My Pilgrimage to Nonesuch — Today's forays

Today I fulfilled a dream I've had since I began this project-- tracing Susie's footsteps during her visit to Nonesuch, the Harriman's estate in Riverdale. She spent a week there with her good friends Emmie and Annie in July 1871 and wrote extensively of her encounters with the Harriman, Roosevelt and Pine children; and Ridgeway Moore.

The trip itself from 11 West 20th Street to Riverdale was surprisingly quick--thanks to the Hudson River Railway opened in 1851 and acquired by Cornelius Vanderbilt to become the New York Central Railway in 1867. By her accounts, a hired carriage arrived at her home at 4:00 and drove her to the depot on 27th Street and Fourth Avenue to catch the 4:15 train. (Vanderbilt's new Grand Central Depot on 42nd Street was due to open 3 months later). Susie sat in a car with a "jolly" Oliver Harriman and Mrs. Tinker (relation unknown), arriving at the estate at 5:30. While the same journey took me 30 minutes by car, I think with today's traffic if I'd left during the summer rush hour and the same location it would probably have taken me close to Susie's 1 1/2 hours!

Oliver Harriman, a great financier and uncle to E.H. Harriman built Nonesuch in the 1860s, naming it after Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace in Surrey, England. The estate next door was Wave Hill, owned from 1866 to 1903 by publisher William Henry Appleton and at the time of Susie's visit was rented by Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and his family. (They leased the home the summer of 1870 and 1871). George Walbridge Perkins (a partner of J.P. Morgan's) eventually purchased the Nonesuch property, tore it down and built a grander home called Glyndor and also bought the adjacent Wave Hill when it became available. In 1960, the Perkins family gave the combined lands to the City of New York and it has been a public garden and cultural center ever since.

The people at Wave Hill were very helpful in arranging my visit. I called in advance to request a historical tour and was referred to Deirdre Laporte who works as a guide at Wave Hill as well as the New-York Historical Society. Interestingly, she has a PhD in Science History and was initially drawn to Wave Hill because Appleton was the American publisher of Charles Darwin and Thomas Henry Huxley. I can attest she's very well versed on a multitude of subjects relating to New York history and its environs.

We began our tour on the Nonesuch (now Glyndor) lawn which is beautifully manicured and dotted with chairs and benches for quiet contemplation. I channeled my inner Susie--It wasn't too difficult to picture the Harriman party playing Croquet here exactly as she described.

The Glyndor of today is of neo-Georgian brick design and looks nothing like the old photo of Nonesuch which Deirdre showed me as we sat there. The photo below was taken some time after 1871 and shows some changes to the house but it is pretty close to what Susie would have seen. Apparently, Mr. Perkins was particularly attracted to the porch which wrapped around three sides of the house. If so, why did he eventually tear it down and build Glyndor? The prevailing theory is when he became a partner of J.P. Morgan's he felt he needed a grander home with a large ballroom and recreational spaces for his children.

As Deirdre and I sat in the sweltering heat (90 degrees on May 27!) I was reminded of Susie's visits to the brook to go wading-- no doubt the best way to find some relief.

We had lunch at one o'clock and after lunch we (Emmie, Annie, Tiny Pine and myself) fixed ourselves for "wading" so we went down to the brook and hung up our clothes on the tree and went in. We had a very nice time but before we went home I got drenching wet up to my waist."

I asked Deirdre about this and she said the Pines lived one home over from the Harrimans right next to Alder Brook. The brook is located down hill from Nonesuch, right near what is now Riverdale Lower School. Apparently, children (including a young Theodore Roosevelt) frequently played in the water unsupervised and ran from property to property.

Right after she went wading Susie wrote the following: We came home and all took a bath and dressed ourselves for the Roosevelts. The carriage came for us and we drove off." The girls had all been invited to Wave Hill to take tea with Coney and Elliott Roosevelt. It doesn't sound as if Elliott sat still for too long as Susie describes Elliott and Theodore running around shooting off fire works in anticipation of July 4th. It's interesting to note they took a carriage since it's approximately an acre or two seperating the two properties.

Once again, this home has gone through significant alterations since 1871. It looked more like this:

I should also note that Wave Hill was also the temporary home of another famous American, Mark Twain, who leased the home with his wife Olivia and two daughters from 1901-1903. This is a photo of Olivia, Clara and Jean Clemens on the porch which faces the Hudson River and the Palisades.

Clara and Jean Clemens on the porch of Wave Hill

I really haven't done justice to the magnificent views of the Hudson and Palisades which the owners of Nonesuch and Wave Hill must have enjoyed. It must have been entertaining to sit on the porch and watch the Hudson River busy with steamers, barges and fishing boats. Today it's no longer the center of commerce (I didn't see one boat while I was there) but it's still quite beautiful.

I left Riverdale with renewed energy. I can now imagine views, sounds, smells, flora, etc. similar to Susie's own experience. I've given myself the summer to write the Riverdale section of my novel and am confident I can do so thanks to Deirdre Laporte and the folks at Wave Hill.

For more information about Wave Hill park, visit www.wavehill.org.