Where: 1686 Route 517
Allamuchy, NJ
Who: Teens and Up
Rutherfurd Hall is a large country estate in Allamuchy, New Jersey. It was built for the family of Winthrop Chanler Rutherfurd in 1902. Rutherford was a socialite from New York. The Rutherfurd family was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the time. The Rutherfurd family tree included New Jersey's first senator and members of most of the richest families of the time including the Livingstons and Stuyvesants.
The house and the family had quite an interesting history and even had a bit of a scandal attached to it as well. Winthrop Rutherfurd's second wife was Lucy Mercer, who had previously been Eleanor Roosevelt's social secretary and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's mistress. Allegedly, Lucy still maintained contact with Franklin Roosevelt even after she married Rutherfurd. However, for more about that and more about the history of the Rutherfurd family and Rutherfurd Hall, you'll have to visit and take the tour.
Tours are available on Wednesday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM only for a suggested donation of $5.00 per person. Although there is no specific age limit, we wouldn't recommend the tour for young children because there will be long periods of standing around in various rooms and listening to information, and the information will not be as fascinating or appropriate for young children as it is for adults. Teenagers may enjoy the tour, however.
The tour will take you through various rooms and the grounds of the estate although some of the rooms particularly upstairs do not seem quite finished yet. The house belonged to an order of nuns for a time after it belonged to the Rutherfurd family, and it is still in the process of being restored. Although not all of the current furnishings belonged to the Rutherfurd family, they are all true to the time period when the family owned the home.
For further information about Rutherfurd Hall visit http://www.rutherfurdhall.org.
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