The Papers of Woodrow Wilson places him there at the time he wrote his
acceptance of the 1912 nomination and gives a fascinating insight into the relationship between the then-governor and the
property's owner, Melvin A. Rice.
Wilson was identified with Monouth County both as a governor and as a president.
It may be better remembered today that Shadow Lawn in West Long Branch was Wilson's summer White House. However, as governor
of New Jersey, Wilson also spent summers in Sea Girt. "The Little White House," formerly the New Jersey State Building at
the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, was re-erected on the grounds of the New Jersey State Camp. It was the site of much activity
with the governor and state officials and the State Guard training there.
Croydon Hall was then Drynock Farms, the home of Melvin A. Rice, a New York City
businessman and a friend of Wilson's. He was active in educational pursuits, and became a member and later president
of the Middletown Township Board of Education. Rice donated land to the Township for the erection of a then model high school.
He later served as president of the New Jersey Board of Education, a post he occupied at his death on December 31, 1924.
The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held in Baltimore during June. Unlike
today, when the acceptance speech concludes the nominating convention, the candidate formally accepted weeks later during
a notification ceremony. The speech was given at Sea Girt and described Wilson's program. It was distinctive as the only one
Wilson wrote during the entire campaign. He generally talked extemporaneously, using one-page outlines as reminders. He put
great care in its preparation and sought to overcome distractions at the "Little White House."
Wilson did so by staying with Rice and his efforts can be best traced by his own
words. Wilson wrote to a freind, Mary Allen Hulbert, on July 14, 1912, " . . . . Not a moment am I left free to do what I
would. I thought last night that I should go crazy! I am not at Sea Girt. I am just outside the little village of Atlantic
Highlands by Sandy Hook. A good friend here, Mr. Melvin Rice, has a big place (Drynock Farms) where he lives in lonely state
with his wife (no children). He saw my distress, beset and helpless at the Governor's Cottage and took pity on me. He insisted
that I take asylum with him whenever the hunt harrased me beyond endurance . . . . I slept till noon today, like a tired boy,
and now . . . . am opening all my mind to my dear friend . . . ." 1
He also wrote Mrs. Hulbert on the 21st, "I am not writng from Sea Girt . . .
. but am again in asylum at my good friend Rice's quiet place, where I may spend the greater part of the week so as to be
free to write my speech of acceptance." 2
Wilson could not avoid altogether the official obligations at Sea Girt, but his
absences were drawing attention. A July 22, 1912 item in the New York Times headed "Wilson in Hiding to Write Speech"
described the previous day's leaving, "The reason for his going was simple. The governor's good neighbors had seized possession
of his home. He had to work on his speech of acceptance." Wilson was questioned, "Where are you going, Governor?"
"Oh, away from here," he replied.
"And are you going to rest up? You need it."
"No. I am going away to work."
The Times noted, "Only the Governor's most intimate friends know where we went.
He carried with him two large books for shorthand notes. The speech that he will read to the Democratic Committee on Notification
on August 7 he will write out entirely in shorthand, and afterward he will dictate his shorthand draft to a stenographer."
3
Wilson finished, or perhaps wrote much of the speech, on Princeton classmate Cleveland H. Dodge's yacht
Corona. He wrote Mrs. Hulbert on July 28 while on board, explaining his need for rest and relaxation as well as time
to prepare the acceptance speech, noting " . . . . nobody knowing whither we were bound - for I am even now supposed to be
'in retreat' with a friend near Atlantic Highlands . . . . " Wilson, his wife, one daughter and a friend " . . . . went down
to the dock at Atlantic Highlands, which is just by Sandy Hook, and came aboard the Corona; since when we have been
cruising in the (Long Island) Sound." 4
Wilson wrote his thanks to Dodge the next day, "The speech is written, and I am at the same time refreshed
and reinvigorated." 5
It is not possible to state definitively which parts of the speech were written at any one site. However,
Wilson's friendship with Melvin Rice and his visits to Leonardo at a politically crucial time comprise a third important Monmouth
County association for the former president. It casts historic stature on Croydon Hall, Wilson's post-nomination "retreat."
Written by Randall Gabrielan and originally published in the
Monmouth County Historical Association Newsletter, Spring 1984 (Vol. 12, No. 3). Reproduced courtesy of the Monmouth County
Historical Association Library & Archives.
