The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-04
THE man Of FASHION,.
He Has Changed From the "Town
Rural" to ths Country
Rural"
Some of tho Magnificent Homes in
New York's Suburban
District.
Tho Palaces Of Tuxedo Park, Where the
Wealth and Fashion Of New York
Congrsgate In hummer.

Written for The HELENA INDErENDENr.l
"HE MAN OF FASHION, CREATURE
AL Of moods and fancies that he 10. has
SXO changed his methods of suburban
life onoe again. A few years ago his
fashion was the sea coast. A year or more
ago ii was the country town, with its group
of rich houses. To-day it is the country,
pure and simple. He has become the very
embodiment Of rustioity, and has sought
retreats with An eye to The pioturesquely
Wild, the Rrandly scenic, and the sublimely
rural. I was told that there was = stretch
of country along tho Erie whore the RAM
apo and the Orange nountsins lend their
curves and cliffs to fit the latest fads. and
whore the rural ideas were being followed
out to the greatest extent.
To this section I hied myself, and true
enough. I found that the man Of fashion
had become typically rural. He had erected
his palace with all it's modern appoint
ments, and as l strolled along / found in
his nsiRhbor the old farmer of the rustic
rustic, his home the thatehsd roof sottage,
his clothes thoroughly rural and his English
frinRod with naive Jersey idioms. But
that is the way the man of fashion has de-
cided On the rural.
Perhaps the famous Joe Jefferson home
at Hohoeus, o owned by John Bailey
Miller. will stand as typical Of these mag
nincent country places. II Is hidden be-
hind the thick shade Of a great mass of
high reaching spruce trees, closed in with
hedges. here . trout stream ripping along,
there = finely kept lawn and greenhouse,
and further off, on all sides, . stretch Of
wild growing country.
New York's men OF fashion-perhaps il
would be better to say New York's men-of-
the-~worid-neves do things by halves. Ma
ture has made these picturesque suburbs a
bit too picturesqusly wild, and 80 millions
have been spent in the construction of road
ways up declivities, in the clearing and i'm
proving Of wooded sections. and now as one
rides along by these New Jersey suburbs.
scene after scene strikes the oye with de-.
light and the mind with a sense of the in
tense repose which seems to rest over all
this section.
just out of Passaio I caught a glimpse Of
the AykriRe home, whose caves jut out
from among the trees. Near Hohoous also
is the Provost Burr home, bright in its re-
generated elegance. Here is the very road
way, much improved now, where Aaron
Burr rode to visit the widow he was in love
with. There are evidences yet of the old
WY Obyb, duu Q anu VAolo AEo D0Auo AuU
wooded wales where Burr had often sus-
peoted ambuecades.
Near Tuxedo park Theodore Havemeyer
has built his country home, delightful not
alone IN it's scenery, but in the perfect man
ner of its construction. II is an ideal
stable we'll back from the resi-
dence.. and filled with a splendid
string of apeeders. Attached to the side of
the house is the dairy; the one part in
which Mr.. Havemeyer takes not alone q
personal interest,". but in which his super
vision is of a most exciting nature. The
best Jerseys and Alderneys in the would
furnish the dairy with its raw material and
twenty experienced hands follow out the
dairying methods which Mr.. Havomeyer
himself outlines.
At Ramapo l was given a view of the
Plerson home, a bit of Swiss architecture
to which the American designer has lent
his most advance ideas. But all along this
length of suburban district palace follow
palace. and not even the homes along the
palisades OF the hudson can parallel them.
Rising like a turreted castle on Garrett
mountain, part of the picturesque Orange
and Ramapo ranges, is the Lambert home.
From its top l could see the spires of New
York bay, and underneath me was the busy
city of Paterson.
Ono trip about these country homes con-
WINGED one that New York's men of fashion
had long since given up the idea of a sea
coast home and looked for the lakes and
woods in which to develop their aesthetic
ideas.
And now to come to that climax of scenic
grandeur, Tuxedo park. l understand that
many years ago Pierre Lorillard was given
a vast tract of land in the Ramapo mount
aims in payment Of some obligation. And
in this sylvan retreat Mr.. Lorillard and his
fashionable New York friends have built
their country homes. here in the very wild
est part of the rolling Ramapo lands, where
the cliffs rise highest and steepest and
where seldom u ripple disturbs the peaceful
waters of Tuxedo lake. There are 5000
ncres of enclosed park, guarded at tho en-
trance by 4 rough stone mansion, the gate
way to all of Tuxedo's grandeur. Up
winding roadways where never q stone
jars the serenity Of a drive, by artistic wood
Lands, here q rustic style and there q rustic
arbor up another hill, with the warm mid
day sun shining down full upon it, a vast
mirror for the orb of day, the lake breaks
into view. On all sides are the sylvan
Ramapo cliffs, each with it's group of homes
that seem like castellated forts to guard
against intrusion.
The Tuxedo club is an exclusive organi-
cation. You can buy property in this re-
treat If you want it, but the deed is void
unless you are elected a member of the
Tuxedo club. That has been the strict reg
ulation since its establishment in 1856.
And with some show of right have those
AAta AtoA VI onhAo w VAC bkOts
They have spent millions in improvements
in homes. and they spend thousands snnu-
ally to make it the most enhancing, as it is
the most exclusive bit of suburban ground
in the United States.
There are many plainly built cottages
there. The Fulton Cutting cottage struck
me as one of these. but plain as is it's arcni-
lecture, 30 delightful are its surroundings
and 30 enchanting is its cosy interior.
The Lorillard cottage 10 rather antique
looking, like an old German home, with its
stone base reaching almost to the center of
the structure. and it's roof rising at o very
ncute angle.
From the Brenham cottage, a massive
stone palace, l foupd the best view of the
lake. Leaning on it's parapet l could see
each curve of the fine lake, each wave of
these fine Ramapo rolling hills.
Another pretty cottage is that of tho Bau-
beys. Then the Nicolls and the Lords have
splendidly appointed places. In fact, ! was
not at all surprised to find that the New
York world of fashion had transferred it.
self to this retreat rather than to the Cat
akills. the ~Adirondscks, TO Newport or to
the Berkshirss.
But in it's 5000 acres Tuxedo holds more
than this great lake and the homes about
it. It's club house is arranged with every
detail for ease and comfort. Further still
are the polo grounds and near these you
catch a glimpse of the greenhouses. Sc
nothing ID wanting at Tuxedo to make life
q pleasure.
But step for . moment into the club din