Ringwood Manor

Last updated
Ringwood Manor
Ringwood Manor spring 2015.jpg
Front elevation, 2015
Location map of Passaic County, New Jersey.svg
Red pog.svg
USA New Jersey location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location3 mi. E of Hewitt, Ringwood Manor State Park, Ringwood, New Jersey
Coordinates 41°8′40″N74°15′10″W / 41.14444°N 74.25278°W / 41.14444; -74.25278
Area724 acres (293 ha)
Built1739
NRHP reference No. 66000471 [1]
NJRHP No.2403 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 13, 1966 [3]
Designated NHLDNovember 13, 1966 [4]
Designated NJRHPMay 27, 1971

Ringwood Manor, located in Passaic County, New Jersey, was the site of an ironworks and home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. The current manor house was not built until 1807.

Contents

History

Scottish engineer Robert Erskine was hired in 1771 to manage the ironmaking operations at Ringwood. During the American Revolutionary War, after designing a cheval-de-frise for the Hudson River in 1776, he was appointed by General George Washington as his first Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army. Erskine drew more than 275 maps of the northern sector. He also kept Ringwood iron operating, as the manufacture was important to supplying the Continental war effort. It was used in manufacturing links for the Hudson River Chain, a defensive device installed across the river north of West Point, and for tools and hardware for the army.

In the early 19th century, Martin J. Ryerson purchased the historic ironworks. He began building the present Manor House in 1807 while still operating the iron mines and forges on the property. For the next half century, Ryerson ran five forge-furnace complexes in three counties from his headquarters at Ringwood. He made shot for the War of 1812. He also negotiated land and water rights with the Morris Canal Company for expansion of Long Pond (Greenwood Lake) and construction of the Pompton Feeder on the Morris Canal. The Ryerson Steel Company is still operating today.

New York's Peter Cooper, an inventor and industrialist purchased Ringwood Manor in 1854. One of the Manor's last owners was Cooper's son-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt, ironmaster, educator, lawyer, U.S. Congressman, and mayor of New York City.

A 479-acre (194 ha) area including the manor house was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1966. [4] [5] The Ringwood Manor NHL area is the entire 479-acre Ringwood Manor State Park. [5] One outbuilding houses a working coal-fired, bellows-fed forge. It was rebuilt in the 1960s and has since been briefly operated from time to time by volunteer blacksmiths.

Ringwood Manor is included within the larger Ringwood State Park, which also includes Skylands Manor and a recreational area. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Hewitt, New Jersey, off Route 23.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringwood, New Jersey</span> Borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States

Ringwood is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,735, a decrease of 493 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,228, which in turn reflected a decrease of 168 (−1.4%) from the 12,396 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringwood State Park</span> State park in New Jersey, United States

Ringwood State Park is a 4,444 acres (17.98 km2) state park in Passaic County in northeastern New Jersey, USA. The Park is located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains in Ringwood. Its forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skylands (estate)</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

Skylands is a 1,119-acre (4.53 km2) estate property located in Ringwood State Park in Ringwood, New Jersey, a borough in Passaic County in the state of New Jersey. The Skylands property consists of the historic Skylands Manor mansion, The Castle at Skylands Manor and the New Jersey Botanical Garden; the botanical garden is 96 acres (390,000 m2) and it is open to the public year-round. The Skylands property is within the Ramapo Mountains and it is maintained by the Skyland Association. The property is marketed with the garden as New Jersey State Botanical Garden at Skylands.

The Ringwood Public School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Ringwood in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Pond Ironworks State Park</span> United States historic place

Long Pond Ironworks State Park is located in the community of Hewitt, in West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The park is known for its old stone walls, furnaces and other remnants of a once industrious ironworking community that now sits next to the swiftly flowing Wanaque River. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and has an area of 145 acres (0.59 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tannehill Ironworks</span> United States state park and historic place

The Tannehill Ironworks is the central feature of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near the unincorporated town of McCalla in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tannehill Furnace, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance. Remains of the old furnaces are located 12 miles (19 km) south of Bessemer off Interstate 59/Interstate 20 near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The 2,063-acre (835 ha) park includes: the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill; the May Plantation Cotton Gin House; and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedwell Ironworks</span> United States historic place

Speedwell Ironworks was an ironworks in Speedwell Village, on Speedwell Avenue, just north of downtown Morristown, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. At this site Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrated their electric telegraph. Speedwell Ironworks also provided most of the machinery for the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The site is still open to the public, and has seven buildings on display. The site, now named Historical Speedwell, is a historic site of the Morris County Park Commission. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Crailo</span> United States historic place

The Crailo State Historic Site is a historic, fortified brick manor house in Rensselaer, New York which was built in 1707. The word Crailo is derived from kraaien bos and refers to Kiliaen van Rensselaer's estate in Huizen, Holland, which is also named "Crailo". Fort Crailo is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Thread Company Historic District</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Clark Thread Company Historic District, located at 900 Passaic Avenue, East Newark, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, is a large mill complex. Begun in 1875, it was a major manufacturing site of the Clark Thread Company, the world's leading manufacturer of sewing thread, until 1935. The complex was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1978 for this association. It now functions as an industrial park housing a diversity of businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiegel-Coleman House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Stiegel-Coleman House, also known as Elizabeth Furnace, is an historic mansion house which is located at 2121 Furnace Hills Pike, just north of Brickerville, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Furnace</span> United States historic place

The Clinton Furnace, also known as the Clinton Ironworks, is located along Clinton Road at the base of the Clinton Reservoir by the Clinton Brook in the township of West Milford in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The furnace was built in 1826 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1976, for its significance in industry. The furnace is the last surviving structure of the iron community once known as Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuyler–Colfax House</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

The Schuyler–Colfax House is located at 2343 Paterson Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The house was built in 1695 by Arent Schuyler. It was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1973, for its significance in architeture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aycrigg Mansion</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

Aycrigg Mansion, located in Passaic, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, was the home of John Bancker Aycrigg. The mansion was built in 1848 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 29, 1982, for its significance in architecture, education, politics/government, and social history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Street Historic District (Salem, New Jersey)</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Market Street Historic District is a 166-acre (67 ha) historic district located along Market Street in the downtown area of the city of Salem in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1975, for its significance in architecture, art, commerce, industry, military history, religion, social history, and transportation. The district includes 44 contributing buildings.

Tranquility Ridge Park is a 2,062 acre Watershed Protection Area that spans the border of Ringwood and West Milford, New Jersey, United States, and is directly south of the New Jersey-New York State Line. Tranquility Ridge Park is directly adjacent to Sterling Forest State Park in NY, and Long Pond Ironworks State Park in NJ. The area was once part of Long Pond Ironworks, which was developed as an ironworks "plantation" by Peter Hasenclever in 1766, and produced iron for American forces during the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlesex Avenue–Woodwild Park Historic District</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Middlesex Avenue–Woodwild Park Historic District is a historic district located in the borough of Metuchen in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 2017. It includes 197 contributing buildings, five contributing objects, and one contributing site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Industrial Historic District</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Oxford Industrial Historic District is a historic district primarily located in Oxford Township in Warren County, New Jersey. It also extends into Mansfield Township and Washington Township. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 27, 1992 for its significance in community development, industry, and transportation from 1741 to 1930. It includes 385 contributing buildings, three contributing structures, and six contributing sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Mine Road Historic District</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Old Mine Road Historic District is a 687-acre (278 ha) historic district located along Old Mine Road in Sussex County and Warren County, New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 3, 1980, for its significance in agriculture, archaeology, architecture, commerce, exploration/settlement, and transportation. It includes 24 contributing buildings and five contributing sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Corners, New Jersey</span> Unincorporated community in New Jersey, United States

Franklin Corners is an unincorporated community located along the Passaic River at the intersection of County Route 613 and U.S. Route 202 in Bernards Township of Somerset County, New Jersey. In the 19th century, it had a grist mill, saw mill, general store, school, and several houses. The Franklin Corners Historic District, featuring Van Dorn's Mill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garritse–Doremus–Westervelt House</span> United States historic place

The Garritse–Doremus–Westervelt House, also known as the Vanderhoef–Westervelt House, is a historic Dutch Colonial stone farmhouse located at 794 Park Drive in Weasel Brook Park in the city of Clifton in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. It was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1939 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 2023, for its significance in architecture. The c. 1785 house is one of the oldest in the county.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Passaic County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. November 22, 2013. p. 7.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Ringwood Manor". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  5. 1 2 Richard Greenwood (August 14, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Ringwood Manor / Ringwood Manor State Park". National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and "Accompanying 31 photos, from 1974, 1909, 1957, and other dates".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)