Derelict Houses on Indian Cabin Road, Egg Harbor City, NJ

[EddieD]

Besides the usual hype and exaggerated teenage "legends" associated with Indian Cabin Road in Egg Harbor City, does anyone know the specific history of how about 5 to 7 houses came to be "placed" on a relatively small wooded lot on Indian Cabin Road? These houses appear to be randomly "dropped" onto a wooded lot with no road or driveway or even yards. I have attached a picture of the "main" house that is visible from Indian Cabin Road. All the other houses are scattered throughout the wooded area and not visible without actually entering the area. I'm interested in the factual/historical/legal information of how they came to be there. There are numerous kid's stories and videos on Youtube about these homes and about Indian Cabin road, but none of that interests me.

 

[Teegate]

I edited your post to fix the location of the text.

 

[EddieD]

I edited your post to fix the location of the text.

Thank you! I saw it, but figured, eh!

 

[Piney2LA]

Ahhh. Looks very familiar. This is in Sweetwater's part of indian cabin rd. My neck of the woods and basically in my back yard. The story I was told was they were houses on an army base of some sort that were moved to the property. The owners first name has slipped my mind and I dont know if he is still alive or even the landowner but anyway his last name, was/is, Birdsall

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ahhh. Looks very familiar. This is in Sweetwater's part of indian cabin rd. My neck of the woods and basically in my back yard. The story I was told was they were houses on an army base of some sort that were moved to the property. The owners first name has slipped my mind and I dont know if he is still alive or even the landowner but anyway his last name, was/is, Birdsall

Clyde Birdsall. He owned the general store with the Gulf gas station that is now about to completely collapse.

 

[enormiss]

My MIL used to live next door to the old station and Clyde used to let my BIL hunt the Indian Cabin Rd property.

 

[Teegate]

A rare newspaper article I posted. Check out the link also. I met the man once.

Clyde Birdsall Update

All, I was thinking some of you may find this interesting. You may remember the newspaper photo I posted a few times showing Atsion Ranger Clyde Birdsall with the Jersey Devil. Well, I was searching on the web tonight and it appears that incident is in a book on the Jersey Devil. This link...

forums.njpinebarrens.com

 

[Boyd]

Looked in my parcel dataset (from 2014, I think) and these came up, two are labelled on my map:

online.boydsmaps.com/#17/39.60994/-74.66035/parcelsPro

online.boydsmaps.com/#17/39.61776/-74.65037/parcelsPro

This one is owned by Connie Birdsall (Connie and Clyde? ). Is this the store?

online.boydsmaps.com/#17/39.62639/-74.65402/parcelsPro

Here's a close-up

And these four 1-acre parcels

online.boydsmaps.com/#17/39.60294/-74.66317/parcelsPro

None of these appear to be the location you're talking about however...

NOTE: the parcel maps referenced in this post have been discontinued due to privacy concerns.

 

[EddieD]

Wow! Okay, so let me see if I got this right. The houses were built by the military or government, then moved to Indian Cabin Road. Probably to create some sort of community for enlisted personnel of the time, or perhaps they were intended to be training units for the military. Then, after the military was finished or abandoned the site, it got sold to Clyde Birdsall? I guess I could inquire with the county clerk as to the current owner and contact him about further information. Thanks, I now have something to go on. If this were a military installation of sorts, then it bears interest to explore the remains. LOL, the house(s) look like it was Dorothy's house from the Wizard of OZ! No one knows any contact info, do they? Thanks again for the info!

 

[oji]

There are a lot of houses here in Pemberton Township that were bought from the military on Fort Dix when they were being replaced with newer buildings. You would buy the house and then move it to your lot off base. Most of the lumber used in them was 2x3 and not much more larger than a 2x4.

 

[GermanG]

There are a lot of houses here in Pemberton Township that were bought from the military on Fort Dix when they were being replaced with newer buildings. You would buy the house and then move it to your lot off base. Most of the lumber used in them was 2x3 and not much more larger than a 2x4.

I can think of two sites off the top of my head where this was done. Many merchants at the New Egypt Flea Market are located in former barracks from Dix. Until a few years back there were also one or more structures from either Dix or Lakehurst located on the north side of Rt. 37, between Rt. 70 and the GSP. I believe they were taken down for new development. All of these buildings were small and would have been easy to move.

 

[enormiss]

I'm told Clyde passed awhile back and his daughter is owner. Supposedly got the houses from Mystic Islands 80's ish to join together into a single unit.

Edit
So my BIL said he passed in 93 and I thought no way so just posted awhile back
Then catching up on unread posts I see it was 94
Time flies and I'm getting old :-(

 

[Boyd]

Maybe somebody can post a link to these "derelict houses"? I'm confused as to exactly where they are. If you don't know how, it's very simple on my site. Just choose your map and drag it until the crosshairs point to the houses. Then copy the link from your browser's address bar and paste it into a post here.

But if there's some reason not to reveal their location, that's cool too.

 

[enormiss]

Apparently I haven't been there since the 90's GASP
It should be the parcel in the 1st link you posted above
But I could be getting senile too, or we are talking about different locations

 

[Boyd]

Do you mean this?

online.boydsmaps.com/#17/39.60994/-74.66035/parcelsPro

I wondered about that, but it didn't seem to match what was described. And if you look back through the years, it was an open field not that long ago.

 

[enormiss]

That's what I'm thinking of only going by the prior mention of Clyde.

1980 map

1995 map

 

[EddieD]

That's what I'm thinking of only going by the prior mention of Clyde.

1980 map

1995 map

These maps here seem to show exactly where the houses are located and the area surrounding them. As I drove up, they were on my right coming from Egg Harbor City. The field is now becoming grown over with scrub pine but is still there. If I understand what everyone is saying, the original owner who put the houses there has died in the early 90s, and the owner is now the daughter. So I'm guessing there's not too much interest by the present-day owner about the houses. I'm also feeling that, since the "houses" were moved there and that the area was not used by the military, there is nothing of historical interest. It's just another one of those "Weird NJ" things! Wow! How weird is our state....always finding the unusual stuff hidden right in our own backyards and in plain sight!. Did people;e actually live in them? They are really small and inferior in construction to a "real" house. I love it! Where is Clyde's Gulf Gas Station in relation to this lot?

 

[pinelandpaddler]

These maps here seem to show exactly where the houses are located and the area surrounding them. As I drove up, they were on my right coming from Egg Harbor City. The field is now becoming grown over with scrub pine but is still there. If I understand what everyone is saying, the original owner who put the houses there has died in the early 90s, and the owner is now the daughter. So I'm guessing there's not too much interest by the present-day owner about the houses. I'm also feeling that, since the "houses" were moved there and that the area was not used by the military, there is nothing of historical interest. It's just another one of those "Weird NJ" things! Wow! How weird is our state....always finding the unusual stuff hidden right in our own backyards and in plain sight!. Did people;e actually live in them? They are really small and inferior in construction to a "real" house. I love it! Where is Clyde's Gulf Gas Station in relation to this lot?

The property contains the remains of the sewage treatment plant for Amatol. I was told the land was recently sold, but I'm not sure to whom.

The general store/gas station was here: https://online.boydsmaps.com/#19/39.62614/-74.65430/njgin2007i

One of my earliest memories of the store involves chocolate candy bars that had turned white with age.

​

 

[EddieD]

The property contains the remains of the sewage treatment plant for Amatol. I was told the land was recently sold, but I'm not sure to whom.

The general store/gas station was here: https://online.boydsmaps.com/#19/39.62614/-74.65430/njgin2007i

One of my earliest memories of the store involves chocolate candy bars that had turned white with age.

​

Ha, that's funny. candy bars that turned white from age? Hmm...still good? Yes, okay. So, he owned the gas station, and then the land with the houses down the street? Curious, and I guess no one would know now, but what was his intent to bring the houses to his property and then, never do anything with them, just let them rot? I mean, sounds like he would have had to spend a big penny to have the house moved for nothing?

On another subject, do you know anything about the so-named skating rink next to the old abandoned Acme store in Egg Harbor? What years was it in use? Why was it shut down? Are there plans to tear it down?

 

[EddieD]

Ha, that's funny. candy bars that turned white from age? Hmm...still good? Yes, okay. So, he owned the gas station, and then the land with the houses down the street? Curious, and I guess no one would know now, but what was his intent to bring the houses to his property and then, never do anything with them, just let them rot? I mean, sounds like he would have had to spend a big penny to have the house moved for nothing?

On another subject, do you know anything about the so-named skating rink next to the old abandoned Acme store in Egg Harbor? What years was it in use? Why was it shut down? Are there plans to tear it down?

Amatol. I want to visit the munitions plant and, of course, the track. Kinda hard to find?