Willow Hall added to New Jersey Register

The Passaic River Coalition is pleased to announce that Willow Hall has just been added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Sites. This is an important event for the house because the listing provides further legal protection from future destruction or severe alteration, and will make us eligible for more grants.

Many people felt that adding Willow Hall to the Register was a no brainer, as one reviewer remarked, "What took you so long?" Since the house had always been privately owned, previous owners were never interested in having the house designated as a historic site.

Now that the site is on the State Register, is will be added to the Federal register in about 4 months.

A special thanks to Holt-Morgan-Russell Architects for completing our application and to Marge Brady and Myra Bowie-McCready for attending the application hearing to show their support.

PS- Sorry that it has been two months since the last blog post. It has been rather busy around the office lately but we hope to start posting regularly again soon.

The 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey

Preservation New Jersey has released its 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey for 2010. Willow Hall used to be on this list before we bought it. Historic site funding from the Garden State Trust Fund ballot measure passed in November plays an important role in preserving and restoring sites like these all over the state.

Speedwell Iron Works

The Speedwell Iron Works were founded by Stephen Vail (the father of George Vail)in 1807. Stephen was an enterprising blacksmith who transformed his small company that made nails into one of the most innovative producers of mechanical equipment of the day.

Speedwell didn't just manufacture iron products, they invented new equipment In 1835, Stephen developed a durable iron tire for railroad locomotives. This innovation paved the way for the growth the railroad industry in America.

Through the 1830s, as the business prospered at Speedwell, Stephen expanded the ironworks and developed an industrial village. By the 1850s, Speedwell was a well-established and successful manufacturing enterprise employing 45 skilled laborers.
However, by the 1870s, the New Jersey iron industry began to decline as the industry moved westward towards new sources of fuel and raw materials. The Speedwell Iron Works closed in 1873, and three years later the equipment was sold to ironworks in Coatbridge, Scotland and Brooklyn, New York.

You can visit Historic Speedwell Village right here in Morristown! Learn more about this unique historic site at: http://www.morrisparks.net/speedwell/home.html

You learn something new everyday

That phrase sums up our experience of caring for and working at Willow Hall pretty well. Our most recent learning experience was actually rather anticlimactic.

When we first bought the house, its previous owner Fred pointed out sets of lines on the wood floors that appeared to be burned in. In some places, there were still bits of copper wire still stuck in grooves. Fred said these were where telegraph lines were installed. This was very exciting news, and a rather logical explanation, since the house's original owner, George Vail, financed his brother, Alfred, and Samuel F.B. Morse's development of the telegraph.

Well, it turns out that those grooves in the woods were actually used for an old security system in the house. The lines connected those wire alarms that used to be installed on windows. Needless to say, no one was particularly thrilled to learn this new revelation. But that's ok, because Willow Hall still has plenty of history and surprises to keep us (and this blog) busy for quite some time.

An avid collector

One of the newest additions to the Passaic River Coalition library is An Histology of American Gunsmiths, Arms Manufacturers and Patentees With Detailed Description of Their Arms by Stephen Van Rensselaer, a prior owner of Willow Hall. The book was published posthumously in 1947, and according to the introduction, was the result of a lifetime of purposeful and meticulous collecting.

One feature we found interesting about this book is its reference to Miss Pauline C. Stradtman, his personal secretary, in the acknowledgments. We know of her as Aunt Paulie through her nephew Fred Stradtman, Willow Hall's previous owner.

Stephen Van Rensselaer

Today we learned some new facts about Stephen Van Rensselaer, a previous owner of Willow Hall though he was not related to George Vail. The following is an article from the New York Times, published on September 9, 1916, and was found by a local historian and volunteer.

ROMANCE IN ANTIQUE SHOP
Mrs. Minnie B. Curtis, a member of an old New England family, and a collector of antiques, and Stephen Van Rensselaer, who comes from a well-known Knickerbocker family, have returned to town from their honeymoon after a quiet wedding last Saturday in Essex, Conn. Many of their friends did not learn of their marriage until yesterday.

Mrs. Curtis has an antique store in East Thirty-fourth Street. About six months ago Mr. Van Rensselar, who collects firearms, both ancient and modern, joined with her at the store. They had known each other for about five years. Now they are going to branch out, and will shortly open a store in the Fifties.

This is Mr. Van Rensselaer's second marriage. In 1905 he was married to Miss Marion Farlin of West Orange, NJ who obtained a divorce from him in 1912. He was one of Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish American war, and later a Wall Street broker, but for the last seven years he has devoted himself entirely to his hobby.

PS- Happy Veterans Day! Thanks to all the men and women who serve and have served our country!

To Know a Vail, Part 2

Today we’ll delve a bit more into George’s personal life. George had three different marriages, all to women named Mary; so pay attention, this may get confusing.

George’s first wife was Mary Ann Wilson. They had four children together; the first two died in infancy but their daughters Frances Georgiana and Mary Louise survived to adulthood. This first marriage lasted 25 years until Mary Ann died.

A year later George married his second wife, Mary Lewis Lightfoot. The couple had no children together and the marriage ended in divorce a year later. According to George’s father, George believed Mary Lewis was insane.

George’s married his third wife, Mary Tichenor Lyman, five years after the divorce to Mary Lewis. Mary Lewis outlived George but left Willow Hall after his death because the manor was left to George’s daughter Frances Georgiana.

More on the Vail family tree later this week.

Find of the Week

This week's Willow Hall Find is brought to you by one of several dump sites in the back of our property. It's an old bracket from one of the house's window lintels which are made of iron. You can compare it to a bracket that is still on the house. While we're not 100% sure, it's possible these decorative pieces were made at Speedwell Ironworks.

To Know a Vail, Part 1

The original owner of Willow Hall was a self-described “blacksmith, engineer, and manufacturer”, but George Vail was also a businessman, politician, diplomat and judge. George seems to have inherited these traits from his industrious father Stephen Vail, founder of the Speedwell Iron Works. Stephen passed on the Iron Works business to George in 1844 who continued his father’s tradition of hardworking and innovative industrialism.

George’s life extended far beyond his home in Speedwell as he became a member of the New Jersey Legislature in 1843 and a U.S. Congressman in 1852. He was also a New Jersey Delegate to the World’s Fair in London, a member of the U.S. Consulate in 1858, a Judge in the Court of Errors and Appeals and a founder of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.

To give credit where credit is due, this clever title was borrowed from an article run in the Star Ledger several years ago.