Welcome to the Matawan Historical Society

For more than 70 years, one of the strangest landmarks along Route 35 wasn't a diner, a gas station, or a roadside attraction... but a giant pirate ship

And if you grew up around Cliffwood Beach, Keyport, Matawan, Aberdeen, or Old Bridge, chances are you remember seeing it!

On May 13, 1993, a devastating fire destroyed the famous Pirate Ship, ending a remarkable chapter of New Jersey roadside history.

The story began in the early 1920s, when real estate developers Morrisey & Walker were transforming Cliffwood Beach into a summer resort community.

To attract buyers, they came up with an unusual idea.

Why not build a real estate office that looked like a pirate ship?

Inspired by local legends of Captain Kidd and buried treasure along Raritan Bay, they constructed an elaborate wooden ship complete with masts, decorative trim, and a distinctive bow.

The developers even promoted the idea of hidden pirate treasure in the area, renaming a local pond Treasure Lakr

It was actually a fully functioning real estate office where prospective buyers could inquire about summer cottages and property in Cliffwood Beach.

Over the decades, the ship became one of Route 35's most recognizable landmarks.

Generations of Jersey families passed it while traveling to the Shore, and children couldn't help wondering why an enormous pirate ship was sitting beside the highway!

But here's something even more unbelievable

In October 1971, the 100-ton ship was moved across Route 35

The complicated move cost approximately $50,000 and required telephone wires to be raised so the enormous structure could pass underneath.

The ship was transported stern-first across the highway before being settled into its new location.

For years afterward, the Pirate Ship continued serving as a real estate office under owner Paul Cahill.

But by the early 1990s, its future had become uncertain.

Cahill had retired, the building was vacant, and the property eventually went into foreclosure.

In late 1992, the unusual landmark was put up for auction.

A new owner purchased the ship, and plans were underway to transfer the property to a local Knights of Columbus chapter.

But before those plans could become reality, disaster struck. On May 13th, 1993, the pirate ship caught fire

The blaze destroyed the historic wooden structure that had stood for generations.

All that remained was the charred hull and wreckage of a landmark that had once been one of the most unusual sights along Route 35.

And just like that, the Pirate Ship was gone.

Today, the roadside landmark exists only in old photographs, postcards, and the memories of people who grew up passing it.

But for generations of Jersey residents, the sight of that enormous ship sitting beside a highway was something you simply never forgot ... See MoreSee Less