Improvements To Harding House At Bayonet Park Eyed By Holmdel

HOLMDEL, NJ — The township is planning more improvements to Bayonet Park's Harding House, and one local land use activist said she couldn't be more pleased.

The Township Committee is expected to vote Tuesday night on a resolution to seek a Monmouth County grant to help fund the work.

Karen Strickland of Citizens for Informed Land Use is in charge of programming for the organization.

And the house of the late heiress Laura Harding is a gem for the township, Strickland said.

"We've had Earth Day events there for 25 years," she said of the park and house property.

Now the township is on its way to providing more funds for some major improvements to the house, including a new roof.

The Township Committee is expected to approve a resolution to apply for a Monmouth County Municipal Park Improvement grant.

The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners has approved an Open Space Trust Fund and established the municipal park program to provide grant funds "in connection with municipal park improvements, development, and redevelopment projects."

The township will seek seek 50 percent grant funding - or $340,000 - for improvements to Bayonet Farm Park, including the Harding House and other park facilities, the township confirmed Tuesday. Total park improvements would be $680,000, the township said. The park is at 71 Middletown Road and consists of the house, plus two barns.

The red barn is now used for events such as weddings and there is a gray barn too, Strickland said. She added that the township already installed bathroom facilities at the red barn.

The Harding House, along with the other properties there, have "great potential to be a community center," Strickland said.

Strickland has given tours of the house, which, while not considered a historic home, has a unique history, thanks in large part to the life of Laura Harding.

According to background on Harding (the family name is remembered in Harding Road in Red Bank), top architects and designers converted a modest farmhouse to a comfortable Colonial Revival style home.

Harding died in 1994 and previously sold the house and property to the township, with her having the right to live there until her death, Strickland said.

Harding was a wealthy woman born in 1902 to James Horace and Dorothea Barney Harding, who were originally from Philadelphia. They also had an estate in Rumson, where Harding was raised, according to literature about Bayonet Farm. She also was a philanthropist, very involved with the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey.

Harding also had a brief acting career, during which she became a friend of legendary actress Katherine Hepburn. The two even lived for a while in California at the start of Hepburn's movie career.

Strickland said Harding House is of great cultural value. And having a secure roof is a major part of keeping it that way.

She said the township last year repaired flashing around the chimney and replaced the heating system, making the home more comfortable. A new roof will provide even more protection.

The grant could also fund other improvements, such as widening a doorway for ADA access, Strickland said.

Strickland said Harding first obtained the main property in 1936 and an adjacent parcel to the east in 1937. Later she added land to the northeast at what is now near the entrance to Bell Works. Her brother had already purchased nearby property in Holmdel, and following his death Harding inherited his property.

By 1985, the estate had expanded to 230 acres with 190 acres on one side and 40 acres across Middletown Road, according to Strickland.

After major renovations to the circa 1800s home, the interior was decorated by Allen Saalberg, an artist known for intricate silk screen posters.

His work is evident throughout the house, Strickland said, in painted wallpaper, a ballroom and another room with walls covered in leather. There are wide chestnut floors and intricate crown molding, she said.

And name Bayonet Farm comes from workmen's discovery of a small bayonet embedded in a section of the chimney, Strickland says.

So as the house and other sites on the grounds are improved, Strickland said the community can enjoy the area much as Hepburn and Harding did, with their picnics and their dogs. The Alexander Ching Memorial Dog Park is nearby, for example.

Strickland said she looks forward to the next Earth Day and hopes to give a tour of the house then.

"We want to bring the home alive," she said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated with the final grant request amount and total project cost.