By BARBARA SCHMIDT and MARYANN PIONEGRO-SMITH/For the Sentinel
OCEAN CITY – It all started with a staircase.
In 2018 Bill and Jeanine Ashmead planned to buy and convert a duplex into a single-family vacation home to enjoy with their family. While viewing online real estate sites, they saw a picture of the staircase at 843 Park Place, with its beautiful wood railings and window above the landing. They fell in love instantly and decided to buy this house instead of the one they originally considered renovating.
Bill and Jeanine pored through Cape May County record archives and found information about the home’s six owners going back to 1910. Newspaper clippings revealed that a widow, Mrs. Matilda Widener-Marley, had the house built for year-round residence – unique when most homes built at that time were intended as summer residences. Mrs. Widener-Marley was the sister of Peter A. Widener, a well-known businessman and philanthropist whose legacy included an art collection he donated to the National Gallery Smithsonian Institution. He also tragically lost his son and grandson on the Titanic.
Mrs. Widener-Marley lived in the house until her death in 1924 and the house passed on to her husband’s relatives.
Bill and Jeanine Ashmead also have historical ties to Ocean City. Bill’s grandparents had a house on 18th and Asbury Avenue and both Bill and his father were Ocean City lifeguards. Bill met Jeanine in California, and she was interested to learn how New Jersey “shore” culture is quite different from West Coast beach life.
The house was built in the craftsman cottage style, common in this area. Park Place was a desirable part of town in the early 1900s, close to the boardwalk, hotels and entertainment. At 2,400 square feet and four stories, the home boasts seven bedrooms and five baths. Most of the rooms are filled with light from windows designed to open to ocean breezes in a time before air conditioning.
Unique touches include pocket doors that slide into walls, designed to conserve heat between rooms. Awnings and a large sycamore tree provide porch shade for a cool place to read a book, take a nap or watch pedestrians stroll by.
Bill and Jeanine modernized the kitchen and bathrooms, added an extension, and expanded the back deck to include a long table to seat their entire family. They installed a new remote-controlled HVAC system for year-round use, so the family enjoys off-season holiday events like Thanksgiving and Santa’s arrival on City Hall’s roof.
Decorated with coastal art reflecting surfing vibes and Ocean City history, the home features colorful drawings throughout the house, a shiny surfboard leaning near the stairs, and a wooden display of several decades of beach tags.
Play rooms, bunk beds, and toys reveal a very kid-friendly beach house. The sound of children racing up and down the 116-year-old staircase (the one that started it all) will no doubt be heard with delight by future Ashmead generations to come.
This article is part of a series showcasing owners of historic Ocean City homes and their preservation success stories. If you would like to tell your success story, please email maryann@ friendsocnj.org. To learn more about Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, go to friendsocnj.org.
