Barons of Broadway #13
Welcome to the 13th episode of our series, where we explore the first Baroness of Broadway who built a 16,000 square-foot Great Gatsby-style estate at 521 North Broadway. Hidden behind tall brick walls, Eleanor Manville Ford’s estate hosted numerous social gatherings for an upscale regional community for nearly 30 years. After Ford’s passing, Shadowcliff became the world headquarters for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) until 2017. Counting many famous peace and civil rights activists as members, FOR advocated for peace and justice through nonviolent means. Shadowcliff, empty since 2017, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Eleanor Barron Manville Ford: The First Baroness
Born in 1859, Eleanor Barron completed her education at public schools in Bath, NY, Cook Academy at Montour Falls, NY, and the Collegiate Institute in Towanda, NY. She became an accomplished pianist and organist and performed as a concert pianist. She also studied painting in school, which later became her artistic passion. Her 1935 exhibit of flower paintings at Rockefeller Center caught everyone’s attention and remained on display for an entire year.
She married Captain Charles M. Manville, a Civil War veteran and developer in Bradford County, PA, who was twenty-four years her senior. He died in 1886 at age 51. They had one son, Charles M. Manville. A decade later, in New York City, she married another wealthy man, Harry Smith Ford.
The Three Sisters and Their Grandview Estates
Eleanor, along with her two sisters, all became wealthy, lived in grand estates, and ended up living in Nyack. Eleanor, Margaret Welles Swift (known as Minnie), and Bertha Hayson Berthold, descended from the Barrons who settled in Wethersfield, CT in 1645. Thirty of their male ancestors received degrees from Yale University. However, the daughters of Charles “Georgie” Hayson Barron and Julia Anne Welles outshone their male ancestors.
Margaret married Fred Joel Swift of the Swift Company meat packing renown in 1892 in Brooklyn. Sadly, Fred died at the age of 45 in 1905. Margaret went on to build an estae named Overledge in 1916 at 159 River Road. The blueprints for Overledge and Margaret survived the Titanic disaster. Margaret built a teahouse, a tennis court, and a recreation pavilion. She became the founder and President of the National Council of Garden Clubs. In the early 1940s, she sold Overledge and moved in with her sister, Eleanor.
Bertha Barron married an actual Baron, Baron Berthold, a Wagnerian tenor with the Metropolitan Opera. They bought Eagle Springs at 215 River Road in Grand View around the same time her sisters lived there. They sold the house in the 1920s to another opera singer, Roa Eaton. Bertha lived at a house at Lavetta Place for many years.
Harry Smith Ford
Harry Smith Ford, born in 1856 in Cincinnati, Ohio, worked for his wealthy father in his tobacco business before founding the New York Steam Company, which became the most important power source for New York City. In 1882, the company became Consolidated Edison, the largest commercial steam system in the world. Ford was also an early developer of the Standard Oil Company. He retired from business shortly after marrying Eleanor Manville in 1896. They lived at 3 E. 66th St. in Manhattan and later in Scarsdale, where their son, Richard Franklin Ford, was born in 1899. Ford spent his retirement yachting and racing power boats. He died of pernicious anemia in 1915 at the age of 61 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Glencraig: Eleanor’s First Estate House
Harry and Eleanor Ford built a white stucco mansion named Glencraig on a five-acre estate at 195 River Road in Grandview. The house sat on a broad terrace with a wide stone staircase. A fountain graced the lower yard. The estate had a gardener’s cottage (now #193), a six-car garage (now #195), a two-story boathouse (now #204), and the Landing, a docking site for boats (now #192). According to “Oh What A Grandview,” Harry had plans to create a residential park similar to Tuxedo Park with gates at both ends of River Road to be called Fordsville. After Harry Ford’s death and due to some issues with neighbors, Eleanor sold Glencraig. In 1932, the mansion burned to the ground. All that remained was the servants’ wing (now #195).
Shadowcliff: Eleanor’s New Estate
In 1919, Eleanor Manville Ford decided to build a new full-year estate in Upper Nyack. She purchased two large tracts, the first a portion of the R. Dickinson Jewett estate consisting of land west of Broadway to Midland. The second tract, a riverside tract owned by Everett Sage Cooper, became the site of Shadowcliff after removing the existing houses on the property. Around the end of 1921 or early 1922, Ford and her two sons, along with six servants, moved into Shadowcliff.
Shadowcliff is mostly hidden behind a brick wall, making it difficult to picture the extent of this large house. It bears a remarkable resemblance to Glencraig. Like other Broadway estates, Shadowcliff perched above the Hudson River, with lawns sweeping down to the water. The 16,000-square-foot house contained 20 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, several family rooms, a library, a dining room, and numerous fireplaces. The main door sported a porte-cochère with a fountain in front. A huge grand staircase spirals up to the third floor in the main hall. A stunning window at a mid-floor landing overlooks the Hudson River.
A carriage house with living space was accessible to the north. Frank Kepler, Ford’s long-time chauffeur starting in 1916 in Grand View, continued to work for Ford until her death and later for Charles Manville and Mrs. Pierre Bernard.
The carriage house has gone through several expansions and renovations and is now itself a large and memorable riverside estate named Riverstrip, home to the Hudson River Designer Showcase 2000 and many other events.
Eleanor’s Sons
Eleanor’s oldest son, Charles Manville, studied electrical engineering, but his occupation is unknown. He remained at Shadowcliff until Eleanor passed, along with a footman, butler, maid, chef, and server. He served as Chairman of the Board of Nyack Hospital. Charles died in 1963 and, for some reason, was not buried in the family plot in Sleepy Hollow.
The second son, Richard Franklin Ford, was clearly the more outgoing son. Richard appeared in musical performances in the US and Europe. At the age of 30, he performed as a singer and actor in professional musical comedies such as “The Student Prince,” “Peg O’ My Heart,” and “My Princess,” then signed a contract with the Schubert Brothers under which he performed in “Three Little Girls” in 1931.
Richard gave up a stage career to become an executive at Standard Oil of New Jersey. Richard made sensational headlines in tabloids in 1944. He married a serial fortune hunter from Austria named Lele von Herrenreich-Young-Daly-Djamgaroff-Wells-Ford. Ford was her fifth husband, and they were married at Shadowcliff in August. However, by October, her previous divorce from Mr. Wells was vacated over false pretenses. After an annulment of her marriage to Richard, she quickly married another man. Ford never seemed to recover, taking residence in a sanatorium for his nerves. He died at his summer home in Laguna Beach, CA, in 1967.
Events at Shadowcliff
While Eleanor traveled worldwide, she spent her summers and some winters at Shadowcliff. Gardening became Eleanor’s greatest interest. She devoted much time to cultivating flowers in her extensive gardens. Eleanor was the founder and a lifelong member of the Garden Club of Nyack while serving as a member of the Rockland County Historical Society. She was a benefactor of the Nyack Hospital and the Mazeppa Engine Company. After World War I, she established and personally financed the Cheer-up Club for the benefit of wounded veterans, providing vacation homes for servicemen.
Shadowcliff saw many summer events and Christmas parties. Eleanor hosted meetings of the Morning Music Club, where her son Richard performed.
Shadowcliff Changes Hands
Eleanor Manville Ford died in 1949, leaving her estate to her two sons equally. Charles received the house furnishings and Eleanor’s pet Boston terrier. Richard received a commensurate sum in cash and her property in Miami Beach, FL. She left trust funds for her two sisters and two sons amounting to $600,000. She left $5,000 to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to maintain the family plot.
Charles sold much of the furnishings in a public auction in November 1949. Included were paintings by Ford and others, plus rugs, marble and iron yard furniture, tableware, linens, and Wedgewood, Dresden, Capodimonte, and Limoges dishware.
Colonel Charles Meyer purchased Shadowcliff in 1949 to house a translation business with live-in employees. His application for a zoning variance from a single-family residence to business was granted by the village. It was the first in a long line of tax and variance disputes with the village.
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) Acquires Shadowcliff
The story of the Fellowship of Reconciliation deserves its own separate story as custodians of Shadowcliff for 60 years from 1957 to 2017. Since their departure, Shadowcliff has passed through plans for turning the house back into a private residence, and when that didn’t work out, it was given to the Blue Rock School in West Nyack in 2021 (note below). In 2022, ownership changed from Blue Rock School to private ownership.
Note: In an earlier version of this article, I left the impression that Blue Rock School was responsible for deterioration of Shadowcliff. During their brief ownership, Blue Rock School worked hard to maintain the building. They are not responsible for any deterioration of the building since their ownership ended in early 2022.
A Brief Return to 1920s Elegance
Shadowcliff briefly returned to its 1920s elegance when, thanks to the owners’ generosity, the empty mansion was used as a setting for a movie of “The Nutcracker” by Rockland’s Coupe Dance Studio, a virtual replacement during COVID-19 for its annual holiday show. The spiral stairway, the mahogany-lined library, and the large drawing room were populated by elegantly costumed dancers. Once again, if for a short time, fashionable Shadowcliff buzzed with music and excitement.
Barons of Broadway Series
#1 The Magnificent Saga Of Larchdell
#2 Revisiting Underclyffe–A Lost, Gilded Age Mansion
#3 The Adriance Era At Underclyffe Manor
#4 The Flying Dutchman Lands at Underclyffe Manor
#5 The Saga of Rivercliff”s Storied Resdents
#6 The Winding Saga of River Hook
#8 The Legacy of Belle Crest: From Clockmakers to Tennis Champions
#11 The Dynamite Baron- Wilson P. Foss Legacy at Under Elms
#12 Atlas Acres – The Botanist in Under Elms’ Garage
Mike Hays lived in the Nyacks for 38-years. He worked for McGraw-Hill Education in New York City for many years. Hays serves as President of the Historical Society of the Nyacks, and Vice-President of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center. Married to Bernie Richey, he enjoys cycling and winters in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Sun River Health. Sun River Health is a network of 43 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) providing primary, dental, pediatric, OB-GYN, and behavioral health care to over 245,000 patients annually.
