Glen Alpin: Conserving History
August 13th, 2010
The land that is 685 Mt. Kemble Avenue in Harding Township was originally part of a 1,250-acre estate purchased by Peter Kemble in 1751. A portion of the estate was sold to Henry Hoyt, son of a prominent New York merchant, who built the original “Glen Alpin” house and named it Mt. Kemble. In 1885, it was sold to David McAlpin, a wealthy tobacco merchant, who made additions to the home and renamed it “Glen Alpin.” The “Glen Alpin” house was originally built in 1847 in the Gothic Revival architectural style. Gothic Revival architecture is an early version of Victorian architecture, with notable characteristics of gingerbread trim and steep gabled roofs.
The 262-acre property was subdivided and sold off over the years, 124 acres of which was donated to the US government and forms part of the Morristown National Park.
The original home sits on 9.57 acres at the corner of Tempe Wick Road and is owned by the Township of Harding. The Glen Alpin Conservancy will be holding a public open house on Sunday, September 12th from 2pm-4pm when you can view the architectural details that make this house a treasure worth preserving.
Further history on this home can be found at www.hardingcivic.org.
Posted by: 
Nadine Gelinas-Coffey
