The Early Years of Greystone-on-Hudson

FROM THE SOON TO BE PUBLISHED ENCHANTED GARDENS OF GREYSTONE

The Warings Of Greystone

by Mary Hoar

President of the Untermyer Performing Arts Council,

President Emerita of the Yonkers Historical Society,

and City of Yonkers Historian

 The Greystone estate, once described by Better Homes and Gardens as “…one of the loveliest in America,”[i] was first envisioned by John Waring, former President of the Village of Yonkers[ii]and owner of America’s largest hat factory.[iii]

Designed by John Davis Hatch in the late 1860s[iv], the mansion, named because of the locally quarried material used in its construction, “was a large gray granite house built along English-castle lines and ornamented by a squarish two-story tower.”[v]

The beginnings of the Waring Hat Company in Yonkers go back to the 18th century.  In 1728 William C. Waring began to manufacture bodies for wool hats in an old gristmill located at the east end of the Glen.[vi]

The business saw its greatest expansion under John T. Waring, growing to be an estimated million-dollar concern[vii]and America’s largest hat factory.[viii]  Built in 1864, the five-story main plant on Vark Street and Riverdale Avenue covered an acre of land[ix] and manufactured 15,000 felt hats a day.[x]

Branch factories wove ribbons and processed sheepskin for hat leather and the Elm Street branch cut up 40,000 rabbit skins daily.[i] A leading employer in Yonkers, the company employed 300 men and 200 women paid an average of $50 per month.[ii]

Waring used the local company Eickemeyer & Osterheld to build the machinery used in the factories.[iii]  Rudolph Eickemeyer was considered the “…leading figure in the manufacture and invention of special machinery used in the wool hat industry. The Waring hat factory was among the first to utilize the services of Mr. Eickemeyer, and this support did much to bring him the success which he subsequently achieved.”[iv]

Another Waring innovation had to do with the sale of hats. All the hats he manufactured were sold through Shethar, Nichols & Co. in New York, the only commission house for hat sales in the United States.

Beginnings of Greystone

Hat manufacturer John Waring lived on Locust Hill Avenue with his family and did very well during the Civil War. He purchased 36 acres of the Bolmer estate on North Broadway October 1868, for $75,000, with a plan to build a “fine residence” on the property.  

In May 1869, Waring bought the Getty House property at Broadway and Mechanic Street (New Main Street) and land across the street at the southwest corner of Main Street and Broadway; it was reported he spent $200,000 for both properties in the business district.

By 1872, the mansion was finished and final touches were put on the 99-room Greystone mansion that January; it was rumored he spent almost $500,000 on the house.

Having spent the greater part of his fortune on Greystone, Waring faced financial ruin when heavy losses swept away his assets.  In 1876, the New York Times reported his company had failed and, with debts totaling more than $400,000, his business was sold. If he didn’t have his” great castle” to maintain, he might have weathered the storm.  The large sum tied up in the property precipitated his ruin; the losses forced him to sell his magnificent estate.  Fortunately, a willing buyer was not difficult to find.

The New York Times & Mr. Waring

John Waring soon recovered most of his fortune and built a more modest house at 92 South Broadway.  Talk swirled around Yonkers as to how he was able to recoup his losses so quickly, with his regained fortune creating a minor scandal.

More from the New York Times: “Another matter which has come to the surface in Yonkers and is causing a great deal of talk… is that fact that after Mr. Waring almost lost his fortune in Yonkers some years ago by building the Greystone mansion… he went to Concord Junction, Mass., and there employed prison contract labor at a cost of 40 to 60 cents a day.  He recovered his lost financial ground there and then returned to Yonkers to re-establish his hat factory, again one of the largest in the country.”[i]  This new company was the John T. Waring & Company. 

The New York Times took Waring to task.  Claiming the recently imposed tariff necessitated cutting salaries, Waring, with the owners of the Empire Hat Company of Yonkers, announced they would reduce wages by 10 per cent.  On the day the reduction was to take place, men in both factories walked out and refused to return until wages were restored.  The owners gave in, Waring saying he would rather pay the money than let his factory lie idle.  According to the Times, this proved wages were not affected by the tariff, but by “…the desire of the manufacturers to reap a big profit.”[ii]

[i] “Tariff not to Blame,” New York Times, October 23, 1888 p. 8.

[ii]  Ibid.

In 1888 fire swept a portion of Waring’s factory, destroying a large shipment of army hats worth $20,000.  This loss was fully insured.[i]

Through all their financial ups and downs the Waring family maintained their position as leaders of Yonkers and New York society.  The children, descended from passengers on the Mayflower, were educated in private schools in the United States and France.

Daughter Cornelia married an heir to the Hoyt fortune; daughter Grace married Louis Roberts, a member of New York society and successful Stock Exchange broker. Son Pierre married one of the Pells. Unmarried daughters Susan and Janet were well-known local philanthropists, members of the exclusive Colony Club of New York and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and were active in New York and Yonkers Episcopal Church committees.

The wedding guest lists of the Waring children’s marriages read like a Yonkers “Who’s Who,” with names such as William Allen Butler, Henry Baird, John Reid, Alexander Smith, and William F. Cochran. Other well-known Yonkers names like Flagg, Deyo, Ketcham, Bashford, and Baldwin were usually in attendance at Waring events.  Mr. and Mrs. Perit C. Myers were often found on the Warings’ guest lists.[ii] The Myers were the parents of Irene Untermyer’s first husband Louis Putnam Myers, with her wedding held at Greystone. It was a link between old and new Greystone families.

The Waring sisters remained at the South Broadway home until they built their own house at 350 North Broadway during the 1920s. They lived in their North Broadway home until their deaths.[iii]

[i] “Fire in a Yonkers Hat Factory,” New York Times, September 1, 1898, p. 3.

[ii] “Orange Blossoms,” New York Times, January 10, 1889, p.  2.

[iii] “Miss Janet Waring Colony Club Member,” New York Times, January 19, 1941, p. 17;  “Miss Susan Waring Dies,” New York Times, September 5, 1953, p. 15.

The Early Years of Greystone: The Sage of Greystone

The Sage of Graystone

Samuel J. Tilden

Encouraged by his doctors to move to a country home “where he would secure as many hygienic advantages from its situation as possible,” reformer Samuel Tilden asked for the assistance of long-time Yonkers resident John Trevor to locate such a property.   

It was the views from the Greystone tower that convinced Tilden to lease the estate. No matter in which direction one looked, the panorama was amazing.  The vista was described as “…one of the grandest and most extensive views of this part of the world can be had… To the south the eye follows the winding Hudson to New York Bay and for some distance beyond Sandy Hook.  Many points of prominence in New York City may be distinctly recognized...  To the right, over the Palisades, can be distinctly seen the various villages of the Hackensack valley and northern New Jersey.  Turning toward the north the Hudson gradually widens...  Along the high ridge of hills, with a gradual slope toward the river bank, forming a continuous chain above Greystone, are many turreted castles, residences of some of New York’s most noted millionaires…”

Immediately after signing the lease, Governor Tilden received a welcoming note from his friend, nationally acclaimed lawyer and political satirist William Allen Butler, praising this decision and touting Yonkers as “the most desirable suburb of New York.”

 It did not take Tilden long to decide to purchase. Shortly after he signed the lease, Tilden bought the property for a fraction of its construction cost. The Sun announced, “…the country seat near Yonkers, which Mr. Tilden leased with the privilege of purchase, was sold to him Wednesday for $150,000.  The sale includes the house and about fifty-five acres of ground.  The place is a mile and a half above Yonkers, fronts on Broadway and extends back to the Hudson, with the privileges of the waterfront over the Hudson River railroad.  It cost $325,000 and its purchase for $150,000 is regarded by real estate men as a great bargain…”  Tilden also changed the spelling of the estate’s name from Greystone to Graystone.

Tilden promptly hired Jacob Weidenmann to design the property.  A native of Switzerland, Weidenmann studied advanced art, architecture, and engineering in his home country before turning his hand to landscape architecture in America. He was the first superintendent of Parks in Hartford; while there he designed Bushnell Park and Cedar Hill Cemetery.  He quickly gained prominence for his designs and innovations, and with Frederick Law Olmsted shaped a formidable design team. Together they created outstanding projects such as the Washington, D.C. Capitol grounds and Mount Royal Park in Montreal. By setting such high standards and creating new methods of dealing with design problems, Weidenmann defined the future of his profession.

“Tilden altered the veranda and entrance portico, as well as the vast landscape surrounding the mansion that sloped to the shores of the Hudson River.  The park surrounding the mansion followed Weidenmann’s usual pattern of many trees and shrubs and few flower gardens, strongly emphasizing natural views.”

The lawns and ground around Greystone were “…under the charge of one of the most thoroughly skilled landscape gardeners of the age.  The grounds in front slope gently toward the riverbank, and are laid out in flower gardens, bowers, shaded walks and drives, interrupted with fountains, brooks, miniature lakes and statuary.”

According to a report published in 1883, “Every requisite of the health, comforts and pleasure of its occupants have been brought into use.  The most rigid sanitary laws are enforced both in and about the castle, and all parts are open to the frequent inspection of the family physician... All modern improvements, such as lighting, heating, burglar alarms, telephone and telegraph have been brought into use.”  These high-tech “gadgets” of the day helped Tilden keep in touch with his financial holdings and the political events in New York State and around the country.

Tilden added several adjoining properties to the original purchase, and it was thought he spent approximately $500,000 both buying land east of North Broadway and erecting new buildings.  An expert equestrian, Governor Tilden particularly was interested in the facilities for his horses.  His state-of-the-art stables, tucked under the tall elms on the estate, were furnished with every invention that had been created for the comfort of horses. Yonkers area residents who were early risers frequently saw the governor riding along the Croton aqueduct.