Peapack Gladstone Barn Tour Shines as “Barn-ers” Visit Historic Venues

On November 15, 2025, Peapack and Gladstone opened its doors to the past as visitors stepped into the 2025 Historic Barn Tour. For one crisp autumn day, the borough invited guests to wander through seven of its most storied barns, each a quiet survivor of earlier eras and a poignant reminder of how deeply agriculture has shaped the community.

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VIDEO: Enjoy a tour back to Peapack and Gladstone, showcasing its history, transformation, and the beauty of the northernmost section of the Somerset Hills in Somerset County, New Jersey.

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The event was made possible by the dedication of the Historical Preservation Committee, which ensured that these landmarks were preserved, shared, and celebrated. Thanks to their efforts, visitors experienced not just buildings, but the stories and spirit held within them. The day concluded with a fitting finale. Wrapping up the event, guests gathered at the magnificent Hamilton Farm Stable, home of the USET Foundation, for a warm reception and an engaging presentation on the legacy of Hamilton Farms. Surrounded by one of the most impressive stables in the region, the group closed the day with a deeper appreciation for the history that continues to shape Peapack and Gladstone. It was a memorable day of discovery, reflection, and community.

Throughout the tour, every stop revealed something different. Some barns carried the rugged simplicity of early settlement years. Others reflected the more polished estate traditions that later defined the region. Many showed the marks of long use, from weathered siding burnished by wind and sun to beams that had held steady through generations of harvests, horses, and hardworking hands. A number of these historic structures had also been given new life, reinvented as places for child education, creative interior design studios, and horse-related foundations. Their modern roles blended seamlessly with their historic character, showing how old spaces can continue to serve new needs.

Peapack Brook Farm – Grist Mill and Corn Crib

In the local classic The Story of an Old Farm, published in 1889, Andrew D. Mellick Jr. tells the story of the Moelich family, later known as Melick and Mellick, and the early farm they established on part of the Peapack Patent of 1701. Johannes Moelich purchased the land in 1751 and built a substantial stone house on Old Dutch Road. Beside it stood a cluster of working buildings that formed a small rural industrial center, including a grist mill, sawmill, bark mill, and a leather tanning operation. All relied on the Peapack Brook, once known as the Lorentz or Lawrence Brook, which powered the mills just above its meeting point with the North Branch of the Raritan River.

Two historic barns from this early complex were included in the Peapack Barn Tour with permission from the Somerset County Park Commission. The left barn is a four-story grist mill where corn and possibly wheat were ground into flour. The first mill on the site was dated to about 1752, but the present structure was built in 1866, as indicated by a date carved into its foundation stone. Though silent today, the mill remains a remarkable survivor of the agricultural and industrial life that shaped early Peapack.

Lower Tiger Barn (Mane Street Farm)

The history of the Mane Street Farm Barn traces back to the Tiger family, who farmed this land for generations. Jacob John Tiger bought the property in 1885, passing it to his son John Harvey Tiger, and later to two of his children, Charles H. Tiger and John J. Tiger. By 1896, Charles Tiger became the sole owner, continuing the family’s long connection to the farm.

The lower Tiger Barn originated as a dairy barn constructed in a post-and-beam style with five levels. Livestock occupied the lowest level, while the upper floors were used to store hay and grain. The beams are made of American Chestnut, a now rare and valuable wood, and the Gambrel roof provided generous space for storing loose hay. The present tack room once served as the milk parlor and creamery.

Structural clues show that the barn was first built well before 1862 and later expanded when hay rails became widely available. It likely began as a three-bay barn and grew to four bays, a change that helped support the farm’s growing needs. Inside, visitors can still spot the hay rail, trolley, hooks, and pulleys once used to haul hay to the upper levels. The Tigers grazed their cows in the meadow across the road, land that later became part of Natirar.

Vernon Manor Barn

The barn on the former Riker, Sloane, and Gambrill property reflects more than a century of change in Peapack and Gladstone. The land was first part of the nineteenth-century Craig family holdings, later passing to Harriet and Emily Apgar, who began dividing the property along Main Street before 1905. That same year, Newark attorney Chandler Riker purchased the remaining tract, a sixty-acre parcel that included both the hillside estate site and the meadow that would one day become Liberty Park. The Riker family soon built their new estate, later known as Vernon Manor.

Historic drawings from 1906 and 1907 show several earlier outbuildings on the property, but none match the size of the barn seen today. The larger structure likely took shape during the Gambrill era around 1927, when the family expanded the former Riker and Sloane residence and enlarged the barn to support horses and cattle before building their more formal brick stable. Traces of these renovations are still visible in the barn’s framing and proportions. What stands today is a barn that has grown, adapted, and transformed through generations of estate building, farming, and redesign. Its evolution mirrors the story of the property itself, shifting from farmland to estate center to a restored community landmark.

Tiger Stone Barn and The Loft Barn

The Tiger Stone Barn in Gladstone began as part of the historic Tiger Farmstead, a property owned by Ellis Tiger, a well-known local farmer and sheep dealer. Built in the 1890s, the structure originally served as a sheep barn and remained part of the working agricultural landscape of Mendham Road for decades.

Over time, the barn fell out of active farm use, but its sturdy post-and-beam framing and classic form remained. In 2016, the property entered a new chapter when Melillo Equities acquired it and launched a thoughtful, two-phase restoration. The goal was to honor the barn’s agricultural past while adapting it for modern community needs. Inside, original elements such as the hayloft, the timber frame, and the agricultural layout were carefully preserved. The floor plan was opened to create a flexible space suited for childcare, fitness programs, coworking, and community gatherings. By 2021, the building had been fully transformed and reopened as The Loft on Mendham Road.

Exterior work brought a refreshed look while respecting the building’s character. A standing-seam copper roof, half-round copper gutters, and board-and-batten siding gave the barn a polished, modern appearance without erasing its earlier identity. From farmstead to community hub, the Tiger Stone Barn stands today as a rare example of successful adaptive reuse, where history and new purpose coexist under one roof.

Hamilton Farm Stable and Carriage Barn

There is no greater symbol of equestrian sport in the Somerset Hills than the grand stable and carriage barn built by James Cox Brady on his five-thousand-acre Hamilton Farm estate. Designed by architect William Weissenberger Jr. and completed in 1917, the structure featured Guastavino terra cotta tile ceilings and ranked among the largest and most elegant buildings of its kind. Inside were fifty horse stalls on two levels connected by an interior ramp, a sweeping carriage room, and the famous walnut paneled trophy room with its stained glass skylight and oval plate glass viewing floor.

During World War Two, the stable took on new roles. Before the United States entered the conflict, the carriage wing became a canning center where more than one hundred local women packed produce for shipment to England. After American entry into the war, the building was converted into Hamilton Farm Base Hospital Number One, complete with an operating room and a staff able to care for as many as 250 patients. It later became the Gladstone Merchant Marine Rest Center, one of only seven in the country, serving approximately 5,000 merchant mariners. Notable wartime visitors included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, close friends of Helen McMahon Cutting, the widow of James Cox Brady.

A major new chapter began in 1961 when the United States Equestrian Team selected the Hamilton Farm stable as its first permanent home. Today the building is listed on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places and serves as the headquarters of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, continuing to host equestrian programs and community events throughout the year. More than a century after its construction, the Hamilton Farm stable remains a remarkable blend of architecture, history, and equestrian tradition.

About the Peapack Gladstone Historic Preservation Committee

The day was made possible through the work of the Peapack Gladstone Historic Preservation Committee. This dedicated group is committed to identifying, protecting, and celebrating the architectural and cultural treasures that make the borough unique. They champion restoration projects, host educational events, and help residents understand the value of preserving the buildings and stories that define the community. Their efforts ensure that future generations will continue to learn from and be inspired by the rich history that surrounds them.

For anyone interested in local history, restoration guidance, volunteer opportunities, or supporting preservation efforts, the committee always welcomes new connections. Residents and visitors can reach out through the borough website, attend one of their public meetings, or join their events throughout the year. Every question, every shared memory, and every offer of support helps strengthen the mission to protect the town’s irreplaceable heritage. Preservation Committee Website

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