Hurstmont Mansion

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I'm sure many readers of this blog will recognize Hurstmont. The stunning mansion stood just off of Route 202 south in Harding, right before Tempe Wick Road. It was hard not to take one's eyes off the road to catch a passing glimpse of the once grand manor. This article is going to take a dive into the history of the stately home, one of the greatest residential buildings ever constructed in Morris County. 

The building we remember passing was actually not the first home on the property. In fact, it wasn't even the first home on that stone foundation. The original home was constructed in 1886. The structure was short lived unfortunately, lasting just over 15 years before being ripped down and rebuilt. It took several years to complete, but eventually the handsome home we are familiar with was ready to host the Pyle family.

Stamford White of the famed McKim, Mead and White architecture firm was responsible for designing the mansion. White was actually in the process of designing his own home at the time, and included many of the same flourishes at Hurstmont. 

The home had several beautiful sweeping staircases, carved stone mantles, decorative plaster ceilings, leaded glass windows, and lovely hardwood trim. The propery was so lavish it quickly graced the cover of the American Homes and Gardens June 1907 edition.

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The robust home could comfortably host a railroad tycoon or steel magnate. So how was it that Mr James T Pyle came into his fortune?

Quite suprisingly, Mr Pyle was a manufacturer of soaps and other household goods. While we may think of this as sort of a trivial way to get rich, in the 1800's it was anything but.

The New York based company was known as having one of the best all purpose cleaning agents around. An ad in the NY Times from 1862 exclaims "no other soap is required about the house when Pyles OK Soap is in use".

The Pyle's only occupied the home until 1925, after which it underwent a succession of different owners. Nobody did any major renovation work to the house or landscaping, so it stayed in remarkable shape. 

The home was last occupied regularly in the 1980's. I'm not sure what exactly happened to the last owners. When they left they abandoned many of their possessions inside. A write up on the VacantNJ website shows articles of clothing, furniture, and other ephemera scattered around the building's many luxurious rooms.

Hurstmont sat in this state of abandonment until 2011 when the property was sold off. An architect named Peter Dorne purchased the mansion with plans to redevelop the grounds. His plan called for the one parcel to be broken up into 4 pieces, each holding a distinct portion of the historic estate. Unfortunately, the plan also called for the mansion to be "reduced in size".

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Two years after the sale of the property, Peter followed through on demolishing a massive portion of the home. I'll never forget the first time I drove down that strech of 202 I thought to myself "I think this is where that mansion Vacant NJ posted is". As the mansion came into view I was extremely excited for half a second, until the demolition scene came into view. I let out a loud curse, and spread the word among the local community that the building was coming down. I had no idea that it was only supposed to be a partial demolition. I had never seen anything quite like it at the time.

Unfortunately the demolition was the only thing Mr. Dorne ever followed through on. The property continued to languish at an accelerated rate since it was now thoughtlessly ripped apart. Local kids found it to be a suitable place to take out their privileged suburban angst, kicking out the ballisturs and smashing out the leaded glass windows. By 2021 the building was deemed unsalvagable and the rest of the home was demolished.

The story of Hurstmont will always be absolutely heartbreaking. It stood so long, and despite changing hands so many times it was never tastelessly updated. Even after abandonment it continued to stand almost in a state of suspended animation for roughly 25 years. All it took was one man and his absurd redevelopment strategy to rob all future generations of this architectural treasure. Though a special case of demolition by neglect, it remains one all the same. 

The great architectural photographer Richard Nickel once said "great architecture has only two enemies, water and stupid men". Unfortunately, Hurstmont had to face both. Hopefully the ugly new dwellings will remind everyone what is at stake when we put greed before heritage.