Land developer Morrisey & Walker established the Treasure Lake section of Cliffwood Beach in Matawan Township (present day Aberdeen) in 1924. As part of their ad campaign, they decided to promote the idea that pirates buried treasure in the area. This included having a pirate ship built for them to serve as their on-premises sales office. The duck pond at Money Island was renamed Treasure Lake. And some gold doubloons supposedly were planted on the site.
To top off the advertising campaign, the real estate sales office was set in a pirate ship where customers would find a salesman and conduct their business.
Matawan Township subdivided the first section of land used by Morrisey & Walker for the Cliffwood Beach community in 1923. The developer bought the land for Shore Concourse in 1924. Morrisey & Walker placed the ship in the triangle of land, where Shore Concourse joined State Highway 4 (today’s Amboy Avenue, across from where Wendy’s restaurant sits).
The ship was moved circa 1926 to State Route 35 North in Madison Township (now Old Bridge) in Middlesex County to promote Morrisey & Walker’s Cliffwood Beach housing development on the west side of Whale Creek.
The pirate ship spent many years at this location, providing a fun, yet useful landmark to both residents and travelers. Local readers will recognize the spot in the image above as State Route 35 North, at the intersection where a 7 Eleven convenience store stood. (The ship would later be moved across State Route 35 to make room for that 7-Eleven.)
The above photograph captured the Pirate Ship – Realty Office in its early years. A parade of fire department vehicles passed by a group of spectators.
“The City”, a short film produced by The American Institute of Planners for the 1939 New York City World’s Fair, includes a brief sighting of the pirate ship. Signage advertised Cliffwood Beach and its famous saltwater pool. [Note: Refer to the US National Archives’ You Tube channel (@usnationalarchives} for their video labeled “The City”. You can see the ship at timestamp 20:11/31:40.]
NOTE: Multiple sources incorrectly suggest that the ship was featured in a Laurel & Hardy film, but this is simply not the case. Laurel & Hardy film productions are well documented. Their famous traffic scenes were all filmed in Culver City, California in the late 1920s. “The City” has comedic background music to go with the traffic jams it includes, causing it to be confused with the comedy duo’s work, and that mix-up passed into local lore.
Paul T “Tom” Cahill and Everett H Larrison purchased the Cliffwood Beach Company and its pirate ship from the Morrisey & Walker estate in 1959 and opened the Cahill Company. Cahill operated Cahill Realty from the pirate ship from 1959 until he retired about 1991.
Cahill approached the Madison Township Zoning Board in May 1971 seeking to move his office building across the street to a 2 ½ acre lot. The complicated move took place in Oct 1971 at a cost of about $50,000. Cahill hired house movers from Mount Holly to relocate the 100-ton ship. The telephone company had to raise its wires for the ship to achieve the required clearance. The ship was removed from its foundation and traveled stern first across the highway. Cahill’s daughter Kelly assisted her father with the ceremonial champagne bottle broken across the bow as his wife and sons Danny and Paul looked on.
Cahill retired and left the pirate ship vacant; his agents had moved to other local realty companies. Midlantic Bank foreclosed on the property to protect its interests in what had become a regional landmark. They put it up for auction in Dec 1992, and several businesses were interested in placing bids.
Dennis Kessler, of the Charles Smith Agency in Sayreville, purchased the ship and its .37 acre irregularly shaped lot from Midlantic Bank for $22,000. Kessler was in the process of selling the property to the Knights of Columbus Chapter 10281 when the building was destroyed by fire in May 1993.
The Society is interested in acquiring additional stories of the pirate ship, especially the construction and the people involved in that. We also welcome additions to the story, comments and corrections.
SOURCES
- Brooklyn Standard Union, 4 Nov 1923, A Sea-Like Office Where Dry Land is Sold
- Asbury Park Press, 22 May 1926, Morrisey-Walker Now in New Home – Keansburg
- Matawan Journal, 9 Jul 1959, Paul T Cahill Buys Company
- Matawan Journal, 9 Jul 1959, Cahill Company Acquires Cliffwood Beach Company
- Keyport Weekly, 27 May 1971, 50-Year Landmark to be Moved
- Asbury Park Press,19 Oct 1971, Pirate Ship Docks After Short Trip
- Asbury Park Press, 8 Jan 1986, Pirate Ship Office Recalls Capt Kidd
- Asbury Park Press, 2 Dec 1992, Ship Shaping Up As an Auction Prize
- Asbury Park Press, 14 May 1993, Flames Destroy Landmark – Old Bridge
— Pat Noble
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