Mansions of Morris CountyThis pictorial record of Morris County, New Jersey, traces the dramatic rise of America's least-known colony of millionaires during the Gilded Age. The area became a country retreat for the upper class. Families such as the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Kountzes, Wolffs, Dodges, and Claflins built impressive estates in the area referred to as the "inland Newport." By the 1920s, the prominence of Morris County was eclipsed by the lure of Long Island, and its economy was being threatened by the Depression. Faced with high taxes from the newly established income tax, skyrocketing maintenance costs, and a dwindling reservoir of help, the wealthy residents began razing their mansions. Although many of these vast estates have been long gone and forgotten, author John W. Rae's collection of early Morris County photographs recaptures the area's palatial homes in their full grandeur. Within the pages of Morris County Mansions, Rae invites you to join him on a visual tour of the magnificent architecture of the Gilded Age. Meet the area's prominent families and discover little-known facts about the homes in which they resided. |
Contents
Acknowledgments | 6 |
Millionaires Country | 37 |
Within the Town Limits | 77 |
Scattered but Regal Mansions in Surrounding Areas | 95 |
Clubs Founded By and For the Wealthy | 109 |
Auctions Demolition and Fires | 123 |
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Common terms and phrases
acres Author's Archives barns Bernardsville bought Charles clubhouse Colonial cottages County Golf Club dog show Doric drives entrance extensive gardens fire Florham formal gardens frame carriage house frame mansion Frederick front Frost garage George Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Gilded Age greenhouse Hamilton Mckeon Twombly Harding Twp Hubert's Giralda Jersey John Kissel land purchased located Macculloch Avenue Madison Avenue manor mansion built mansion on Madison mansion was built Marcellus Hartley Dodge McAlpin McCurdy Mckeon Twombly estate Mead & White Mendham Borough Mendham Twp millionaires Morris County Golf Morris Township Morris Twp Morristown Field Club Morristown Memorial Hospital Normandy Heights Normandy Parkway overlooked Pictured polo fields pond porch Public Auction razed rear Remington Arms Ruth Vanderbilt Twombly Sherman Park Socially prominent society sold South Street stables stone surrounded Sussex Avenue tennis courts Thebaud Thomas Nast three-story frame towering tract Tudor-style Turpin Realtors Valley Road Washington Valley Whippany River Club