played, was located near the
                                         northwest corner of Routes #35 and
    Highway #38, which has been re-      #38 in back of the hill.  An old
 numbered to #138, was at one time       farm house originally stood on this
 called Sterner's Highway  - a name      hill where Route #35 meets Belmar
 some old timers still use when re-      Boulevard.
 ferring to the roadway.  It was            Back of the pond on the Heroy
 named for a local businessman           Property, is a place my boys called
 Donald Sterner.  He was a senator       "The Potato House": I understand it
 and an eminent lumber dealer in         was built of old bricks into the
 Belmar.   I believe it was through      side of the hill, overlooking the
 his initiative the road was built.      pond, and resembled a cave.  
 
   There is ten years between the ages 
   of my sons; both played there and 
   both called it "The Potato House".   
   Why did they call it this? Neither 
   son knew the origin of the name.
 
      I have seen a post card with a
   picture of Shark River, and in the
   background is the farm house on the
   hill.  Does anyone have this card
   so we could reproduce it here
 

Dick Napolitan and Bill Ireland Crash at the oval



An aerial view of the race track which was located between Highway 34 and Allenwood Ropad. Route 38 is seen in the Background.