Glynallyn, the 2012 Mansion in May, is the most recent in a long line of houses with a long history and an interesting pedigree.
The mansion will be open for the month of May as a fundraiser for the Woman’s Association of Morristown Medical Center. This year’s funds will go toward the in-patient hospice at the medical center.
One of the earlier mansions was the Schiff Estate, the 1980 Mansion in May. That Mendham Township mansion was built in 1914 by Richard H. Williams as a wedding present for his son. The Schiff mansion was added onto several times. In 1918 a north wing was added and connected to the original house with a porte-cochere. The addition was dominated by a three-story wrought iron circular staircase leading to a the tower and ballroom. The ballroom was dominated by an immense ancient fireplace originally located in a French castle and brought to the United States by architect Stanford White for his Park Avenue apartment. It was dismantled in 1919 and brought to the Schiff mansion.
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The house was purchased in 1932 by Mrs. Jacob Schiff and donated to the Boy Scouts of America in memory of her son, Mortimer L. Schiff who died in 1931 while president of the BSA. It was operated as a scout reservation and training center until 1979 when it was purchased by AT&T as a regional conference and training center. The Schiff Natural Lands Trust was established in 1984 with more than 300 acres of permanent open space.
The AT&T connection to the 1997 Mansion in May was from the beginning of its existence.
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The Vail Mansion was constructed by Theodore Vail, the president of AT&T and chief architect of the Bell System. He built the 20,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance palazzo as a residence and a museum for family inventions.
In 1922, the Vails sold the mansion to the town of Morristown. It was the Morristown Town Hall until it was purchased and incorporated into a condominium complex.
The WAMMC is looking for volunteers to help with the 2012 Mansion in May, to volunteer or for more information, contact wammc.org
