Victorian Ringwood Manor Tour & Abandoned Mine Trail Hike

Photos by Kenneth Carrol Photography for Ringwood Manor

Join lead historian Sue Shutte for a guided tour of the historic Ringwood Manor, the Gilded Age country estate of the New York City’s famous Cooper & Hewitt families, then head outside to explore the grounds with Untapped New York’s Chief Experience officer Justin Rivers!

  • Tour 32 of the 51 fully-furnished rooms of Ringwood Manor, including the kitchen and butler’s pantry, all with original interior contents
  • Discover the family’s unique collecting habits and see original Civil War firearms, Hudson River School paintings, Louis XV furniture, and more!
  • Learn about the Cooper & Hewitt families’ influence on society, politics, and history
  • Uncover remnants of lost New York City estates on the grounds, like the iron gate from an Astor mansion and the last surviving off shoot of Peter Stuyvesant’s pear tree 
  • Join Justin for a jaunt in the woods to discover an abandoned colonial mining road

About the event:

Ringwood Manor is situated in northern New Jersey’s sprawling Ramapo Mountains. The rich magnetite iron deposits found in the mountains made the area a major iron supplier and became the home to a succession of ironmasters for over two hundred years. In 1854, business partners Peter Cooper and Abram S. Hewitt purchased 22,000 acres and Mrs. Hewitt began construction on Ringwood Manor to become the summer estate for their families. The eclectic home eventually grew to 51 rooms and hosted a wide range of well-known 19th century society members.

The Cooper and Hewitt families, known to be voracious collectors throughout their lives, used Ringwood Manor to showcase their artwork, furnishings, art, antiques, and unusual collections. In 1938, the house, its contents, and the surrounding property were donated by the family to the State of New Jersey as a museum and a state park.

Visitors today have the unique ability to visit the preserved Ringwood Manor and surrounding grounds just as the Cooper & Hewitt guests experienced them 150 years ago!

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