Slippery Rock Gazette

Peter J. Marcucci

Special Contributor

Photos by Peter J. Marcucci

I stumbled onto this gem in late autumn while mountain biking at the Ringwood State Park, Ringwood, New Jersey.    

Located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains, the New Jersey State Botanical Garden at Skylands is situated just south of the New York State – New Jersey border, and 21 miles east of the Hudson River.       

Like many of New York City’s affluent during the 19th century, those wanting to live-large in rustic mansions did so by building in the Tuxedo Club, Tuxedo, New York; while a smaller percentage, wanting to live even larger, built outside Tuxedo in the spacious highlands of the Ramapo Mountains. 

The logic during this opulent heyday was simple: they could be close to wealthy associates, enjoy the amenities the Tuxedo Club offered, then arrive home quickly and safely after social hour. Enter the concept of the “country manor.” 

Originally conceived as a working farm, Francis Lynde Stetson, a prominent New York City corporate and railway lawyer, constructed “Skylands Farms” during the late 1800s. This brainchild, an assemblage of early pioneer farmsteads, totaling over 1,000-acres, maintained an stylish granite manor, a collective of over 30 out-buildings, and a nine hole golf course to entertain esteemed guests such as J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and aspiring U.S. Presidential candidate, Grover Cleveland.  

In 1922 Skylands Farms was sold to investment banker Clarence McKenzie Lewis. Lewis promptly demolished the Stetson manor and began the construction of his “Tudor Style” mansion designed by the famed architect John Russell Pope. 

Pope also contracted the foremost landscapers of the time to create numerous one-of-a-kind gardens around the home, thereby setting a precedent for its present, realized legacy.   

Purchased by the State of New Jersey in 1966, Skylands, in its current form, is 1,117 rolling acres of trees, botanicals and sculptures, stitched together with walkways that offer shaded seating most everywhere. 

“The mansion has the look of a rambling English ‘country house,’ using local granite, set coursed ‘rubble style’ with carved limestone around all doorways and windows, numerous exposed hewn wood beams, and interconnecting patios. Vines have established themselves over many parts of the facade further blending it into the landscape,” explained Michael Jamison, Owner of Jamison Stoneworks LLC., Sloatsburg, New York. Michael is also an expert on local historical structures. 

“I’d define the look of the carriage house as arts & crafts style, using local quartzite boulders, wooden window boxes and borders with panes fastened into the stone. They kind of let loose on this building, and to me it is the most interesting. 

“The pump house has sort of a whimsical look to it with that arch. The structure is all granite extracted from the Hillburn Quarry, just a stone’s throw from the Skylands site, and that arch is really 3 large pieces made to look like 30 with chiseled mortar joints. I read at one point that the craftsmen were from Italy and eastern Europe. ”  

With over two centuries of stone production, astonishingly, the Hillburn Quarry, located in Hillburn, New York, continues to be a viable entity. Operated by two separate companies under the names Hillburn Granite Company and Legacy Stoneworks Inc., the quarry continues to yield blocks, veneer, benches, memorials, even slabs. 

According to Michael, Hillburn granite is very consistent and nice to work with because, he says, it does what it’s told, while adding, “I’ve used it a lot and made countertops with it—it’s great material. Once you notice it, you see it everywhere. I think the quarry opened right around the time of the American Revolution.”

For centuries Hillburn granite has also been used in the construction of buildings, bridges, train trestles and monuments throughout the area and most notably used in 1848 to construct the “High Bridge” aqueduct (officially the Aqueduct Bridge) to supply water to New York City. 

Beyond the use of local hard stones for building projects, many builders of that era additionally incorporated repurposed stone, when available. “At Skylands, worn-out millstones were used for landings at many of the doorways in the manor,” continued Michael. 

“It was a common thing in those days to go around grabbing discarded millstones from local gristmills and reusing them. In Rockland County, New York, alone, there were over 30 mills at one point, and in the Skylands area there were a bunch, also. 

“Those millstones were Shawangunk conglomerate quarried in the Catskill Mountains and what millers were using before the French came with their pieced millstone, held together with metal. The French put local millstone quarries out of business with a better design and maybe even better stone.” 

According to Michael, once the millstones became worn to 5-6 inches thick, their useful life was over and they were discarded. During their lifespan, however, occasional sharpening (or dressing) was required. “There were actually guys going around re-sharpening the milling stones. I heard somewhere that the expression, ‘Show Me Your Mettle’ came from when a miller, in search of iron embedded in the skin of the professional sharpener, asked to look at his forearms. This did not necessarily mean that they were good at their job; it simply meant they were experienced at cutting the grooves in the stones.” 

In 1984, then Governor Thomas Kean nominated that the innermost 96-acres of Skylands be the State’s official botanical garden and placed in the National Registers of Historic Places. Today, the New Jersey State Botanical Garden at Skylands is visited by thousands looking for a day’s worth of tranquil surroundings, throughout the seasons. Fortunately, for me, my visit was at the peak of Autumn color. 

For more information about the New Jersey Botanical Gardens at Skylands, please visit www.njbg.org.

For more information about the Tuxedo Club, see the Slippery Rock Gazette online archived issue: June 2014 (page 22).

Peter J. Marcucci has over 25 years of fabrication experience in the stone industry. Send your comments to our Contacts page