The College at Florham’s Golden Anniversary events continue, the latest being a talk by professor emeritus Walter Savage and Arthur Vanderbilt II on the Twomblys of Florham and their history.

The event, “The Twomblys of Florham: The Beginning and End of an Era” was hosted by the Friends of Florham on March 29. About 75 people listened to the presentation in Lenfell Hall.

In a casual dialogue, Vanderbilt and Savage presented a broad outline of the Vanderbilt family, starting with “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt and the vast fortune he built in the first half of the nineteenth century. Their narrative continued along, detailing Florence Vanderbilt’s marriage to Hamilton McKown Twombly, their Madison estate (“Florham”), and finishing with the transition from country estate to private university in the 1950s. Along they way, they punctuated their discussion with colorful stories about the Vanderbilts and life on the Florham estate.

Arthur Vanderbilt II talked about the “unbelievable scale of living” that the Twomblys enjoyed. It cost $250,000 a year to run their Florham estate. (An inflation calculator at Westegg.com/inflation put this at around $6 million in today’s dollars.) The Twomblys, however, could easily afford that sum, as even during the Great Depression, they made $10,000 a day from investments ($150,000 in today’s dollars, as per Westegg.com/inflation).

The amazing thing, Arthur Vanderbilt II said, is that compared to other great Vanderbilt houses — such as the Breakers in Newport, R.I. — Florham was very plain and simple.

An interesting side note to the Twombly history at Florham that Savage discussed was that Madison’s Italian community’s roots come from the Italian workers who built Florham. Originally, the land that the estate sat on was swamp land so bad that even the local hunters wouldn’t go in there. The Italian laborers cleared out the swamp and drained the land.

Savage also talked about Fairleigh Dickinson’s acquisition of the property. He said that originally Peter Sammartino, the founder of FDU, was against the purchase, as he thought it would drain the University’s coffers, something that Savage compared to “putting an elephant in the backseat of a sedan.” Eventually, FDU did buy the Mansion and its outbuildings and the surrounding 187 acres for $1.5 million in 1958.

The Playhouse was one of these outbuildings. Originally built for Ruth Twombly, the daughter of Florence and Hamilton Twombly, the Playhouse had an indoor pool and clay tennis court. Savage talked about the Great Gatsby-esque parties that Ruth Twombly used to host there. Apparently in one of these, she dressed as Cleopatra and had four men carry her around. The five of them drank too much at the party and they all fell into the pool.

FDU demolished the Playhouse in the early ‘90s to make way for the current recreation building and the NAB.

Savage, professor emeritus of English, has a long history with Fairleigh Dickinson University and the College at Florham. He taught the very first course offered at the College at Florham, a course that all students were required to take, according to FDU Magazine.

Savage also worked as director of Wroxton College and, in 1983, was the acting president of FDU, according to Inside FDU. Prior to his involvement with FDU, Savage served in the military during World War II, according to FDU Magazine. Today, he is an active trustee in the Friends of Florham.

Arthur Vanderbilt II is a very distant relative of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly. He said that he traces his roots back to the veritable Vanderbilt scion, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Arthur Vanderbilt II is an author and lawyer in northern New Jersey. His works include the 1989 Pulitizer Prize nominee, “Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt.” He is a partner at the Carella Byrne law firm and an Honorary Trustee of the Friends of Florham. In 2001, Vanderbilt was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame, according to Carella Byrne’s Web site.

The Friends of Florham is a volunteer organization that was founded in 1990 to assist FDU in preserving the historic features of the campus of the College at Florham.

DAN LANDAU
Photo Editor