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Fawn Hill Farm
This landmark estate traces back to the late 1930’s when Morristown was described by the old New York Herald as the “Millionaire City” of the nation. It was home to some of the wealthiest corporate executives, industrialists and entrepreneurs in the world. Allan Kirby was one of these businessmen, serving as president of the Alleghany Corporation with assets of $2 billion and with significant holdings in F.W. Woolworth.
Expanded responsibilities prompted Kirby to move his family from Pennsylvania to a location more accessible to his business interests in New York City. He purchased part of a large farm on historic Spring Valley Road in Harding Township in 1937, once owned by philanthropist Helen Hartley Jenkins, which adjoined what was, and remains, Hartley Farms.
The original house was razed by Kirby. For the family’s residence, Allan and his wife Marian built a magnificent 21-room mansion on 64 acres. They named the estate “Graymar Farm” - a combination of the names Grace (their firstborn child) and Marian. The house was decorated with splendid antiques and paintings by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Reynolds and Gilbert Stuart. The farm remained in the Kirby family until 1980.
A few years later, the estate with 34 acres was acquired by Gloria and Herb Glatt, the current owners, renamed Fawn Hill Farm, and enhanced through a restoration of the main house and other buildings. It is superbly laid out: a paved drive gently winds its way beneath a canopy of mature hardwoods, reaching a handsome porte-cochere that opens onto a courtyard flanked by the stately stone manor house and the two-bedroom guest cottage. Just beyond the courtyard, a sunken formal garden is ideally suited to large-scale al fresco entertaining, while a pool and pool house are secluded within a garden enclave off the side terrace.
At the heart of the estate sits an imposing three-story English-style stone manor house perched atop a knoll, affording sweeping views of the countryside. This classic structure was constructed using concrete and steel beams, with a thick slate roof and colonnaded rear terrace reminiscent of George Washington’s Mount Vernon home. The home boasts extensive moldings, arched doorways, pegged hardwood flooring, seven distinctive fireplaces, seven bedrooms, and a grand wainscoted foyer with an elegant Georgian staircase with second floor gallery. The aura of refined grandeur is continued in the exquisitely well-appointed dining room and formal living room overlooking the pool.
The second floor is highlighted by an expansive master suite with two full baths and dressing rooms. Two additional bedrooms with baths, plus two smaller suites complete the level, while a versatile third-floor suite with two full baths is an appealing retreat. The lower level is geared for entertaining, with a long marble-topped wet bar including a full-size bowling alley and a separate media room. Two six-bay garage bays and a two-apartment staff cottage border a motor courtyard.
Fawn Hill Farm, one of the largest intact estates within the New York City sphere, also includes picturesque pastures, ponds, stables and barns and adjoins miles of equestrian trails that lace Harding Township. Remarkable in its extravagant scope and pristine condition, Fawn Hill Farm is a mansion extraordinaire.
Information cited from Morris County Magazine (September 1983), John K. Turpin and W. Barry Thomson of Mountain Colony Press, Weichert Realtors and Turpin Realtors.
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