Official Site of The State of New Jersey

The Elizabeth Sculthorp Force House was constructed in 1867 by master carpenter William G. Irons, a productive builder in Toms River, for Captain Samuel Pierson, a local merchant and schooner captain, on a lot on the west side of Hooper Avenue. The house is significant for its association with Elizabeth Sculthorp Force, a progressive teacher who developed an innovative family relationships curriculum that achieved nationwide recognition. The house was Force’s childhood home and sole residence during her tenure as a high school teacher in Toms River from 1941 to 1957, where she taught an experimental “Social Behavior and Family Relationships” course. Force’s course became a model for family- and sex-related education in mid-20th century public schools and her long career influenced both pedagogy and the prevalence of the subject. 

The Elizabeth Sculthorp Force House was sold by the Sculthorp family to Ocean County in 1965 to be used as an office space. Faced with demolition due to the expansion of the town and need for increased municipal resources, the house was purchased from the County by the Ocean County Historical Society in 1971 and moved to its present location. It has served as their headquarters since. The Elizabeth Sculthorp Force House was added to the NJ Register of Historic Places in 2018 and to the National Register in 2019.  

The 2024 Trust grant will help fund exterior painting with limited wood clapboard replacement.