The Middletown Township Historical Society will hold a meeting at 7:30 p.m. July 21 at the Poricy Park Nature Center, 345 Oak Hill Road, Middletown.
The guest speaker will be Glenn LeBoeuf, who will present “Shadow Lawn: The Downtown Abbey of the Jersey Shore.” LeBoeuf will examine the history of one of New Jersey’s most important houses, now the center of Monmouth University.
John A. McCall built the first Shadow Lawn in 1903, but lost it as he was caught up in a life-insurance scandal. Woodrow Wilson used the place to conduct his front-porch reelection campaign in 1916. The house was destroyed by a fire in 1927.
Shadow Lawn II was completed in 1930 by Hubert and Maysie Parson, whose wealth and domestic splendor could not get them a pass into society. Parson, too, lost the palace, dubbed the “Versailles of America,” after he retired as president of Woolworth’s. He died two weeks after the furnishings were auctioned in 1940.
Rescued by Monmouth University, the home was featured in the 1982 film, “Annie,” and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
Visitors are welcome to attend the meeting, and refreshments will be served.