A Gilded Age estate with Astor family roots and a fashion mogul’s modern touch is back on the market in Bernardsville.
The home is a 30,000-square-foot mansion that blends 19th-century grandeur with 21st-century luxury.
It was originally built in 1886 for James Coleman Drayton and his socialite wife Charlotte Augusta Astor, daughter of business magnate William Backhouse Astor.
The property later served as the campus for Gill St. Bernard, a private school, which occupied the estate for more than 50 years before relocating in the 1990s.
The seven-bedroom, eight full and five half-bathroom main house, plus a carriage house, all set on 32 acres is for sale for $9,999,000.
“It’s a brilliantly reimagined Gilded Era estate that could fit many different buyers and many different types of lifestyles,“ said Jill Turpin, of Turpin Realtors, the listing agent.
The home has had some prestigious owners, including its current owner, fashion mogul Marc Ecko.
Drayton sold the home in 1892 after his wife’s scandalous affair with a neighbor led to the couple’s divorce. A New York City lawyer then lived there for seven years before selling it to John Fairfield Dryden, a founder and president of the Prudential Insurance company and U.S. Senator.
Dryden retained George B. Post, the original architect of the home, to make additions. In its heyday, it had a staff of 50 to tend to the home and care for chickens, pigs, sheep and cows, as well as gardens that provided flowers, fruits and vegetables.
Dryden named the estate Stronghold, which remained in the family for 40 years and three generations until the cost of upkeep became too much.
It was sold in 1940 for $200,000 to Gill St. Bernard.
When Ecko and his wife Allison bought the home in 2005, it still had a gymnasium that the school had added to the property. The main house had been carved up into classrooms and included a ballroom.
“The imagination it took to go into a house like that and create this is so impressive,” Turpin said. “It’s a state-of-the-art renovation while keeping the integrity of the architectural masterpiece that it was.”
Ecko designed doorknobs and handrails in the reconfigured portions of the home that look like rope made of wrought iron that pool at the floor.
“It’s so stunning,” Turpin said.
A square tower was turned into a speakeasy and an office, which “arguably has the best views in Somerset County,” she said.
All of the bedrooms are ensuite. A California-style pool house with a kitchen was added during the pandemic.
Woodwork and fireplaces throughout are original and woodwork that is not original was made to match what was already there.
They also moved the staircase, which was the first thing visitors saw upon entering. Turpin said it didn’t look grand in its original location.
“You would never know the new staircase wasn’t built at the same time as the home. The details are so true to what it was. It’s astounding.”
The home has been on and off the market since 2014 when it was listed for $18 million.
It has undergone several price changes, most recently on October 22, when it was decreased from $13.75 million to $9.99 million.
“We’ve had a few offers,” Turpin said. “A house like this isn’t going to fit everyone.”
At 30,000 square feet, the massive home needs just the right buyer.
“It’s large but it doesn’t feel large. It feels very livable,” she said, conceding that a full-size basketball court with a gym above could be overwhelming for some. “That’s something that you have to think, ‘how would I use that.’ Not a lot of people need that.”
Turpin also said that she’s seen a trend of people wanting less space since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have a lot of people in our area that are coming from New York City or points east, like Montclair and Millburn,” she said. “They’re used to smaller places. And Millennials don’t want the huge homes.”
The home can be purchased with just the main house, which is on 22 acres, or with the carriage house and an additional 10 acres. But the carriage house will not be sold without the main house being sold first, Turpin said.
All the potential buyers have looked at the home as a primary residence.
“That goes to the strength of the area,” she said.
The home is close to routes 78 and 287. Even though you’re on 32 acres, downtown is only two minutes away, and you can be in New York City in about 45 minutes.
The buyer could be an empty nester who has family in the area and wants a place for everyone to gather.
“It’s impressive, of course, but comfortable,” Turpin said. “Whether the next buyer is royalty or a regular family it doesn’t matter. This house still works.”
