George P and Mary Jane Hart’s house. In about 1926, George deeded the house to his daughter Marge. Now owned by Mickey Graham

Back to 1925-26. At the same time George deeded over his Harthaven house to his daughter Marge, he purchased two lots from the Barrys and gave these to his sons Merv and Don (known as Tod) along with funds sufficient for them to build their own cottages. Mervin and his wife Natalie built on the bluffs overlooking the Sound between the Barry and Pease houses. (Aunt Barb Pease was the eldest offspring of Nanny and Grampa Moore.) Just to the north of the Barrys, Tod and his wife Ale built a three cottage compound known as “Crow’s Nest,” so named because of the crow’s nest-like view from atop the bluff where they built. Tod and Ale even went so far as to erect a flagpole complete with a yardarm and small crow’s nest. Merv sold his house to the artist Doug Prizer on October 25, 1937.  John Moore - A Brief History

This should get your attention. This is the old entrance to Harthaven - a channel wide enough for boats - and later, kids to play in - between the old entrance and the harbor. Now all silted in. Global warming?

“There was a time we could canoe north past the Youngs’, through the culvert under Beach Road (by lying down in the canoe) and into Farm Pond. And there were lots of crabs near the culvert.” Mary Lee Everett Gifford. From A Brief History by John Moore.

Walter H. Hart’s dock and boats

World War II

During the World War II, of course, many of the men, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the William H. Harts, enlisted in the various military services: into the Army went Howard Young, Al Pease, and Pete and Bill Hart; Merv Hart’s son George, Mike Pease, Jerry and Russ Hart and Max Moore went into the Navy; Norm Eddy joined the American Field Service (as an ambulance driver); his brother Howdy served in the Marines and my Dad, Ros Moore, served in the Air Corps. Another Harthaven resident, Bill Abbe, also served in the Army. Accordingly, Harthaven was well-populated by “grass widows,” and life continued generally as before although gas rationing made it a bit more difficult to journey from New Britain to the Vineyard.

Days were spent at the beach, with Buoy Beach just to the north of the first inlet being the most popular, followed by the beach across from the Youngs’. Alternatively, days were spent sailing and picnicking. Cocktail hours continued unabated as did assorted card games, especially bridge. There were still a number of children underfoot, myself included, exploring the mysteries to be found in the harbor. From John Moore - A Brief History

LITTLE BRIDGE EMERGES FROM SAND

“I remember jumping off the old little wooden bridge that used to cross over to get to the beach by Young's old house. Also digging the best steamers in that little water way.” Polly Pease

Among the most vivid memories of Harthaven folks who were children in the fifties and sixties is swimming in the channel between the “Young’s house” off Seaview Avenue and the beach. It was all that remained of a much larger waterway that once connected the “old jetties” to the harbor. In the fifties, parents could allow young children to swim there safely because it was so shallow. In the 30s and 40s, the channel had been deep enough to allow the passage of goodly sized yachts.

A small wooden bridge allowed bathers to cross over the channel and go on to the beach about 100 - 150 feet beyond. Over the years, the channel silted in and the beach eroded and the bridge disappeared under the sand. On Friday, Jed Conlin was walking the beach and discovered the bridge re-emerging. I went down to take its picture today. 

This is pretty dramatic testimony to the erosion rate in the Harthaven area. Let’s say that in the fifties it was 100 feet from the end of the bridge to the water. If my math is any good, that means we have lost more than a foot and a half of shoreline every year for the last sixty-one years.