Stonehurst

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Importer William D. Cromwell built his estate c.1856-58, later known as Stonehurst. After he passed in 1859 his wife Ann sold it to Robert Colgate, whose father William founded Colgate & Company. The Italianate Villa was primarily built of Ashlar Maine Granite with rounded dormer windows, several towering chimneys and wrap-around porch. The landscaped property once contained formal pathways leading down to the banks of the Hudson River, though later development would diminish the size of the estate and block this access. Colgate passed in 1885, and eventually banker and politician George W. Perkins bought the mansion. Perkins also owned Wave Hill during this time, accumulating about 100 acres in the area, he died in 1920. In 1922 his widow sold Stonehurst to mining engineer Spruille Braden, including 10 acres, the carriage house, chauffer's cottage, stone barn, gardener's cottage, greenhouse and other outbuildings. For much of the 1960's-80's the estate was owned by attorney Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach, who became U.S. Attorney General. The property, now diminished in size, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.