The Ford-Faesch Ironmasters House
Mount Hope Road, Rockaway Township, NJ

The Faesch House - Harper's Magazine 1859

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A Brief History of the Ford-Faesch House

The Ford-Faesch Manor House in Mount Hope, Rockaway Township, NJ was built circa 1772 by Colonel Jacob Ford, Jr. as an ironmaster's mansion. The three-story house was designed to be spacious and elegant befitting the era of ironmasters who shaped the political, economic and social development of the region.

Situated on a promontory overlooking the valley, the mansion was constructed in the Georgian style with native stone walls two to three feet thick and symmetrical wings on the east and west sides. The rooms are high-ceilinged for the times with eight English-style fireplaces. The original cost of construction was placed at £1400.

In 1772, Ford leased the Mount Hope property including the iron works to John Jacob Faesch, a Swiss native who had gained prominence as ironmaster under Peter Hasenclever at the Ringwood Mine. As ironmaster at Mount Hope, Faesch produced large quantities of high-quality supplies and munitions for the Continental army and later purchased the iron works and surrounding land from Ford.

He was recognized as a patriot who served as a civic leader, country judge, trustee of the Morristown Academy and as a delegate to the Provincial Congress that ratified New Jersey statehood.

During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington is said to have frequented Rockaway and the Faesch Manor House. It was during one visit that Washington gave Faesch permission to employ 35 Hessian prisoners captured at Trenton to work at Mt. Hope. They were to include "wood choppers, two carpenters, one wheelwright, two blacksmiths, two masons, a barber and one beerbrewer." So important was the Mount Hope iron works that 50 men were exempt from active military service as long as they worked at Mount Hope.

Faesch lived in the house until the late 1780s when he moved to Morristown. He later relocated to Boonton where he died in 1799.

Subsequent occupants of the house were various owners of the Mount Hope Mine and mine superintendents. In the 1870s, renovations were made that included the addition of a Victorian front porch, fancy eave ornaments, a stucco facade and a bay window. It was at this time that the west wing which had housed Faesch's office was removed. In 1914 the house become a dormitory for single miners, in 1931 the building was converted into a two-family house and was occupied until 1973 when the last tenant moved out

The Role of the Historical Society of the Rockaways

The efforts of the Historical Society of the Rockaways resulted in the house being placed on the New Jersey State and National Registers of Historic Sites in 1973 and 1974, respectively. During the following decade the house suffered severe neglect resulting in the collapse of a portion of the roof. Sever interior damage from the elements resulted in sections of the house. In 1982 Rockaway Township condemned the house and subsequently purchased it and the surrounding two acres. The following year the property was leased to the Historical Society of the Rockaways which has assumed responsibility for safeguarding the house and spearheading its restoration. The long-range goal is threefold: 1). Secure the soundness of the building, 2.) Restore as closely as possible the style and character of the restoration period of 1772-1831 and 3.) Extend the life of the building for the benefit of future generations.

Past Activities

After securing the lease, the Society immediately began to clean up the grounds and the house exterior and to secure funding. During the next ten years, the Society raised more than $250,000 from private donations, a F.M. Kirby Foundation Grant, a Community Development Block Grant, matching AT&T funds, a Township Grant as well as State funding obtained by then NJ Assemblyman Frelinghuysen and Senator Dorsey. Those funds enabled the Society to replace the weather-damaged roof and stabilize the building, install security, electrical and phone systems. Architectural and historical professionals were engaged to prepare an Historic Structures Report, the document that guides all restoration efforts.

In 1992, Mt. Hope Hydro, the developer of a 2000 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric facility envisioned for the adjacent property, pledged $400,000 toward the Ford-Faesch restoration effort as a condition of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) License. That commitment was the basis for a $400,000 spend-match grant from the NJ Historic Trust. The Society received and spent $60,000 of the Hydro funding until 1996 when Mt. Hope Hydro suspended its project development efforts. When the Society was unable to replace the Hydro commitment with alternate funding in the required timeframe, the Trust withdrew its grant in 2000.

During the Trust Grant period, further stabilization and restoration projects included structural improvements in the basement and first story, replacement of the flooring in the first story hall and adjacent rooms and a paint analysis of the c.1830 trompe l'oeil paintings in the entry hall.

Current and Future Plans

Despite this setback, the Society has moved forward with a new strategy devised to phase the restoration over an extended period of time and to contract for a series of smaller projects as resources allow. Armed with a Community Development Block (CDBG) grant secured by Rockaway Township and the volunteer efforts of its members, the Society has undertaken many projects including trimming trees adjacent to the house, installing new window coverings with light panes, installing a new security system, providing a ventilation system to reduce dampness and adding some heat in the basement and a portion of the first floor. More high-profile projects include the repair of the stone retaining wall along Mt. Hope Road and the removal of 19th and 20th century materials in the kitchen wing to reveal the original Colonial fireplace shown at the right and regrading the driveway to provide safe access to the house.

Rockaway Township has given this new approach a major jump start with substantial funding commitments. These funds have been used to supplement a grant from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund for the removal of the Victorian Bay Window on the west wall, stabilizing the wall including the restoration of the original window and door openings and the lowering of the roof over the kitchen to its original level.

Another Morris County Trust Grant is being used for professional services to prepare specifications a bid package for restoring the all the window and door openings to their original configuration and repair/replacement of water-damaged floor joists in the front rooms.

Future projects will include restoration of the Colonial kitchen with working fireplace, restoration of balance of the interior floors, replacement of original windows, stairs, doors and trim, wall finishes and restoration of the trompe l'oeil paintings. As the interior work progresses, additional activities and increased public access to the house will become possible. For further information about the Ford-Faesch House restoration efforts, please contact: Lynda de Victoria l.devictoria@historyguild.org or Don Erickson d.erickson@historyguild.org

More About the Ford-Faesch House

Brochure by John Dunado j.dunado@historyguild.org

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