HousetrGarden 
Vol.II SEPTEMBER, 1902 No.g 
RINGWOOD MANOR AND ITS GARDENS 
PASSAIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY 
ROSE STANDARD AT RINGWOOD MANOR 
being Lamp Supports preserved, from the Old 
Middle Dutch Church , New York 
R INGWOOD MANOR, the residence for half 
a century ol Mr. and Mrs. Abram S. Hewitt, 
stands on a terrace from which a sweep of lawn slopes 
gently down to a sheet of ornamental water extending 
far into the valley between wooded banks and green¬ 
est meadows. Entering the grounds from the south¬ 
west, the road parallels the house along the lowest 
part of the valley ; and skirting the lake, it crosses by 
means of a rustic bridge a beautiful shallow stream. 
A little further on you catch a glimpse ot extensive 
stables, but so shut off from view that you can only 
guess at their size. The road now passes between the 
upper end of the lake and a picturesque dairy cottage 
with latticed windows, perched on the side of a hill 
and standing close to a tiny waterfall. From here 
it curves to the north ; and by a gradual ascent, brings 
vou under the porte-cochere of the Ringwood portico. 
The house is long and low, extending, with its 
outbuildings, to a length of two hundred and sixty 
feet. It has been added to, from time to time, with 
a skill and judgment that have produced a most har¬ 
monious whole. The walls are of cement laid on wire 
netting and whitewashed, their plainness relieved by 
mahogany-colored trimmings, and the pitch of the 
irregular roof is broken by ten gables. 
An avenue of great elms shades the front of the 
house, which faces south, and under their shadows 
along the edge of the terrace, are several war trophies 
which generally excite the interest of visitors. These 
are respectively a long section of the famous chain 
that was stretched across the Hudson below West 
Point during the Revolution, and whose links were 
forged in this historic region, and a mortar standing 
on its own bed—one of thirty, cast by Mr. Hewitt in 
the short space of twenty-nine days in response to a 
personal appeal from the President—Mr. Lincoln— 
during the Civil War. This particular mortar was 
used in the siege and capitulation of Ft. Donaldson. 
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