Insulator Home Is Galloway's Most Famous

Most people don’t know the address, and just about no one knows who lives there, but 202 West Jimmie Leeds Rd. is probably among the most recognizable structures in Galloway Township.

It’s home to Stanley and Dorothy Hammell. About 15 years ago, Stanley Hammell retired and decided to begin collecting insulators. For those who don’t know—and according to Dorothy Hammell, there are quite a few college kids that fall into that category—insulators are bell-shaped objects that used to provide insulation for bare wires that connected railroads.

The insulators were used in old Morse Code, and were first created in the early 1700s, according to Stanley Hammell. Stanley Hammell saw them line wire from Absecon to Winslow, and when the railroad lines were knocked down, he decided the insulators should be his.

“They just let me take them,” he said. “They didn’t have any use for them, and they figured, the more I take, the less they have to get rid of.”

Insulators aren’t made anymore, and like anything no longer in production, they’ve gone up in value. According to the Hammells, there are insulators worth $20,000. None of them belong to the Hammells, however.

“It’s a hobby for me,” said Stanley Hammell, who added he once paid $80 for an insulator that is now worth $150. “I started collecting them, and I just decided to put them up for everyone to see.”

The insulators line the fence all around his property, but it doesn’t stop there. He has quite a few structures set up in his backyard that are adorned with insulators. His are mostly green, but they come in different colors, and vary in value based on the color.

The fence and the backyard aren’t the only things Stanley Hammell has created on his property. He purchased the property in 1960 and built his own house.

The World War II veteran and former carpenter built the two-story structure with his bare hands. His driveway is a former road that he converted into a path that leads to the garage, which is a separate building altogether.

But the property is most known for its insulators.

“People are always stopping and asking about them,” Dorothy Hammell said. “There was once a man from Tuckerton that was working out here and stopped by. He said he passed by every night and just had to know what they were. He was very surprised by what they were and what they do.”

The Hammells travel together to trade shows, where different insulators can be purchased. Stanley Hammell has a subscription to Crown Jewels of the Wire, a magazine dedicated to insulators.

“People are always stopping by and looking, taking pictures, asking about them,” Stanley Hammell said. “It’s a hobby. I don’t mind.”

And how does Dorothy Hammell feel about her 87-year-old husband’s hobby?

“When you’re married for a long enough amount of time, you don’t care,” she said. “You just go along with it.”