After sitting idle for decades, the Alden Villa, also known as Millwood, is finally receiving the attention it deserves, but the project will require tremendous resources to achieve a full restoration of this magnificent mansion.
The Alden Villa was Stanford White’s first single family home design. White’s fellow partner, Charles Follen McKim (of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White), had rented an apartment in Manhattan from Derby’s father, Dr. Richard Derby, and designed a home for Derby’s grandmother, Anne Alden, in Lloyd’s Neck, New York.
The westw
The Alden Villa was Stanford White’s first single family home design. White’s fellow partner, Charles Follen McKim (of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White), had rented an apartment in Manhattan from Derby’s father, Dr. Richard Derby, and designed a home for Derby’s grandmother, Anne Alden, in Lloyd’s Neck, New York.
The westward wing of the mansion juts out displaying a bank of eight stained glass panels atop a central door flanked by two additional stained-glass panels and two, lower clear panels which could be opened for air flow. The total height of the windows stands two large stories. The windows, with six similar windows to match along the southern exposure, are each composed of over 200 small sections of glass, most of them clear, but many of various pastel blues, oranges, greens, yellows and reds. Each window has a central square, circle or diamond with tree and floral shapes. Two of the panels include the date the home was finished, 1881, in Roman Numerals. Each window by itself is brilliant, but the combined effect is mesmerizing. The date in the windows is echoed on the currently exposed plaster in the formal dining room, with the writing, “Garfield [President Chester A. Garfield] dead November 19, 1881”.
To the south extends a porte-cochere and along the wall between the porte-cochere and the west bank of windows are embedded White’s signature star shaped bottle bottoms. The massive red split door at the side entry, with oversized floral wrought iron hinges, exposes the inside of the mansion. The woodwork is wonderfully rich and detailed with carved beading and sculpted beams. The grand barrel ceiling of the ballroom meets the top of the music room’s fireplace whose marble mantle holds a glass-fired brick front. The library contains heavily paneled wood and a curved wall seat. The adjoining office includes a recessed fireplace with marble seating. The Dining Room contains a built-in buffet similar to those in other mansions such as Kingscote in Newport, Rhode Island. Each panel of the buffet sports a different tooled design. The woven wicker Dining Room ceiling is the only one still extant in the country. The total cost of construction was $30,000.
The Alden Villa was built as a wedding present to Robert Percy Alden (shown above) and his bride, Mary Ida Warren. It was a gift from Percy's mother Anne Coleman Alden and would serve the couple as a summer home. Mary Ida was named for her mother Mary and for Mount Ida, in whose shadow the family’s summer home sat near Troy, New York. Mar
The Alden Villa was built as a wedding present to Robert Percy Alden (shown above) and his bride, Mary Ida Warren. It was a gift from Percy's mother Anne Coleman Alden and would serve the couple as a summer home. Mary Ida was named for her mother Mary and for Mount Ida, in whose shadow the family’s summer home sat near Troy, New York. Mary Ida’s father, George Henry Warren, was prominent in many local businesses. His railroad, the Mohawk & Hudson, was purchased by Cornelius Vanderbilt and brought into the New York Central Railroad system. Mary Ida’s brother, Whitney Warren, designed Grand Central Station, the showcase station for the New York Central. Robert Percy Alden, was descended from the proud Plymouth bloodline of John and Priscilla Alden. Jack’s grandmother was the granddaughter of Robert Coleman, Pennsylvania’s wealthiest and most powerful iron master at the time of his death in 1825..
John Percy Coleman Alden, known as Jack, was the last member of the family to own the mansion. He died on Christmas Eve, 1948.. The mansion was auctioned off the following year. On September 16, 1949, the Alden Villa and all 520 acres were purchased at auction for $88,000 by Mrs. D. J. Monas of Bangor, Pennsylvania. She represented the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), an original member of the Congress for Industrial Organization (CIO) in the 1930s.
When opened in 1955, the New York Times reported, "Down in the Cornwall Mountains of Pennsylvania the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, C. I. O., has opened a vacation resort and education center for 18,000 shirt workers in the area. The union’s theme for the magnificent estate, which was built seventy-five years ago to meet the requirements of a millionaire, is “Bread and Roses”.
In December of 2021 Harvey J. Turner, IV purchased the Alden Villa and started the courageous task of restoring the mansion. Harv, is he is known to his friends, was born in nearby Ephrata, Pennsylvania. From an early age he hd a fascination with buildings. He purchased his first apartment building at the age of 19.. For the most part he
In December of 2021 Harvey J. Turner, IV purchased the Alden Villa and started the courageous task of restoring the mansion. Harv, is he is known to his friends, was born in nearby Ephrata, Pennsylvania. From an early age he hd a fascination with buildings. He purchased his first apartment building at the age of 19.. For the most part he learned plumbing, electrical and other construction tasks on the job with help from his father.
As he grew in his knowledge of buildings he began to appreciate the craftmanship in older buildings. He drew inspiration from his favorite vacation spot, Cape May, new Jersey. His many years of restoration work has served as a great backdrop to what he considers his most significant project to date.
His goal is to restore the Alden Villa to its original grandeur. In his own words, "The home deserves an owner who will bring it back to life, I believe I am the man for the job". He has already started work on the roof. His initial goal is to make sure the house is properly protected from the weather. He has also begun work on saving the priceless stained glass windows. He has gone "all in" with his own finance, but the project will take an unknown amount to complete. To help offset cost he plans on opening the mansion for weddings and other events.
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If you are interested in volunteering with skilled labor or helping to support the restoration effort contact us.
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