Carolynn Ozar ­Diakon and Resources Real Estate Host First Legacy Look Back Event

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1468260368RUMSON, NJ - Carolynn Ozar ­Diakon, broker and founding partner at Resources Real Estate, hosted the firm’s first in a series of Legacy Look Back events at Cobble Close Farm in Middletown, NJ, last night. The invitation­ only evening included a tour of the main house and highlights of its former residents and its place in Monmouth County’s history. Resources Real Estate’s Legacy Homes Division aims to highlight some of the county’s grand historical homes in keeping with her personal commitment to preserving the area’s historical and distinctive homes and architecture.

“These Look Back events were created to bring awareness to Monmouth County history and our legacy of grand homes and simple farmhouses that date back to the 1800s and earlier,” Ozar ­Diakon said.  Zoned as “farm assessed,” ​the buildings are surrounded by fountains, gardens and even l​ivestock­-filled pastures. “The compound, designed and built for Herbert Straus in the 1920s by Alfred Hopkins, feels and looks as if it has been plucked whole from the French countryside and set down in Middletown,” Ozar Diakon added.

Straus, an heir of Macy’s co­-owner Isidor Straus, built the country gentleman’s estate on 143 acres, after the death of his parents, (Rosalie) Ida and Isidor, who were among those aboard the T​itanic when it sank in 1912. Isidor served briefly in the House of Representatives. Ida famously refused to leave her husband while aboard the sinking ship and gave away her place on a lifeboat. Standing near Lifeboat No. 8, Isidor Straus refused to go while there were women and children remaining on the ship. He reportedly urged his wife to board the lifeboat. Witnesses quoted her refusal, "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." Husband and wife were last seen arm in arm on the deck of the Titanic. The 1997 blockbuster of the same name depicts the couple below decks as waters rise around them.   Cobble Close Farm sits on the approximately 13 acres that remain of the original property. Fountains, courtyards and gardens ​surround the property, comprised of four private residences ​b​uilt of stucco and cast stone buildings with red, ceramic ­tiled roofs. In addition, the property also includes an orangery. The pool and its cabanas overlook lawns bordered by Greco ­Roman statues imported from Europe. For more information about the invitation ­only Legacy series, contact Carolynn Ozar ­Diakon at 732.212.0440

Resources Real Estate, a Monmouth County, NJ firm, has four offices and a team of more than 75 sales and support personnel. Resources Real Estate is a full­service independent residential brokerage opened by Carolynn Diakon in 2000. Thomas McCormack, with the company since 2002, joined Diakon as a partner in 2010. Resources Real Estate is at 112 E. River Rd. in Rumson, 36 Beach Rd. in Monmouth Beach, 4A W. Front St. in Red Bank and 65 First Ave. in Atlantic Highlands. For more information, call 732.212­.0440 or visit resourcesrealestate.com.