James Peter Allaire | Calicia Allaire Tompkins | Hal Allaire | Arthur Brisbane | The Huguenots | John Roach | Rev. Thomas Tanser | Rev. George W. Doanne | Allaire Family Cemetery
HAL ALLAIRE - was the only child born to James P. Allaire and his second wife and first cousin once removed, Calicia Allaire Tompkins. Heir to James Allaire's dwindling empire, Hal was born at the Howell Works Company 05 October 1847. He was educated at the now defunct Columbia Preparatory Academy and went on to receive his degree in architecture from Columbia University, graduating in 1869.
When James P. Allaire died 20 May 1858, at the Howell Works, the property and the bulk of his estate was left to Hal and his mother Calicia. This, however, caused a rift between Calicia and three of the four surviving children of James Allaire and his first wife Frances Duncan Allaire. A lawsuit was initiated and James Allaire's will was contested. The dispute began in New York and was finally decided in Freehold, NJ in favor of Calicia and her son, 18 years later.
By the time his mother died on 02 October 1876 at the Howell Works Property, there was little liquid capital left in the estate. After the death of his mother, Hal continued to live alone in the Big House and found himself in sole possession of quite large land holdings exceeding 6,000 acres. Despite his lack of resources to maintain such large holdings, Hal did little in the way of practicing the trade of architecture although he was responsible for designing several residences of note in Lakewood, NJ. Hal, instead, preferred to live the life of the gentleman farmer, continuing his father's practices of raising prize herds of pedigree cattle.
Hal was, however, appointed Postmaster at Allaire in 1874, served as agent at Allaire for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and held stock in both the Farmingdale & Squan Village and the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad Companies the latter of which he held a seat on the Board of Directors. In 1890 Hal, a devout Republican, ran on his Party's ticket in a bid for State Senate. Although he entered the arena with a great deal of enthusiasm, he held little expectation of winning and was defeated by Thomas S. R. Brown.
The Village lay idle and largely unused during most of the ownership of Hal Allaire and fell into a state of decay and disrepair, becoming known as the deserted Village at Allaire. Hal did take an interest in maintaining the Church for Sunday worship and other functions, such as the stage for his theatrical plays. He designed the sets and costumes and enlisted the aid of his friends to act in the plays which were performed for the surrounding community.
Hal, an educated and artistic individual, for the most part, reveled in his father's ancestral holdings, waving aside any re-birth of the village that investors suggested to him. In the 1890s, his friend, William Harrison, advised Hal to try and generate some income from his land holdings, which were in excess of 6,000 acres. Together, William Harrison and Hal Allaire formed the Allaire Land and Water Supply Company with the hopes of marketing the valuable natural resources and water supply on the Allaire property to nearby coastal towns. Bonds were issued for a stake in the property, but for the most part, it was an investment company that never materialized. Hal rented out the Enameling Building, Foreman's Cottage and other homes in the village to families, and allowed William DeLisle to convert the Carpenter Shop into an Inn and Restaurant, known as the Allaire Inn. During most of the 1890's the Village was also used as the Spring Training Camp of the Brooklynites, who would later to become known as the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Hal was a rather peculiar individual, but nonetheless, he struggled to keep intact his father's landholdings. His greatest gift is perhaps a series of "Notes" he wrote about his father's enterprises, including operations at the Howell Works during the time of its historical significance from 1822 - 1846. Hal Allaire left one other legacy. Late in his life it was his wish that the Deserted Village should be preserved as a memorial to his father. According to his obituary, which appeared in the Red Bank Register on Wednesday 23 October 1901, "Hal Allaire began to have dreams of another village of Allaire, different from the village his father had founded, but no less prosperous. He hoped that Allaire would become a winter resort, as prosperous and as noted as Lakewood itself, and in that case the ruins of the buildings his father had put up would become an attraction to all visitors..." Fortunately, this wish was honored by Arthur Brisbane when he left the property to the State of New Jersey.
Hal Allaire died at the Howell Works property on 18 October 1901, of apparent heart failure. He was 54 years old. Hal is buried in Manasquan, NJ.