The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-04-29
GOULD'S HOME.
Fairyland on the Hudson for the Mill
lionaire I'm Summer Time.

Honaire In Summer Time.
Seven years ago George Dawson Mer-
ritt merchant of this city. prided HIM
self on what he thought the most beauti-
ful and thoroughly equipped summer
residence in this country. Itwas located
at Iryington, On the east bank of the
Hudson and about a mile from the de-
| pot. What was then known as the
Merritt estate is now known as che jay
Gould estate, and could its former pro-
prietor, now dead, awake to life he
would scarcely recognize his ideal home
In 1880 Jay Gould became struck with
the magniticence of the property and
purchased il. Since the day that it
passed into his hands he has been con-
t1nually backing nature with capital
until he has succeeded in creating one
of the loveliest sites in the world. The
estate now covers (according to the
books of the supervisory 80 acres of
the most eligible and fertile land in
Westchester county. OF this about 200
voted to lawns and light farming
1t is said that the purchasing price
paid by Mr.. Gould for the estate was in
the neighborhood of 100000, and that
he can dispose of the property any day
for five times that amount, or S1,OOO,-
600. The house of the little great king
of finance is built in gothic style, and in
itself is not particularly striking 1t
faces the river from a distance of 5000
feet, and the view commanding is at
once grand and picturesque 1t con-
talns twenty rooms, beside basement
of the dimensions of the house Not
until entering the house is the visitor
fully impressed with the sway that its
owner must have in the financial world.
Administer and Moquet carpets and
velvet tapestry cover the floors, and
frescoing of the most delicate and ex-
pensive patterns decks the walls and
ceilings.
On the second floor is Mr.. Gould's
pride, the art gallery. 1t extends the
entire depth of the house, and has the
full benefit of the setting sun. In it is
hung most tidy fortune in paintings,
by the most celebrated masters Bric-a-
brac is everywhere prevalent, and moth
ing is wanting to make such a home as
only many-times millionaire can
afford. Surrounding the house is
graceful, wavy lawn of ninety-fve acres.
kept with faultless care, and marred
only by the single macadamized road
way leading from the main road to the
house, distance of nearly quarter of
mile. The grounds are separated from
the road by polished stone fence,
nearly four feet high.
AT the entrance gate stands a very
pretty little cottage, the domain Of the
land steward, who for twenty-five years
has occupied the position, and under
whose personal supervision every I'M
prOvement has taken place.
Proceeding toward the river, the next
object to attract ones attention are Mr..
Gould's hothouses, nineteen in number,
and comprising combined about 900
feet in length and 450 in width In
these can be found every description of
flower that grows on the face OF the
globe. From there Mr.. Gould relishes
grapes up TO February /, eats straw
berries of his own growing to top off
his Christmas dinner, and takes the pits
out of his own peaches on April Fools
Day.
The hothouses and their contents are
valued at S250,000. Underneath the
hothouses is miniature cellar only 4G5
feet in length, in which are stored
articles of vegetation to which a cellar
is indispensable. Here are also roots
which are now sprouting and which
will soon be used to decorate the house
in one mass of green foliage. Mr..
Gould will make affidavit that he does
not use oleomargarine. because his
twenty-four head of thoroughbred cattle
supply him with the choicest of butter
and milk to which water is stranger.
Twenty-four horses do the farm work
and supply the members of the family
with all the out-of-door enjoyment they
wish. Poultry abounds and of the
choicest breeds. 1t is said that one of
Jay Gould's greatest delights is to rise
early and with his youngest son, Frank,
watch the process of feeding the chicks.
Eighty men have been employed con-
stantly for the past year, and fer their
wages receive 50 per week, or a grand
total of s., $50 per month. 1t requires
ten pair of hands to look after the house
work beside the French chef who pre-
sides over the destinies of cuisine. The
chambermaids housekeeper's and gov
erness wages amount to $500 monthly,
and the gentleman who wears the white
cap and prepares creme de volatile
grows fat over $3.50 per month, or $50
less than the other ten put together.
Allowing that the live stock are self
supporting, Gould's expenses, exclusive
of his house in this city, his yacht and
hundreds of other asides, are at Irving
ton, S3S8.89 per day, or 11,516.66 per
month and S138, 1892 a year. Since
the advent of Jay Gould at Irvington
he has not only spent thousands of dol
lars in beautifying the place, which is
an ornament to the beautiful village,
but has been no less industrious in i'm
proving its sanitary condition. For
years there has been swamp right in
the heart of the village, which has been
the source of malaria and other obnox-
ious diseases. Recently Mr.. Gould pur-
chased it, and is now engaged in drain
ing it by the aid of tunnel at an enor-
nous expense. Five thousand feet of
piling have already been driven at
cost of double the price paid for the
land. When the Gould family is not
augmented by friends it includes Mr.
and Mrs. Gould, their two daughters,
Helen and Annie, aged 16 and 9, and
the four sons, George, Edwin, Howard
and Erank.-M Y Journal.