If one takes New Jersey Route 9 north from Tuckerton in Ocean County, they will pass through Parkertown, cross the Westecunk Creek which empties into the Little Egg Harbor and arrive at the village of West Creek. Settled in 1705, the village is a quiet spot along the road which runs through the heart of New Jersey’s outer coastal plain.
West Creek is the recorded home of H. Schutt (dates unknown) a carver of waterfowl decoys. It is possible that Schutt was a contemporary of Nathan Rowley Horner (1882- 1942), a better known West Creek carver. The sparse details about Schutt suggest that he was a clammer, boat builder, decoy carver and sometime guide for sportsmen drawn to Little Egg Harbor to hunt waterfowl. Among the waterfowl which visits the region are black duck, bufflehead, scaup and brant. Schutt is credited with having carved one or more decoys of these birds in a style “pure and simplistic”.
For additional information
Working Decoys of the New Jersey Coast and Delaware Valley, 1985 by Kenneth L. Gosner.